Lok Sabha Question No. 112 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-11-25
Subject: Policies to Support Women Employees
Ministry: CORPORATE AFFAIRS
Asked by: Dr. Amar Singh

(a) & (b)

1. The Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013), administered by the Ministry of Corporate  Affairs,  has  many  provisions  intending  to  nurture  a  safe, secure  and  non-discriminating  environment  for  women  at  workplace which are as under;

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 112 ANSWERED ON MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2024 AGRAHAYANA 4, ,1946 (SAKA)

## POLICIES TO SUPPORT WOMEN EMPLOYEES QUESTION

112.  Dr. Amar Singh:

Will the Minister of CORPORATE AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is in concurrence with the view that Businesses must deepen their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) efforts by actively listening  to  women  in  the  workplace  and  utilizing  data-driven  insights  to ensure  they  make  informed  decisions  to  remove  barriers  to  progress  and reframing policies that support women employees at different life stages;
- (b)  if  so,  the  details  of  the  initiatives  taken/proposed  to  be  taken  by  the Government in this regard; and
- (c) if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CORPORATE AFFAIRS AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ROAD, TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

[ SHRI HARSH MALHOTRA]

- (a) 2 nd  Proviso to the Section 149 of the Companies Act read with Rule 3 of  Companies  (Appointment  and  Qualification  of  Directors)  Rules, 2014, makes it mandatory for every listed company and every other public company having paid up share capital of Rs. 100 crore or more or having turnover of Rs. 300 crore or more to appoint at least one woman director.
- (b) Every company in its Board Report, to be attached with the Financial Statement  filed  annually,  has  to  include  a  statement  that  the company has complied with provisions relating to the constitution of Internal  Complaints  Committee  under  the  Sexual  Harassment  of Women  at  Workplace  (Prevention,  Prohibition  and  Redressal)  Act, 2013 [14 of 2013]
- (c) SCHEDULE VII of the Companies Act, 2013, listing out the activities which  may  be  included  by  companies  in  their  Corporate  Social Responsibility  Policies,  includes,  among  other  things,  activities relating to, 'promoting gender equality and empowering women;' and 'reducing child mortality and improving maternal health;'
2. Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises has taken a number of initiatives to support women employees and women owned enterprises, as follows:
- (a) To support women entrepreneurs under Credit Guarantee Scheme for Micro and Small Enterprises, additional benefits, of 10% concession in annual guarantee fees and 10% additional guarantee coverage of up to 85% as against the 75% for other entrepreneurs, is provided.
- (b) Under Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), which  is a major credit-linked subsidy program, of the total beneficiaries, 39% are women who are provided higher subsidy (35%) viz-a-viz non-special category (upto 25%)
- (c) Stand-Up India (SUI) Scheme has the objective to facilitate loans from Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) of value between Rs. 10 lakh and Rs. 1 crore to at least one Scheduled Caste (SC) or Scheduled Tribe  (ST)  borrower  and  one  women  borrower per bank branch for setting up greenfield enterprise.
- (d) PM  Vishwakarma  Scheme  provide  a  number  of  benefits  to  the traditional artisans and craftspeople including women, engaged in 18 trades. The enrollment of women artisans has been 75.46% of the total enrollment under the Scheme.
- (e) An  initiative  namely  "Yashasvini ' ,  was  launched  on  27.06.2024, which  aims  to  campaign  for  women  entrepreneurs  and  empower women by building their capacity, with a focus in Tier-II/III towns.

- (f) The Code on Social Security, 2020 and the Code on Wages, 2019 have provisions regarding maternity benefits to women workers and nondiscrimination on grounds of gender respectively.
- (g) To  enhance  the  employability  of  female  workers,  Government  is providing  training  to  female  workers  through  a  network  of  Women Industrial  Training  Institute,  National  Vocational  Training  Institute and Regional Vocational Training Institutes.
3. Ministry of Women and Child Development has taken several initiatives to support women employees, as follows:
- (a) The Sexual Harassment of Women  at  Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (SH Act) provides a legislative framework for prevention of sexual harassment at workplace. The Act provides for constitution of Internal Committee (IC) where the number  of employees  is 10 or more  and  also mandates  for constitution of Local Committee (LC) by the District Officer notified under the Act to deal with the cases of workplaces where the number of employees is less than 10 or when the complaint is against the employer itself.
- (b) In order to provide for a centralized platform for details of ICs and LCs available  in  the  country  as  well  as  for  providing  a  platform  to  the aggrieved woman to file her complaint, a revamped version Sexual Harassment electronic -Box (SHe-Box)   was launched by the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) on 29.08.2024, marking a significant advancement in addressing and managing complaints of sexual  harassment  at  workplace,  which  would  also  provide  a common  platform  to  file  complaints  and  track  the  status  of  such complaints.    This  is  an  effort  of  Government  of  India  to  provide  a single  window  access  to  every  woman,  irrespective  of  her  work status,  whether  working  in  organised  or  unorganised,  private  or public  sector,  to  facilitate  the  registration  of  complaint  related  to sexual harassment.
- (c) Under  Maternity  Benefit  (Amendment)  Act,  2017,  Section  11(a)  of, stipulates that every establishment having fifty or more employees shall have the facility of creche.
- (d) To facilitate working mothers in giving due care and protection to their children, 'Palna' - a Centrally Sponsored Scheme was introduced w.e.f. 01 April 2022, for providing day care facilities and protection to children.
- (c) Does not arise.

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