India's top court to provide daycare facilities, after years of requests, 12 April, 2018

India’s Supreme Court will set-up a daycare centre for its staff, which advocates said will increase the number of women in the workforce by setting an example for others to follow.

Female participation in India’s workforce has been declining in recent years, according…UN Women. Only 22 percent of women work in the formal economy, well below the global average of 47 percent…

India more than doubled maternity leave last year and required organizations with more than 50 employees to provide crèches…

Sexual harassment and a lack of maternity leave and day care centres are among reasons cited for the high attrition rate amongst women lawyers in India.

Only about 10 percent of lawyers are women, and only 3 percent are senior advocates in the Supreme Court...In its 68 years of existence, the Supreme Court has only elevated one woman from the bar to the bench…

In 2012, more than 100 Supreme Court advocates launched a signature campaign demanding a daycare facility…

The unsatisfactory response prompted…to file a petition in 2015 demanding a proper facility with trained staff.

…[T]he court’s decision to provide a crèche [is] “a stunning success”…courts throughout the country should follow suit.