2020 Winner: Changemaker Social Transformation – Shanti Raghavan Developing a ‘purple economy’ for disability inclusion

Source: The post is based on the article “2020 Winner: Changemaker Social Transformation – Shanti Raghavan Developing a ‘purple economy’ for disability inclusion ” published in “Hindu Businessline” on 26th October 2023

Why in the News?

Shanti Raghavan is the recipient of the Business Line Changemakers Award in 2020.

She leads an organization called EnAble India.It is working on creating a purple economy.

What is the Purple Economy?

Purple Economy obtains its name from the color adopted by many feminist movements. 

It represents a new vision of economics that recognizes the importance of care work, empowerment and autonomy of women.

Pillars: There are four pillars of the purple economy:

1. Universal Care Services: To address gender and class disparities, ensure that professional care services are accessible to all households, either through publicly funded or state-subsidized private services.

2. Work-Life Balance in the Job Market: Implement measures for a fairer distribution of care responsibilities between genders, like parental leave and reduced work hours.

3. Alleviate Rural Unpaid Work: Reduce the extra caregiving burden on women and girls in rural areas by improving infrastructure to save time spent on tasks like fetching water, farming and cooking.

4. New Economic Policies: Support these measures with macroeconomic policies that generate jobs, allocate resources for care services, invest in rural infrastructure and ensure effective regulations to make these changes a reality.

UPSC Syllabus Topic: Economy