The theme for International Women’s Day, 8th March 2017, focuses on “Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030”. This advances the Government of India’s commitment to ensure Gender Parity in India, with special focus on women’s economic empowerment. India has taken bold steps towards creating new opportunities of job creation, entrepreneurship, skill building and access to new industries particularly ICT, through its national initiatives like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Skill India, Make In India and Digital India.

NITI Aayog’s 15 year Vision Document, which will replace the five-year plans in India, also proposes key reforms to encourage women’s workforce participation across sector in India. This is also in line with the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals being steered by NITI Aayog.

Achieving gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls, rests upon unlocking the full potential of women in the world of work. When economies are geared towards achieving women’s rights and gender equality, the benefits, such as fairer societies and greater economic growth, accrue to everyone.

In 2016, NITI Aayog, in partnership with the United Nations India and MyGov, launched the first-ever Women Transforming India, an online contest to crowd source stories of women making a difference, in form of essays. This year again, NITI Aayog is launching the Women Transforming India campaign to recognize powerful women of India’s workforce, who are influencing positive change in their communities and furthering the Government of India’s mission of inclusive economic growth.

Women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work implies not only empowering female entrepreneurs and business owners, but also recognizing women’s unpaid care, domestic work and the overwhelming majority of women in the informal economy.

This year, NITI Aayog, along with the UN in India and MyGov, launches the campaign to award inspiring women from across India through entries in two categories:

1. Short video and photo contest on Women Breaking Gender Stereotypes: This can be a homemade video shot on the mobile phone. Both photos and videos are to be accompanied with a short caption (not over 50 words) encapsulating the story of the woman.

2. Written entries of women in the workforce, across sectors, irrespective of their educational qualifications. We encourage stories of women working in non-traditional occupations and women who are working to empower other women, their neighborhoods/society in anyway. (Stories should not exceed 500 words.)

Participants are invited to upload entries directly on the MyGov platform.

The last date for submission of entries has been extended till 2nd June, 2017 till midnight.

Click here to read the Guidelines and Evaluation Criteria.