Women constitute nearly half of the national population. India is missing out on
potential economic growth that could have been achieved if women were equal
participants in the Indian workforce, urban and rural.  The female labour force in
India contributed only 17% to India’s GDP (McKinsey Global Institute Report, 2015).
Of the 95 countries studied, India is listed as a country with the largest gender gaps
in labour force participation. The proposed Centre recognizes that the Indian female
workforce is a potential resource that lies untapped and can be leveraged for
organizational and national growth. Therefore, Centre’s initiatives will be designed
and implemented to ensure gender equality.  There is a need to start a Centre for
their empowerment and leadership.

Objectives
The CWELD will envisage achieving its mission through specific, measurable and
actionable objectives by:

 Enabling women to develop to their full professional potential, further career
goals, and contribute to workplace and business success

 Organizing designer workplace promoting women leadership programmes
with gender equity
 Collaborating with policy makers to promote women’s leadership by
advocating relevant practices and policies

The Programme
The CWELD will create pathways to enhance female workforce representation
across various organizational levels, including top management. With a focus on
finding implementable solutions, the Centre will be committed to reducing barriers to
advancements for women looking to expand their career prospects. Guided by
academic research and industry benchmarks, it is aimed at influencing changes in
policy and system across the corporate and social sector. This change is intended to
support the presence of women in the Indian workforce, reduce female attrition, and
foster a merit based system for advancements to leadership positions.

A multi-pronged approach will be adopted to promote gender equality at workplace.
By synergizing high-impact projects, advocacy initiative, and research, the Center is
will endeavour to make gender equality at workplaces a reality. Executive Program in
Women's Leadership will make use of research to understand the perceptions,
behaviours, stereotypes, and backlash that women distinctively face, and then
transform those empirical results into effective strategies and solutions. The Centre
will work on programmes to empower organizations, women, and students to
develop and strengthen their leadership skills.