Empowering Women for a Resilient Future
The U.S.-India Alliance for Women’s Economic Empowerment, with key partners, aims to enhance women's roles in the workforce, education, and entrepreneurship, fostering optimism for India's future.
The United States views women’s economic empowerment as a crucial strategy for strengthening communities, promoting peace and stability, and building resilient economies. The U.S. Department of State has announced the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) and the Gupta-Klinsky India Institute to further this goal. Johns Hopkins University (GKII-JHU) and the American India Foundation (AIF) are the new anchor partners of the U.S.-India Alliance for Women’s Economic Empowerment. Established in 2019, this alliance aims to enhance women's employment opportunities, access to education, and entrepreneurship in India.
The comprehensive initiatives facilitate cooperation among companies, academic institutions, and non-profit organizations. Each partner will spearhead a specific focus area for the Alliance, leveraging their extensive experience in promoting women’s inclusion. USIBC focuses on advancing women in India’s corporate workforce. GKII-JHU will lead efforts to empower women and girls in STEM. AIF drives initiatives to accelerate women’s entrepreneurship.
The alliance welcomes Boeing India, ReNew (NASDAQ: ReNew), and Mahindra & Mahindra (NSE: M&M) as new members. These industry leaders have a strong track record of advocating for women’s economic progress. They have significantly invested in integrating more women into their workforces and talent pools. With over a quarter of its 6,000+ female employees, Boeing India collaborates on initiatives such as Establishing 150 STEM Labs for girls. Providing aspiring pilots scholarships, flight training, and aviation career development programs. ReNew, with 40 percent female representation on their board and nearly 14 percent in their workforce, is significantly higher than India’s industry average. They will work with the Alliance to scale its program of re-skilling women salt pan workers as solar technicians.
Mahindra & Mahindra has committed to supporting one million women with skills and livelihood opportunities, having already impacted 765,107 women through its pan-India collaborative initiatives. The company collaborates with the Alliance to expand this initiative with other companies, demonstrating its dedication to women’s economic advancement.
US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, noted the importance of these collaborations, stating that these leading companies have made foundational investments and successfully integrated more women into their industries’ talent pools. Their commitment and contributions are essential to unlocking women's potential as a driving force in India’s economy.
Through these powerful partnerships, the U.S.-India Alliance for Women’s Economic Empowerment is poised to achieve remarkable milestones. Together, USIBC, GKII-JHU, AIF, Boeing India, ReNew, and Mahindra & Mahindra will enhance women's contribution to the workforce. This collaboration will improve education and entrepreneurship opportunities, instilling hope and optimism for a brighter future of women's economic empowerment in India.
