New Delhi, Sep 22 (IANS) An apex organisation of state-run enterprises Wednesday asked these firms to enhance women’s representation on their boards to promote gender equality.
Addressing a workshop here, Director General U.D. Choubey of the Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE) said there was merely around 16 per cent women employees in public sector enterprises (PSEs), mostly at senior and middle levels.
‘Their representation on the boards of PSEs, however, is negligible,’ he said, adding that ‘PSEs should adopt board approved policy for promoting gender equality in their organisations’.
Choubey recalled that the SCOPE had first drafted a policy for promoting gender equality in PSEs in 2000 with the advice to develop company-specific gender policy.
‘This is being reviewed in light of the changing international best practices and steady increase in number of professionally qualified women entering into PSEs,’ he said.
Participating in the workshop, Reiko Tsushima of the International Labour Organisation said that public sector enterprises have a key role and potential to demonstrate that equality leads to better performance.
