It’s gifting season at corporate houses, with the annual Diwali presents landing on staff desks. But those uniform pre-selected gifts by HR/admin no longer cut ice with employees who would rather prefer personalised gifts. And India Inc is taking cognisance. A new study by AdvantageClub.ai, an employee engagement platform, shows there has been a 75 per cent rise in digital gift preference among corporates in the last three years. The reasons include technology incorporation, changing demographics, and the need for flexibility in gift selection. With 72 per cent of workplaces using digital platforms for their employee rewards and recognition, it’s natural for them to use those platforms during festivals like Diwali.
On digital platforms, employees can exchange their vouchers for a huge selection of products and even experiences like scuba diving. According to a study by Technopak, the corporate gifting market in India, estimated at ₹12,000 crore, is expanding by over 200 per cent annually.
The missing 145 million women
A new report by Magic Bus India Foundation, an NGO that works in the skilling space, in collaboration with management consultancy Bain & Company outlines a roadmap to double India’s female labour force participation rate from 35-40 per cent to 70 per cent by 2047.
The report, titled ‘From Aspiration to Action: Building India’s 400 Million Women Workforce’, says India’s workforce is projected to add only 110 million women to its workforce by 2047, reaching an FLFPR of 45 per cent – that is 255 million women. To meet the gap of 145 million missing women who need to be integrated into the workforce, the report proposes a couple of livelihood models –the first a self-sustaining entrepreneurship model and the second a targeted skilling initiative that will lead to job readiness.
The report highlights that the challenges are distinct for rural and urban women. Approximately 70 per cent of the women out of the workforce by 2047 are expected to reside in rural areas, where limited job opportunities and unstable work environments reduce workforce participation. Meanwhile, urban women face challenges such as job-skill mismatches, and undervaluation of domestic work compared to market jobs.