NEW DELHI, 14 Feb: Women’s security is the first step towards national development and remains a top priority for the government, union Women and Child Development Minister Annpurna Devi said on Saturday, asserting that women are now at the centre of policymaking and governance.
Addressing a national conference on safety of women at workplaces, the minister said women’s participation in decision-making processes is steadily increasing and they are playing a growing role in strengthening families, institutions and the nation.
“Women’s security is a priority because it is the foundation of national development. Women today are at the centre of policy, and their participation in decision-making is rising,” the minister said.
She said India is undergoing unprecedented change, opening new avenues for women. The prime minister’s vision of women-led development has given new dimensions to the country’s growth model, with women increasingly driving social transformation.
“We have adopted a holistic approach to women’s empowerment, focusing on safety, opportunity, dignity and participation,” she said.
Highlighting workplace safety measures, Devi said the ministry of women and child development, as the nodal ministry for implementation of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, has worked to ensure organisations comply with the law.
She noted that the upgraded SHe-Box portal launched on 29 August, 2024, has strengthened institutional mechanisms to address workplace harassment complaints. Nearly 1.5 lakh government and private organisations have registered on the platform, indicating growing awareness and sensitisation towards women’s security.
She also said the gender budget has received its highest allocation so far and the government is expanding support systems, including working women’s hostels, to enable greater participation of women in workforce.
The ministry of women and child development organised the national conference on safety of women at the workplace at Vigyan Bhawan here, bringing together senior officials from central ministries, states and union territories, industry leaders, civil society representatives, international organisations and members of internal and local committees under the POSH Act.
The conference aimed to reaffirm the government’s commitment to creating safe, dignified and harassment-free workplaces across sectors and to strengthen implementation of the POSH Act, 2013.
Officials said the SHe-Box portal functions as a multilingual single-window platform for filing complaints, automatic forwarding to the committee concerned and real-time tracking, while also serving as a compliance and training resource hub for organisations.
The event included national and international roundtable talks on workplace safety, the release of compliance tools and awareness material, and a national pledge on workplace safety administered by the minister.
Around 1,500 participants from over 100 organisations attended the conference, which was also webcast for wider participation. (PTI)