Women everywhere should be empowered in decision-making; says Lord Swraj Paul

Leading NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul on Saturday said that it is vital for women everywhere to be empowered to participate in decision making as they have been excluded for long from the power structure.

Speaking at the Women's Economic Forum here on Friday, Paul, who is the chairman of the Caparo Group, said that even if progress has been made towards empowerment of women, there still is a lot more to be done.

"It is vital that women everywhere are empowered to participate in decision-making. For so long, women have been largely excluded and the power structure and the glass ceilings have remained intact," he said.

"If this had changed earlier, the conditions we now have would surely be very different. In retrospect, how foolish it is to think that we could make decisions for everyone while excluding half of humanity. How long will it be before people everywhere realise that wisdom and talent are gender neutral," Paul said.

Paul said that in the recent years, much progress has been made but there is still far to go.

"At both the higher and less elevated levels of endeavour more doors must be opened, more inclusion must take place," he said.

Noting that we are now at an unusual moment in history, Paul said the norms and many of the values of the past are being questioned.

"We are in a very real sense, making a new world," he said.

"We tend to measure progress by the success of those at the top. How many women are prime ministers or presidents? How many women lead major corporations or big institutions? Of course, this is important that we must not forget that movement on basic needs is the foundation of progress," he added.