Twentieth International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations

Abstract

“Skill India” initiative is meant to make the youth of the country who constitute 35% of the population, self- dependent. Through comparative and ethnographic lenses, Annapurna Pandey and Smita Panda discuss economic nationalism as expressed in the “Make in India” campaign promoted by Prime Minister Modi and as experienced by young men and women from rural areas in Odisha, India, who are training as coffee baristas, commercial sewing operators among others in a public-private university/industry training program. It has helped young women to move from rural and tribal areas to access employment in unorganized sector in the cities where more than 90% of the workforce is located. This ethnographic research analyses how young women workers from Odisha face numerous challenges as skilled workers in the service industry. Due to lack of an ecosystem approach in designing policies and interventions for the skill programs and associated placements, the rate of attrition is high among the women workers. With a critique of Economic Nationalism, this study proposes implementable and sustainable strategies for career pathways for young rural and tribal women workers migrating to faraway cities for work. We present photo interviews and video clips of focus group discussions on the lived experience of migrant women service industry workers in the Indian economy.