“India’s growth will be defined not only by scale but by how inclusively we empower our people.” — Jayant Chaudhary, Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Education, at the SSPU Chair launch
On 24 April 2026, India established Asia’s first UNESCO Chair on Gender Inclusion and Skill Development at Symbiosis Skills and Professional University (SSPU) in Pune, Maharashtra. The Chair was inaugurated by Jayant Chaudhary, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, during an international conference titled “Women Leading the Future of Work”, organised jointly by SSPU and UNESCO.
The initiative marks India’s first hosting of a UNESCO Chair under the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme dedicated to gender-inclusive Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) — and the first of its kind anywhere in Asia. It directly addresses one of India’s most persistent workforce challenges: only 18.6% of women aged 18–59 have received vocational training, compared to 36.1% of men.
📜 About the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme
A UNESCO Chair is a team based at a higher education or research institution that formally partners with UNESCO to advance knowledge and practice in an area aligned with UNESCO’s mandate. Chairs are established for an initial period of four years through a signed agreement between UNESCO and the host institution.
The UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme — where UNITWIN stands for University Twinning and Networking — was launched in 1992 to promote international inter-university cooperation. Key facts about the programme:
- Approximately 1,100 Chairs and 50 networks across more than 130 countries
- Over 10,000 individuals involved globally
- Covers all UNESCO mandates: education, science, culture, and communication
- More than half of all Chairs are hosted in Europe and North America — making SSPU’s designation in Asia structurally significant
UNESCO Chairs are not honorary titles. They represent institutional commitments to conduct research, develop curricula, build partnerships, and influence policy within a defined thematic area.
Think of a UNESCO Chair like a “global research franchise.” UNESCO — the UN’s education and science body — allows certain universities worldwide to officially carry its brand for specific research missions. SSPU Pune has now earned the franchise for gender inclusion in skills training — and it’s the first in all of Asia to get it for this topic.
👩🏫 About Symbiosis Skills and Professional University (SSPU)
SSPU was established in 2017 under Maharashtra’s first skill development university legislation, enacted by the state legislature on 3 May 2017. It is located at Kiwale, Pune, Maharashtra, set up by the Symbiosis Open Education Society — part of the broader Symbiosis group founded in 1971 by Dr. Shantaram Balwant Mujumdar, a recipient of both the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan.
Key highlights of SSPU:
- Ranked #1 among Skill Universities in India under NIRF 2025
- Recognised by UGC, AICTE, AIU, COA, and ASCI
- Follows a 70% practical, 30% theory learning model
- Specialises in automobile engineering, mechatronics, AI, construction, retail, and smart energy
- Nearly 10,000 girls have already received training in emerging technologies under SSPU-linked programmes
SSPU Fast Facts for MCQs: Established 2017 | Pune, Maharashtra | NIRF 2025: #1 Skill University | 70:30 practical-to-theory model | Founded under Symbiosis group (Dr. S.B. Mujumdar, Padma Shri + Padma Bhushan)
✨ Structure and Key Features of the UNESCO Chair
The UNESCO Chair on Gender Inclusion and Skill Development functions as a multi-dimensional platform spanning research, curriculum development, policy advocacy, and international collaboration. Its operational scope covers:
- Sectoral Focus: Training women in sunrise industries — semiconductors, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, robotics, defence technology, and global capability centres
- Curriculum Innovation: Faculty exchange programmes with international partners; gender-sensitive TVET curriculum design
- Research Agenda: Evidence-based study of gender gaps in vocational training
- Policy Development: Supporting national-level gender-inclusive skills policy
- Industry Partnerships: SSPU formalised tie-ups with Jabil and Larsen & Toubro at the launch
- Kushal Saathi Programme: A new mentorship initiative to guide girls in STEM fields
- Industry Champions Network: More than 40 industry champions and policymakers to align curricula with verified industry demand
The launch event was attended by over 300 delegates and released a comprehensive research compendium on the gendered dimensions of skilling in India.
The Chair’s focus on semiconductors, defence technology, and global capability centres — sectors with acute talent shortages — is strategically timed. India is positioning itself as a global manufacturing and tech hub. If women can access these high-value sectors through targeted skilling, it could simultaneously address gender inequality and industrial competitiveness. Is skills-based inclusion the most effective lever for women’s economic empowerment in India?
