The participation of women in the labour force has been a subject of concern and discussion ever since the Indian economy started turning industrial from the agrarian. The shift from family-based production to large-scale industrial production has unsettled the women folks and made them apprehensive of working as manual labourers in sectors they are not familiar with. Statistics suggest that women’s labour force participation in India is among the world’s lowest.
India is home to many unskilled (or rather untrained) women workers who are employed with low-paying household legal activities, and the likes of them form a major part of the total workforce. Also, a number of untrained women from the rural locales participate in self-employed trivial labour, such as being small traders in spot markets or roadside hubs; or get casually employed in a business establishment. Such employment avenues are usually excluded from work records and are not a part of the inclusive aspects of the policy.
The Need for Upskilling
The education system must adapt to the evolving labour market, says the National Academics of Sciences. Technology 4.0 has come up with cutting-edge solutions that offer dynamic ways to access education. Change is the only constant, and the technological skills of today are rapidly getting outdated – which is one of the main reasons for downsizing.
Untrained women are finding it increasingly hard to cope-up with the flurry of changes brought forth by this industrial revolution. Apart from theoretical courses and manuals, they don’t have a source of learning that trains them adequately to meet the burgeoning demands. This topic deals with technology’s potential in training unskilled labour women, which in turn could stimulate their economic empowerment.
How Women Participation Benefits Your Workplace
Women are the catalyst of growth as their contribution leads to socio-economic development, which in turn reduces poverty. A 2013 estimate by the Council of Economic Advisors suggests that the United States economy would have been $ 2 billion or 13.5% smaller without their contribution. Findings across the Globe suggest that women’s role in the economy betters the overall standard of living.
In the world of business, the integration of men and women bring in different skills, perspectives, and attitudes to the workplace. This, according to studies, improves the financial performance of a firm. It is worth noting that women spend about 80% of trivially paid but valued work hours on domestic chores, apart from childhood and elderly care. Women employed in such spaces could otherwise make a substantial contribution to both the family’s and the nation’s economy by doing meaningful industrial jobs, be in the labour or the employment sector – provided they get the requisite training that could stimulate their performance. The non-engagement of women results in the misallocation of resources, especially when they are asked to do low-productivity tasks at home instead of cashing in on their potential at the workplace.
While lack of education, or the lack of quality education, may act as a disadvantage for aspiring women, the era of online education is here to elevate their skill levels and take them on the growth path (we’ll see more of that).
While we are talking about this, should talented guys worry if feministic growth would dent their growth potential? The answer is in stark contrast to the question – the employment of women, experts say, could potentially increase the wages of men.
Role of AR/VR
It is highly essential for companies to render effective training to its new workforce, the likes of whom may be novices to the industry. Immersive and experiential learning modules are designed to tackle the deficits found in traditional training methods and provide more (much more) impactful training sessions. AR/VR applications are means that lead to faster learning, safety and risk mitigation, increased accessibility, cost-efficiency, experiential learning, real-time assessment, optimized logistics, and smart analytics for real-time tracking of learners, among other utilities.
The technology brings tremendous scope to the manufacturing and automotive sectors, more so for women who are susceptible to physical training. It is uncontested that experience is the key to unlock performances; AR/VR has been designed to provide realistic experiences without the risk factor. Besides the aspect of safety, it increases the level of engagement and convenience, which helps potential women to learn faster with higher retention rates; add to it the factor of affordability (in terms of the cost and time).
The manufacturing and automotive sectors aren’t conducive to workers who are untrained or undertrained. The immersive learning experience rendered here empowers the women to perform challenging and dangerous tasks through the provision of hands-on training in a risk-free (yet challenging) environment. For example, product training provides the workers with a visual, hands-on experience in front of the machines, which leads to improved assembly and maintenance.
Apart from its usefulness in the training of personnel, the technology helps in performing online training and performance assessments, which helps in the assessment of workers in terms of their preparedness and subsequent performance.
Conclusion
We have a soaring woman populous, with reservoirs of untapped potential. But how do we unlock this potential without upskilling? We are today witnessing a trend where women are beginning to occupy positions previously dominated by males, but the labour sector is yet to fully embrace them. VR/AR could provide women, and our society, with seeds of a much-needed transformation. Remember – A job today is a career tomorrow.