‘Participation of women in workforce is a constitutional entitlement’: Supreme Court

New Delhi: Observing that the participation of women in the workforce is not a matter of privilege, but a constitutional entitlement, the Supreme Court has ordered the Himachal Pradesh Government to form a committee chaired by the Chief Secretary to reconsider the entire aspect of the grant of Child Care Leave to working mothers.

A Bench presided over by Chief Justice of India (CJI), DY Chandrachud, was hearing a Special Leave Petition filed by a woman assistant professor aggrieved with the non-adoption of Child Care Leave in Himachal Pradesh.

The appellant submitted that due to the treatment of her son, who suffers from a rare genetic disorder and has undergone several surgeries since birth, she has exhausted all her sanctioned leave.

Saying that the petition raises a “serious matter of concern”, the Bench, also comprising Justice JB Pardiwala said, “The State as a model employer cannot be oblivious to the special concerns which arise in the case of women who are part of the workforce. The provision of Child Care Leave to women sub-serves the significant constitutional object of ensuring that women are not deprived of their due participation as members of the workforce. Otherwise, in the absence of a provision for the grant of Child Care Leave, a mother may well be constrained to leave the workforce.”

The top court said that the policies of the State have to be consistent and must be synchronised with constitutional protections and safeguards, observing that the participation of women in the workforce is not a matter of privilege, but a constitutional entitlement protected by Articles 14, 15, Article 19(1)(g) and 21 of the Constitution. (IANS)

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