Davos/New Delhi:
One of the key themes of the World Economic Forum (WEF), year after year, is the theme of inclusion. When the world talks about inclusion, diversity is crucial, but so is the role of women. Former Union Minister Smriti Irani spoke to NDTV in Davos on a wide range of issues related to women.
One of the key points that Ms. Irani, a leader who has done more for social inclusion and women’s rights than any other leader in India in recent years, told NDTV is that it is important to look at productivity from a health point of view. perspective, rather than just looking at it from a skills point of view.
She is the head of the Alliance for Global Good-Gender Equity and Equality (AGG-GEE), which was launched in Davos in 2024.
On India’s demographic dividend and the potential it offers in relation to the role of women, Ms Irani told NDTV that Indians have generally focused on what is happening in the country for too long, but the focus must now shift to Indians taking charge. the global story.
“I believe the time has come when we need to shift the narrative to Indians leading the global narrative on issues like inclusivity, climate change and health innovations for global well-being. Often people limit us only to our geography, believing that we may be only experts in Indian demography,” the former Union minister said. ‘So the lounge you see here [at Davos] is not a lounge dedicated solely to the cause of inclusion, or to the energy of inclusion limited to India. We say we did this in India for the world.”
Ms Irani said India is taking its lessons to internationally renowned institutions such as the World Bank and the United Nations; working with organizations such as the World Health Organization; looking at budgets of policy makers, global innovators and captains of industry on how much investment can come to women-owned businesses and companies focused on health innovations and products for women, and how these products can be made affordable.
To a question about data showing that women own a third of the world’s wealth and are likely to control 50 percent of the world’s wealth in the next five years, Irani said the consumption capacity of women around the world currently stands at $20 trillion.
“That’s something we never talk about. When the inclusivity agenda, especially when it comes to women, is talked about, it is more philanthropic in nature. It has more to do with violence, domestic or for that matter, external. My belief and my experience with the gender agenda is that the more you increase a woman’s capital capacity, the safer the environment you give her, both at home and at work,” Irani told NDTV. “You can’t just talk about philanthropy, be emphatic in your rhetoric and don’t put the money where your mouth is.”
Impact of AI on women at work
In Davos, where the conversation focused mainly on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, Ms. Irani said that if jobs are automated, 70 percent of the jobs that will disappear will be jobs done by women, because most jobs from are female professionals. are at entry level.
“What happens to the large workforce that we have so far encouraged to become part of the global reality? How do they become displaced? What are the strategies of policy makers and of companies with regard to such human potential and assets? The other part is that if you look around Davos, the conversation this year is about the next level of AI engagement,” Ms Irani said, adding that so far many Indians and global citizens have looked at AI from a generative AI perspective, which means you have a prompt to a AI service and tells what to do preliminary version.
“It [AI service] can give you clues about music or art, but it doesn’t help you manifest, say, a workflow. What happens when you have AI agents, which is going to be the buzzword for 2025, which is a composite methodology of AI? Many people assume that AI is the new buzzword. AI has been around since the 1950s. Now, AI agents will actually lead to further movement of talent,” Irani said.
“Are we ready? Because in low-income economies around the world, internet reach is only 20 percent, maximum 30 percent. These are all issues that need a conversation because displaced people mean jobs in terms of potential, which are reduced, and the loss of jobs impacts economies and society as a whole,” she said. “It will no longer just be a women’s problem. It will be a problem for the world economies, especially those that are developing and have not yet reached that standard of per capita income, which is something to celebrate.”
Viewing productivity from a health perspective
The former Union minister has been speaking on the issue of women’s health for years. Citing data showing that every dollar invested in maternal health care yields a return of $30 due to improved productivity and reduced mortality, Irani said global economies will lose trillions of dollars if they do not look at health innovations that boost productivity of women to help preserve.
“And these numbers are actually alarming because we have never looked at the issue of productivity from a health perspective. Most people, when they get into a discussion about productivity, only look at the skills. is weakened by a lack of affordable healthcare innovation? That is a conversation that has yet to begin,” she said.
“So my effort will be to also keep a very, very clear focus on these aspects of productivity, to ensure that more capital is put into health innovation, especially for women,” Irani said.