Cos plan special for young mothers, roll out HR initiatives

A majority of companies in India have introduced a clutch of initiatives like adoption leave and second-career programmes to attract and retain young mothers at workplace, says a study.
The study conducted by diversity advocate and workplace inclusion expert AVTAR Group and Working Mother Media, a gender-parity champion in the United States, said the women- oriented initiatives are helping young mothers rejoin the workforce.
The study said 18 companies introduced 6 months of fully paid maternity leave in 2015 and a significant 86 per cent of companies have rolled out paternity policies at workplace.
Second-career programmes stand out to be the most effective of all for helping young mothers in rejoining the workforce. Around 52 per cent companies allow an average of 6.3 months of phase-back, in addition to paid maternity leave, for young mothers rejoining after their maternity breaks.

Accenture, Cummins India and Deloitte India have been named among the top 10 best companies for women in India (in alphabetical order).
Others in the top 10 list include EY India, Hindustan Unilever, IBM India, ICICI Bank, Intel Technology India, Mindtree Technologies, Morgan Stanley and People Combine Educational Initiatives.

"Creating an inclusive environment that enables women to achieve both their personal and professional ambitions, reflects Accenture's core values and culture," said Rekha M Menon, Chairman and Managing Director, Accenture in India.
As per the study, 32 per cent of the workforce in the top 10 best companies for women in India are women and 37 per cent of all the managers in the top 10 companies are women.

"The 100 best companies for women in India have exemplary policies that can plug the women talent drain. These policies cushion the career paths for women professionals during key life events such as maternity and help in retention and growth of these women," said Saundarya Rajesh, founder-President, AVTAR Group.
Around 70 per cent of the 350 companies that were surveyed in India offer an average of 4.7 months paid leave for adoptive mothers and 15 per cent of companies in India sponsor their women employees for infertility treatments, reveals the study.
The study further stated that 60 per cent of companies rate remote work, flexi-time , partial work and partial pay as the most favoured flexible arrangements for working mothers.