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28 May 2025, New Delhi: In an effort to support young women navigating the challenges of workforce-related migration, UNICEF YuWaah hosted a high-level roundtable today at the UNICEF Office in New Delhi. The discussion brought together key ecosystem partners to gather insights on migration support models that have been successful and co-develop scalable, gender-responsive models for migration support, aimed at enabling safer and more dignified transitions for young women entering urban employment.
Despite migration being a critical pathway for employment in India, women – especially those at the early stages of their careers, remain significantly underrepresented among migrants due to concerns around safety, financial insecurity, social norms, and the lack of transitional support services.
Recognizing this gap, UNICEF YuWaah, under its Digital Girls Hub initiative, plans to pilot a Migration Support Program designed to address these barriers. The program will test models that offer bundled, short-term support services that encourage more young women and their parents to feel safe and comfortable migrating for jobs
Setting the context, Giorgia Varisco, Chief of YuWaah said, “Young women are aspiring to engage in meaningful work. Yet, many of these opportunities are concentrated in urban areas. Migration, while potentially transformative, can also present many challenges, especially when undertaken without adequate support. Through the Digital Girls Hub initiative, UNICEF YuWaah will pilot a Migration Support Program, designed to strengthen existing efforts through collaboration and insights from our ecosystem partners.”
“Leaving the village and surviving in the urban workforce is very tough. We need to create enabling conditions for young women to join the workforce—through support at different stages of their journey, starting from the source state, with pre-migration support, to destination support. Employers must also ensure dignity and safety” said Arti Ahuja, Former Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India
At the discussion, L Sudhakara Reddy, Director (M&E), DDUGKY Resource Cell, National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR) said, “The solution to migration and retention isn’t with one player, it’s a shared responsibility between training partners, employers, and the state. Everyone has a role to play.”
The speakers collectively looked at ways to develop gender-responsive models that are informed by real-world evidence. They also explored measures that foster a secure, organized, and systematic migration process, with a particular focus on resolving the unique challenges faced by women migrants as they seek employment opportunities.
