IMPACT OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ON WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT: A CASE STUDY OF A FLAGSHIP TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAM BY TECH MAHINDRA FOUNDATION AND SIES INSTITUTE OF COMPREHENSIVE EDUCATION

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is one of the important responsibilities of any business establishment to go beyond statutory compliances and focus on contributing to a better society through its multi-various activities. Gender equality and empowering women and girls is one of the crucial steps towards achieving Goal 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals. Women empowerment can thus be achieved through education and providing suitable employment opportunities. Achievement of this goal will lead to the development of a progressive nation which would further lead to global peace and evolution of a sustainable world. Two areas that are specified in the Companies Act, 2013 which provides the guidelines to CSR activities in India are that of Education and Skill development. The present paper examines how these two components of Education and Skill Development have contributed towards providing professional training to take up careers related to Early Childhood Education and Development. This professional program categorised as Skills for Market Training (SMART) offered under the CSR of Tech Mahindra Foundation in partnership with SIES Institute of Comprehensive Education is a flagship program aimed at empowering girls and women between the age groups of 18-35 years from the lower economic group to take employment in early childhood settings. The paper outlines the pedagogical practices adopted by the Institute to train 82 students who were enrolled for this program along with multiple narratives of impact on their employment and empowerment. The paper also analyses the need for CSR intervention in Women’s education and empowerment along with an overview of the efficacy of training and development of the related skill sets.