'Gender equality crucial in raising GDP'

Gender equality is crucial in raising the GDP of a country, a top Uttar Pradesh Police officer said here on Monday.

"The need for gender balance is critical in raising a country's GDP. Safety, security and dignity of women are paramount for gender balance and growth," Director General of the Uttar Pradesh Police Mahila Samman Prakoshth Sutapa Sanyal said.

Sanyal was speaking at a workshop on "Women Safety at Workplace" held at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci).

"In a full potential scenario, roughly 26 per cent could be added to the global GDP," she said.

Sanyal urged employers to provide a work environment that helps women to realise their full potential and achieve gender balance.

The Ficci-Ernst & Young report -- "Reflections on the State of Women Safety at the Workplace in India" -- released by Sanyal, said that to tackle sexual harassment at the workplace, there was a need for invoking a strong commitment and create a mechanism to address different perspectives.

The report suggested ways for enhancing women safety, including deployment of technology, adopting a zero tolerance policy, dealing with cultural matters, engaging third-party service providers, instituting gender-sensitization trainings, mandating appropriate work practices and instituting safe working conditions.

"Greater number of women stepping out in the corporate world today has prompted organisations to build safer working establishments for women employees in India," said EY India Fraud Investigation and Dispute Services Executive Director Saguna Sodhi.

"While issues related to cases of sexual harassment at workplace are a major concern for corporates today, there exist many other factors that need to be accounted for to enable safer workplace for employees," Sodhi said.

--IANS

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