Women’s representation in every section is essential not only for women empowerment but also for the progress of the country as a whole. And it looks like we may be heading in the right direction. Just yesterday we found out that Odisha has 70% women candidates heading the Zilla Parishads and now, Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has spoken up about airlines having more equality and women representation. While speaking at an event with the theme ‘Women In Aviation’ organised by an NGO, Scindia urged the airlines across the country to create a gender-neutral environment by increasing the share of female pilots in the country from 15% to 50%.
Speaking at the event, Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said that Airlines need to consider providing male employees with paternity leave in order to urge them to share equal responsibility in the upbringing of their children. Pointing out that only 15% pilots in India are women, the minister said that it is not okay. He went on to add that the reason behind this is that the stereotypes that have been broken and the performance pressure that people have faced in order to do just so little has been ‘extremely daunting’. He said that there is a dire need for a shift in the paradigm adding that at some point the 15% should reach 50%.
Speaking about maternity leave and creating a gender neutral environment, Jyotiraditya Scindia said that he believes that airlines are doing a great job at creating a ‘healthy workplace environment’ for women especially when it comes to creches and maternity leave but we all need to move forward and beyond just that. He pointed out that there is a need to create a gender neutral environment which puts equal responsibility on men and women when it comes to the family.
Talking about maternity leave he said that we need to consider paternity leave which urges men to take responsibility for bringing up the children at home. He added that the mental shift needs to take place and for that everyone needs to ‘recognise the differences and re-imagine the fundamentals of ethics at the workplace’. This comes in the backdrop of the Maternity Amendment Bill which was passed in 2017 increasing the right to paid maternity leave for working women from 12 weeks to 26 weeks. This applies to the aviation industry but there is no such leave given to men. “I really believe that equity is more important than equality. It is a very nuanced approach but I think the time has come to recognise it. It is not a fight for equality. It is a fight for equity,” said the Aviation Minister.
Also Read: 70 Per Cent Zilla Parishads In Odisha To Be Headed By Women. Cheers To More Women Representation In The Government!
Well, we totally agree with him and we’re so glad that someone is talking about these little things that can make a huge difference.