Women's Media Nation | Social, political, and cultural issues relating to women

India's economy and women's influence

posted by AskPatty - Auto Advice
Saturday, March 13, 2010 at 1:12pm CST

What a great time to be in India! I am having the good fortune of visiting this great country for the next couple of weeks and it is such an exciting time. On March 8, which is International Women's Day, The Women's Reservation Bill was the topic of discussion at the India Parliament. Since 1974, the women of India have been working diligently to have significant representation in the Parliament and in other government entities.

The goal was to have The Bill ready for vote on March 8, 2010, which would provide for discussion in all of the other Assemblies. This Bill would give women 33% representation in Parliament and other government entities. The Bill did not quite make it by the deadline but it did on March 10, 2010!

Everywhere we go in India, people are talking about the rights of women and the impact it will have on their country's future. Currently there are 4 times as many female CEO's in large companies as there are in the USA and women are gaining economic power. It is still a tough climb but slowly the women of India are changing the lives of their country and its people. Women's income was estimated to be around US $10.5 trillion in 2008 and is expected to go up to US$15.6 trillion by 2013. This compares to US $24.3 trillion, projected to rise to US $31.1 trillion for males. In some industries, women now represent about half of the workforce.

The major automotive manufacturer is TATA Motors. While only 10% of all people own and drive vehicles, the country is poised to move fast as the middle class now represents 30% of the total population of 1.05 billion people. That means that those 300 million people--the same size as the total USA population--have significant earning power by making purchases and are therefore building the economy.

With the country of India declaring that all children are entitled to an education and the fact the focus is on math and science, India is becoming the first choice for Multi National Corporations. In fact Bangalore, which had 2 million people 10 years ago, now boasts a population of 10 million and it has become the IT capital of India and is where companies from around the world recruit talent.

India is the place to be today and in the future. No wonder so many corporations are getting their foot in the door of the 2nd largest developing country in the world.

Creative commons images by hotblack and singhajaykr25 at morguefile.com

Patricia J. Roberts
AskPatty.com Director of Business Development

Prior to joining AskPatty.Com, Patricia Roberts was the General Director- Women's Retail Initiative on the General Motors Vehicle, Sales, Service and Marketing Staff in Detroit, Michigan. She was responsible for programs to increase the number of females in retailing for General Motors. This included the recruitment, training and appointment of female dealers, working with dealers to attract more women into automotive retailing positions, and to provide an enjoyable selling and service experience.

Patricia has more than 39 years of experience in the Automotive Industry to include increasing the number of women who own, who work in, and who shop in automotive businesses.

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