Women artisans take centre stage in diamond, jewellery industry

Surat: In a step towards expanding women’s participation in the gem and jewellery industry, Surat has emerged as a pioneer in training women artisans in diamond polishing and jewellery manufacturing on a large scale.

The initiative was driven by growing demand from the industry, which has sought to create opportunities for 650 women artisans. Responding to the requirement, the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) launched Unnati, a dedicated training programme aimed at equipping women with specialised skills and creating sustainable employment opportunities.

So far, around 200 women have registered for the programme. Encouraged by the response in Surat, GJEPC plans to replicate the initiative in other cities across the country.

Jewellery manufacturers in Surat had begun experimenting with the employment of women after providing them with specialised training. Following encouraging results from the initial batches, manufacturers gradually expanded their recruitment of women artisans.

We trained and employed women with the expectation of achieving better results a couple of years ago and the results were encouraging. This motivated us to continue the initiative. Now, GJEPC is taking it to the national level,” said Amit Korat, president of the Surat Jewellery Manufacturers Association (SJMA).