Awards and Recognitions pushing morals of Women Empowerment and Gender Equality
Despite advances in women’s rights, gender inequality remains a persistent challenge across India. Research shows that gender discrimination is mostly against women and in favour of men in many realms such as education, healthcare workplace, etc. Women’s empowerment has become a significant topic of discussion in the development and the economic sector nowadays.
One of the ways to address these issues of inequality, subordination, and marginalisation is through the empowerment of women which may be done through literacy, education, training and awareness creation. There have been improvements in some aspects of women empowerment in India, like literacy rates and the ratio of women to men at birth. The empowerment of women means promoting women’s sense of self-worth, their ability to determine their own choices, and their right to influence social change for themselves and others.
Several civil society organisations, government bodies & other institutions work to eliminate discrimination against women and girls, empower women in order to achieve gender equality as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action, and peace and security. To this end, there are several awards that have been instituted to promote and recognise the efforts of these organisations and individuals who have committed themselves to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment.
In a world where women are rarely recognised, here are the top 5 awards given in the field of empowerment of women and promotion of a gender-just society:
1. Nari Shakti Pusarkar – Nari Shakti Puraskar is an annual award given by the Ministry of Women and Child Development of the Government of India to individual women or institutions that work towards the cause of women’s empowerment. The President of India presents the awards on International Women’s Day, which
is celebrated on 8th March, at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. The awards were instituted in 1999 under the title of ‘Stree Shakti Puraskar’ and were renamed and reorganised in 2015.They are given in six institutional and two individual categories, which carry a certificate and cash prize of rupees two-lakh and one-lakh, respectively. In 2021, Savaniee Ravindra from Maharashtra received the award from the President.
2. Martha Farrell Award for Excellence in Women Empowerment and Gender Equality -The Martha Farrell Award for Excellence in Women’s Empowerment and Gender Equality was instituted to honour Dr Farrell and her ideals. Launched in October 2016, it is a first-of-its-kind initiative to discover, recognise and honour mid-career individuals and committed institutions, which have made valuable contributions in the areas of women’s empowerment, gender equality or feminism in everyday life.
The award comprises two main categories: Most Promising Individual and Best Organization for Gender Equality. A Special Jury Award in both categories was also instituted in the year 2019. The award consists of prize money of INR 1,50,000 for the main category awardees and INR 1,00,000 for Special Jury awards.
Recent winners of the award (2021) include Deepa Pawar from Mumbai, Shaheen Women’s Resource and Welfare Association from Hyderabad, Suman Devathiya from Rajasthan, and Sappho for Equality from Kolkata.
3. Women’s Empowerment Principles Awards: The Asia-Pacific WEPs Awards is organised by UN Women’s WeEmpowerAsia programme funded by and in partnership with the European Union, which seeks to enhance gender-inclusive business cultures and promote women’s economic empowerment in the Asia-Pacific region and Europe.
Established by UN Global Compact and UN Women, the WEPs are informed by international labour and human rights standards and grounded in the recognition that businesses have a stake in, and responsibility for, gender equality and women’s empowerment.WEPs Awards recognise initiatives in 5 Main Categories. The award supports equal pay for work of equal value, gender-responsive supply chain practices, and zero-tolerance against sexual harassment in the workplace.
Recipients of the 2021 WEPS awards are Divya Hegde, Pallavi Sherring, NatWaste Group, and others.
4. International Inspiration Women Awards – International Inspirational Women Awards is an initiative by the GISR Foundation that recognises and acknowledges the invincible potential of women change-makers.
IIWA promotes the commitment, courage, and confidence of exceptional women across dimensions and geographical boundaries. It aims to inspire female achievers in the present and into the future. The award comes with a certificate and no cash prize.
GISR Foundation is a non-government, not-for-profit organisation registered under the Central Government’s Ministry of Corporate Affairs, playing a proactive role in India’s development process by providing education to underprivileged Girl Children.
Mrs Anooja Bashir, Spriha Biswas, Dr Supraja are among those who got awarded with International Inspiration Women Awards in 2021.
5. BCIC Women Empowerment and Leadership Award – This award recognises successful women leaders who are scripting the future. The Women Empowerment and Leadership Award is organised by the Bangalore Chamber of Industry and commerce.
It celebrates the women leaders who have excelled in corporates, entrepreneurship, and academia. The award is given in 2 categories; Corporates & Individuals and 6 sub-categories.
Dr Lakshmi Jagannathan wins BCIC Outstanding Women Leadership Award in 2021.
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