🌍 Global Partners and International Dimension
The launch conference brought together a wide range of international bodies, underlining the Chair’s global ambitions:
- Gabriel Bordado — International Labour Organization (ILO)
- Soledad Patiño — UNESCO Global Skills Academy, Paris
- Priscilla Wanjiku Gatonye — UNESCO-UNEVOC, Bonn, Germany
- Mary Overington — Trade and Investment Commissioner for South Asia, Australia
- Monica Nagelgaard — Consul General of Norway (signals potential bilateral cooperation)
UNESCO-UNEVOC (International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training), headquartered in Bonn, Germany, is UNESCO’s lead body for TVET globally. Its participation creates a direct institutional link between India’s national skilling agenda and UNESCO’s global TVET network — potentially enabling India-led research to be disseminated to other developing countries.
| Organisation | Role | HQ |
|---|---|---|
| UNESCO-UNEVOC | Lead UNESCO body for TVET globally | Bonn, Germany |
| UNESCO Global Skills Academy | Skills policy and programme design | Paris, France |
| ILO | Labour standards and workforce research | Geneva, Switzerland |
| SSPU (Host) | Chair host; #1 Skill University, India | Pune, Maharashtra, India |
🌑 India’s Gender Gap in Vocational Training
The gap in vocational participation between men and women in India is stark and persistent:
- 36.1% of men vs only 18.6% of women (aged 18–59) had received vocational training as of 2022–23 — and the gap has been widening
- In 2021, just 7% of skill trainees under formal programmes were women
- India has approximately 15,000 ITIs with 30% seats reserved for women — yet uptake remains low
- Programmes like DDU-GKY reserve 33% of seats for women
- Structural barriers include domestic responsibilities, social norms, poor transport connectivity, and inadequate safety infrastructure
Female Labour Force Participation Rate (FLFPR) in India has shown some improvement — rising from 23.3% in 2017–18 to 32.8% in 2021–22 (PLFS data). However, women remain heavily concentrated in informal, low-wage work. Research consistently shows that vocational training is positively correlated with higher likelihood of formal employment among women.
Don’t confuse FLFPR figures: The FLFPR rose from 23.3% (2017–18) to 32.8% (2021–22) — this is for women aged 15 years and above, from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS). Exams may ask about the source (PLFS), the age bracket (15+), or the specific years. The vocational training gap figure (18.6% women vs 36.1% men) is from 2022–23 data, not the same survey year.
⚖️ Policy Context: Skill India, NEP 2020, and Inclusive Growth
The UNESCO Chair aligns with several national policy frameworks:
- Skill India Mission (2015): Targeted skilling 400 million people by 2022; recalibrated toward quality and placement outcomes
- National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020): Calls for vocational education integration from Class 6 onwards and gender-sensitive education design
- PM Vishwakarma Yojana: Includes provisions for female participation in traditional skill training
- Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY): India’s flagship short-term skills certification programme, with female participation components
- DDU-GKY (Deen Dayal Upadhyaya-Grameen Kaushalya Yojana): 33% seat reservation for women in rural skilling
The Chair’s dual ministerial support — from both the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and the Ministry of Education — signals intent to integrate gender-inclusive skilling across both the formal education system and the standalone skills ecosystem, rather than treating them as separate silos.
The SSPU UNESCO Chair raises a fundamental question for India’s human capital strategy: Can targeted institutional interventions — like a UNESCO Chair — meaningfully change structural barriers to women’s workforce participation, or do deeper social and economic reforms need to happen first? Consider the interplay between education, safety, social norms, and economic incentives in shaping female labour force participation in India.
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The UNESCO Chair on Gender Inclusion and Skill Development was established at SSPU, Pune on 24 April 2026 — Asia’s first such Chair under the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs Programme.
UNITWIN stands for University Twinning and Networking. The programme was launched in 1992 and includes approximately 1,100 Chairs across 130+ countries.
UNESCO-UNEVOC — UNESCO’s specialised body for Technical and Vocational Education and Training — is headquartered in Bonn, Germany.
As of 2022–23, only 18.6% of women aged 18–59 had received vocational training compared to 36.1% of men — a gap that has been widening. (7% refers to the share of women among all formal skill trainees in 2021.)
India’s FLFPR rose from 23.3% in 2017–18 to 32.8% in 2021–22, as per the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), for women aged 15 years and above. (23.3% was the 2017–18 figure.)
