<p>In the contemporary context, technical finesse is not enough. Employers look for qualities such as social aptitude, communication, team work and more—broadly termed as soft skills.</p>

In competitive markets, the concept of flexible and cheap labour is best articulated through home-based work. On one hand, it fits comfortably with social codes that assign women to the confines of the home; on the other, it is a profit-maximising venture.

Women’s empowerment, the often used concept in the contemporary discourse on development, needs revisiting. The empowering processes have to embrace men as well to address gender-biased structures, frameworks and rigid mind-sets for effective transformation.

Smart cities are viewed essentially in terms of infrastructural facilities and ‘e-amenities’ aimed at improved governance, capital and investment. Although the improvement in overall governance and quality of life is laudable, understanding residents’ attitudes and behaviour towards women is also crucial.

The position of women in north and south India is inherently linked to the terrain. Marriage rituals provide a clue to the demands made on the land articulated through, societal norms.

Careers options related to land use, planning and development are enormous. Although a science background may be required in most, there are several courses that do not demand such a background. CEPT University, Ahmedabad; and School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi are among those that accept students from a wide variety of backgrounds.

With new emerging areas in the field of rural development, there is immense scope for employment for trained professionals, whether in the government, corporate sector, research organisations, or non-government organisations/voluntary sector.

In addition, there are new private companies in the area of wind and solar energy development as well as environmental issues which are looking for people trained in climate science.

The 2011 provisional figure for the sex ratio in the age group 0-6 (CSR) is a mixed bag of hope and despair. While on one hand the tempo with which CSRs were becoming skewed in favour of boys over the last two decades has slowed down and the worst areas have shown some improvement, on the other, there is rapid spread of low CSRs to regions well beyond the traditional strongholds known for discriminatory practices towards girls. A combination of factors responsible for such spread demand contextualised short and long term interventions.