FICCI Ladies Organisation held a High Level Meeting, Mumbai

FICCI Ladies Organisation, held a High Level meeting on Tuesday at Mumbai with Ms. Mulyani Indrawati, World Bank Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer, who is on a three-day visit to India along with Ms. Indrawati was accompanied by Annette Dixon, Vice President South Asia Region and Mr. Onno Ruhl, India Country Director.

Ms. Archana Garodia Gupta, President FLO & Vinita Bimbhet, Senior Vice President led the FLO representation at the meeting. Ms. Sucheta Shah National Coordinator SWAYAM, Jyotsna Angara, National Coordinator WE in Transport and other senior FLO Leaders from all parts of the country participated in the meeting.

The discussions were related to various projects and initiatives being undertaken by FLO nationally to improve and empower lives of women and young girls. Entrepreneurial experiences, challenges faced and achievements by FLO Members’ were also discussed.
Ms. Indrawati said, “The World Bank sees growth in women empowerment as an impetus towards economic growth of a nation. The link between the fight against poverty and gender equality is strong, which is why we are working towards tackling gender-based barriers.”
“It is good that India is encouraging participation of women in the workforce and other areas. I'm very happy to know FLO is continuously working to create positive impact in the society by improving gender inclusion, entrepreneurship promotion, skill-development to provide better jobs, opportunities, livelihood and better quality life to disadvantaged women.”

Speaking on the occasion, President FLO Archana Garodia Gupta said, "With the keen interest that Ms. Mulyani Indrawati World Bank has shown in supporting women related issues, it will help us to work toward creating greater impact for women.

FLO has been economically empowering women, particularly women entrepreneurs for the last thirty years. However, we still face many challenges that slow down the growth. Support from organisations like World Bank is a step forward in the right direction”.

“This was the first meeting FLO has had with World Bank.

We will explore opportunities for collaboration to improve gender inclusion in general, greater Female Labour Force Participation for economic development, and policy support to women in business. With the impact of our initiatives, transformation in the lives of women has lifted many families out of poverty, but enormous challenges remain, said President Archana Garodia Gupta.”

Going forward FLO is looking towards a collaborative effort with the World Bank in identifying gender components in loans for economic development, access to resources and in identifying gender issues in the manufacturing, service and infrastructure sectors. Recommendations were also discussed for creating an enabling environment for women entrepreneurship promotion.