The social sector has become a thriving one in recent years and it is poised to become even bigger in the coming years. Be it healthcare, education, women empowerment, sanitation, hygiene, livelihood generation, or any other field, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become an integral part of the corporate setup, not just in terms of the money spent, but also in terms of the impact the CSR initiatives can create at the grassroots levels.
As far as employment opportunities are concerned, these have increased manifold in the social sector past few years. CSR heads have always been there as a part of the setup, but corporates are hiring large teams to plan, execute, and oversee various CSR projects. This is mainly because of strict compliances and regulations corporates are required to meet for CSR projects. Besides executing the projects, their impact assessment has to be undertaken, which requires a skilled and trained workforce. Corporates are also increasingly realising that the real success of CSR projects is not in how much money has been spent, but in the change they have led to, and this is where the specialised task of impact assessment comes into the picture.
In addition to corporates, there are many agencies, comprising a small team of people who specialise in impact assessment, who have started offering their consultancy services to corporates. For those seeking to build a career in the social sector, working with corporates is one option, and other is to get associated with such agencies. New employment opportunities are coming up in both these fields.
There is also a tremendous scope and opportunity for those who like to be their own boss. I have come across many professionals who are seeking opportunities in the social sector to broaden their horizons and get a different kind of exposure and experience. This is either in the form of setting up their own impact assessment agency or consultancy and helping corporates and others in identifying and evaluating CSR projects. Not all of them want to devote their entire lives to the social sector, but there is certainly a renewed interest and opportunity.
As far as Gender inclusivity is concerned, social sector would be among the leading sectors if not the leading sector. I personally believe that women are more empowered in the social sector. One reason for this is that many activities and projects that are a part of the social sector are aimed at women and children. When you have organisations working for the cause of women, it is natural that they will also prefer to have more women employees on board. This makes the work slightly less challenging than it would be for men.
In my several years of being associated closely with various social sector projects and in the three years that I have been running Madhuram Charitable Trust, I have not come across any instances of gender discrimination. I won’t say that gender discrimination does not exist in social sector, but its prevalence would be very low. In fact, I think that the social sector is the place to be for women because it is not only empowering for them but also provides an opportunity to empower other women.
The author is the Founder Trustee of Madhuram Charitable Trust, which is dedicated to creating a positive impact in the lives of the specially-gifted and physically challenged persons
The authored article is written by Shraddha Soparkar and shared with Prittle Prattle News exclusively.
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