New Delhi, Jan 10 : External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar on Friday chaired the fourth plenary session of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Odisha, titled 'Diaspora Divas: Celebrating Women's Leadership and Influence - Nari Shakti', and remarked that progress is superficial until the human side is addressed. He said gender equality and women's development are integral to India's foreign policy and international relations.

The session celebrated the achievements of women leaders globally while addressing the systemic challenges that hinder progress.

In his address, EAM Jaishankar said, "Some of you might be wondering why I am on this panel. I want to emphasise that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, many issues related to gender equality and women's development have become integral to our international activities and foreign policy. Notably, during India's G20 presidency, we strongly advocated for the concept of women-led development and successfully incorporated it into the G20 conceptual framework. We also advanced this idea significantly during the Summit of the Future."

He reflected on the deep-rooted issues in society that impact development, particularly for women. He emphasised that societal change goes beyond addressing visible and simple challenges.

'We are addressing not challenges which are obvious and simple but things which are very deeply ingrained in society and therefore that much harder really to overcome,' said Jaishankar.

The Minister underlined how discrimination often begins at the family level, starting from birth, and is reflected in access to resources like nutrition, health, and education. 'It starts at birth, you know, nutrition, health, education. Basically, it becomes an issue of who has, in a way, a claim on the resources of the family, and that is where actually the deepest discrimination is practised,' he noted.

He further elaborated that this ingrained bias extends beyond the household, influencing workplace dynamics and opportunities for women. 'And then, of course, it spills over into the workplace, into opportunities, and, you know, all of you would know it far better than I would ever do,' he added.

Linking these issues to India's broader vision of becoming a Viksit Bharat, the EAM explained that traditional metrics such as GDP growth, infrastructure development, and urban expansion are insufficient without addressing the human aspect of progress.

'When we think of progress, of modernity, of a march towards Viksit Bharat, one metric of measuring it is GDP, how many roads have you built? How many metros? How many cities? How many airports? Yes, that is certainly a way of measurement, but that is superficial until we address the human side of that progress,' Jaishankar asserted.

He highlighted the importance of fostering change through role models and inspirational figures to overcome these systemic challenges. 'To my mind, today, these are really some of the powerful changes which are happening in India. But like any change, as I said, they require role models, they require inspirations, they require the bus,' he concluded.

The session reiterated the pivotal role of women leaders in shaping India's progress and called for collective efforts to ensure equitable opportunities for all.

/IANS