WFH to hybrid model: Women workforce gets an inclusive push from India Inc

The workplace got upended by the Covid-19 pandemic in the last two years. But as the future of work gets redesigned with work-from-home (WFH) to hybrid and flexible work hours, companies are working to further diversity and inclusion with a focus on rolling out benefits for women.
 

According to Deloitte India’s annual talent study (includes approximately 450 organisations across seven sectors and 27 sub-sectors), participation by women in the corporate sector increased to 23 per cent in the last fiscal year (FY22) from 22 per cent in FY20.

Greater flexibility and initiatives from organisations during the pandemic may have helped companies retain women employees. “Women participation has remained somewhat stagnant. Post-pandemic we saw the threat of women participation going down; however, it appears that is not the case. There is a stronger drive in the last two years to increase participation of women and that may be responsible for their retention during the pandemic,” said Mohinish Sinha, partner and diversity, equity, and inclusion leader, Deloitte India.

Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also said that a flexible workplace can be utilised to increase women’s labour force participation.

Professional networking firm apna.co has recorded a 132 per cent increase in the number of women users last year on the platform with a majority of them looking for remote jobs. According to the platform, there has been a twofold increase in the number of women applying for remote jobs during the first eight months of 2022.

Manas Singh, chief business officer, apna.co, said: “The flexibility and convenience brought by remote working has the potential to inspire more professionals to join the workforce, accelerating the economic engine of the country.”

Ravindra G P, chief human resources officer at Tata Motors, said during an earlier interaction that the hybrid work model helped the firm draw more women, particularly those who had left their professions after having a second child.

“More often than not, the family chooses to support the husband’s career, leaving the woman to take care of the elderly and children. Hybrid models allow women the much needed flexibility,” he said.

Cigarettes-to-hotels major ITC has rolled out a number of steps to retain and attract female workforce.

“These measures include WFH options for employees with additional flexibility for expectant or young mothers, extended maternity leave, child care sabbatical, travel support for the female manager, caregiver during business travel, and transport and accommodation for women,” said Amitav Mukherji, head, corporate human resources, ITC.

ITC’s new factory — the integrated consumer goods manufacturing and logistics facility in Medak, Telengana — has a 100 per cent women workforce.

Typically, women participation in the manufacturing sector is much less compared to services. But ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India) has set a goal of achieving 25 per cent women representation in the next five years.

“We believe that gender equality enables us to think differently towards a sustainable future,” said Praveen Kuruvalli, head - people strategy and HR Centre of Excellence, AM/NS India. The steel producer will soon launch a second career programme for women to help return to the corporate world after a career break.

For Tata Steel, creating an inclusive workspace has been an ongoing process. Its maternity leave policy goes back to 1928. In the past few years, the company has taken initiatives like Women@Mines and Women of Mettle to increase female diversity. About 50 per cent of the current management trainee batch and 40 per cent of current trade apprentice batches are women.

Indian IT has been one of the biggest recruiters of women, accounting for about 36 per cent of the total base. In FY22 alone, about 200,000 women were hired. But the pandemic has further sensitised the sector, leading to a higher percentage of women in leadership roles.

Accenture, the world’s largest IT services player, was among the first companies to set a global goal of achieving a gender balanced workforce (50 per cent each for men and women), and increasing the number of women in leadership roles to 30 per cent by 2025.

The firm’s gender metrics read: 47 per cent of its India workforce and approximately 26 per cent of its leadership team in India comprise women.

“In India, initiatives such as High-Tech Women Edge and Quantum Impact programmes fast-track the careers of high-performing women technologists through training and mentorship, and programmes like CyberHER build skills amongst women in niche domains such as cybersecurity,” said an Accenture spokesperson.

Wipro has over 250,000 employees, with women forming 36.3 per cent of the workforce. Over the last few years, it has improved ethnic diversity in its senior leadership by 20 percentage points, and gender diversity in the leadership has nearly doubled.

The company has been focusing on getting women back to the workforce after a break. It has also created a framework for a unique life stage-based approach that recognises the needs and expectations of women at different points.

Mindtree is yet another firm, which launched a programme that enables women to return to the workforce. Professionals with at least two years of experience followed by at least two years of break are eligible. While the plan is open to all professionals, a majority of them are expected to be women.

To ensure a gender-equal workforce, Mindtree also encourages its professionals to refer women to the right talent, and provides 1.5 times the regular referral bonus for every successful woman professional who joins the firm.

Who’s doing what
 

ITC: WFH options with additional flexibility for expectant or young mothers, extended maternity leave, child care sabbatical

AM/NS India: To launch a second career programme for women; goal is to have 25% women representation in 5 years

Tata Steel: Initiatives like Women@Mines and Women of Mettle launched in past few years; one of the first to introduce menstrual leaves

Accenture: Built programmes like Career Reboot, Returning Mothers; High-Tech Women Edge and Quantum Impact programmes fast-track careers

Wipro: Focused on getting women back to the workforce after a break

Mindtree: Launched a returnship programme for women