- On Tuesday, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was presented with the Women Economic Empowerment (WEE) Index
- The Udayati Foundation and the Planning Department worked together to prepare the report
- It seeks to evaluate the ways in which Uttar Pradeshi women are benefited by government initiatives
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was given the Women Economic Empowerment (WEE) Index on Tuesday—a crucial report co-created by the Planning Department and the Udayati Foundation. Intended to analyze the effectiveness of government schemes on women, the index seeks to enable gender-sensitive and evidence-driven policymaking across Uttar Pradesh. Terming it as a "historic step," the Chief Minister declared that the move would increase the dignity and independence of women across the state.
The WEE Index, applicable to all 75 districts, measures progress in five core areas: entrepreneurship, employment, education and skill development, livelihood, and safety and transport infrastructure. It identifies the high-performing districts as well as those that need focused efforts to enhance outcomes for women.
CM Yogi instructed officials to make the WEE Index a part of the Chief Minister's Control Room for real-time monitoring. He asked all the departments to adopt the index as a vital decision-making and outcome-monitoring tool and develop district-level plans that localize state programmes so that women can be served better.
Districts of Lucknow, Kanpur, and Varanasi were noted to perform well, whereas others like Shravasti, Sambhal, Mahoba, Balrampur, and Siddharth Nagar were noted to need urgent attention. Special drives under the ODOP Margin Money Scheme in some lagging districts were ordered by the CM to enhance inclusion of women.
To further enhance the number of women in the workforce and political representation, CM Yogi directed recruitment for teachers and home guards to be given priority to women, as is being followed in police recruitment. He also urged greater admission of women in technical institutes, vocational training, and setting up 'Re-enrolment Units' in each district so that women can re-enrol in abandoned courses.
