Under the new policy, women can prioritise their children’s financial security by naming them as beneficiaries through a simple written request. This empowers them to navigate complexities like marital discord, legal battles, and personal preferences while shaping their family’s legacy.

The policy ensures children’s financial independence regardless of marital circumstances. If a woman has no eligible children, the pension goes directly to her named beneficiary, bypassing the spouse. Widowers are not neglected; they remain entitled to the pension if there are no eligible children, acting as guardians and receiving the funds for minor or disabled children until they come of age.

This policy shift extends beyond individual families. By granting women control over their family’s financial future, the government encourages them to pursue careers with greater confidence, knowing their children will be secure. This promotes gender equality within the government sector and sends a powerful message to society, acknowledging modern realities and celebrating women’s right to choose.

But the benefits extend beyond women and their families. Subscribers to the National Pension System (NPS) can now receive family pension within six months of lodging an FIR, significantly faster than the previous seven-year wait.

Even if a missing employee is confirmed deceased before the seven-year period, their family receives an enhanced pension of 50 per cent of their last pay for the first ten years, followed by 30 per cent thereafter.

This landmark move is part of a broader effort to create a more inclusive and supportive environment for working women and families. Increased representation in government jobs, flexible work arrangements, and a focus on work-life balance are all part of this larger endeavour towards genuine equality.

The government’s decision to grant women control over their family pensions and expedite support for families of missing employees is not just a policy change; it’s a statement. It’s a statement of trust in women’s judgment, a celebration of their autonomy, and a commitment to building a future where gender equality and family support are lived realities. This marks a watershed moment on the road to a more just and equitable future for all.

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Ananta Quest provides a unique platform for final-year students and freshers with disabilities to showcase their skills and ideas, bridging the gap between academia and industry. The competition encompasses both technical and business domains, offering participants the opportunity to engage in live internships and potentially secure job placements with Tata Steel, a testament to the company’s commitment to building a talent pipeline that reflects the true diversity of society.

“At Tata Steel, we firmly believe in the limitless potential of each individual,” says Atrayee Sanyal, vice president, human resource management, Tata Steel. “Ananta Quest is not just a competition; it’s a statement of our unwavering commitment to fostering an inclusive environment where every voice is heard and every talent flourishes.” This sentiment echoes Tata Steel’s broader MOSAIC initiative, dedicated to promoting diversity, equity & inclusion across the organisation.

Ananta Quest is structured as a multi-stage challenge, with rounds designed to assess the participants’ critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and ability to communicate effectively. Teams will compete in two tracks – business and technical – and progress through executive summary, pre-finale, and grand finale stages, culminating in presentations to Tata Steel’s senior management. The evaluation will be rigorous, focusing on the depth of analysis, creativity of solutions, and potential business impact.

“Ananta Quest is not just a competition; it’s a statement of our unwavering commitment to fostering an inclusive environment where every voice is heard and every talent flourishes.”

Atrayee Sanyal, vice president, human resource management, Tata Steel

Ananta Quest recognises and rewards exceptional talent. The national winner will receive a cash prize of  Rs 50,000, while the first and second runners-up will be awarded Rs 30,000 and  Rs 20,000 respectively. All participants will receive a certificate of participation and stand a chance to secure pre-placement offers for full-time roles based on their performance during the internship. This comprehensive approach ensures that the competition not only identifies potential but also provides concrete pathways for career growth and professional success.

Ananta Quest is a beacon of hope for aspiring individuals within the PwD community. It demonstrates that with the right support and opportunities, disability can be transformed from a barrier to a catalyst for excellence. By integrating talented individuals from diverse backgrounds, Tata Steel is not only strengthening its workforce but also contributing to a more equitable and inclusive society. This initiative paves the way for a future where talent, not disability, defines individual potential.

Tata Steel’s ‘Ananta Quest’ is a commendable initiative that transcends the realm of corporate social responsibility. It represents a proactive commitment to inclusivity, recognising the untapped potential within the PwD community and offering a platform for them to thrive. As the competition unfolds, it will be fascinating to witness the emergence of new talent and the transformation of lives, one case study at a time. This is not just about building a stronger workforce; it’s about building a more just and equitable future.

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The programme also provided women entrepreneurs an opportunity to explore business opportunities with P&G. The firm has already spent ?400 crore on working with women-owned and women-led businesses in the last two years, as was committed by the company in 2018.

LV Vaidyanathan, CEO, P&G India believes “this initiative is in line with our global commitment to empower women-owned and women led businesses, which is an important aspect of our citizenship efforts.” The initiative is a “holistic capability platform which will help women entrepreneurs build their businesses sustainably” because “empowering and enabling equal and inclusive business practices will not only stimulate economic growth, but also bring about a long-lasting social change.”

Following the training, P&G India’s flagship External Business Partner Summit saw the firm announcing a ?300 Crore ‘P&G Supply Chain Catalyst Fund’ to collaborate with external partners and innovators, in co-creating solutions that accelerate its journey towards Supply 3.0 – the modern supply chain ecosystem.

The fund is aimed at creating a supply chain that provides greater agility, flexibility, scalability, transparency and resilience.The announcement is in line with the Prime Minister’s Gati Shakti initiative aimed at multi-modal connectivity in the country, that will enhance seamless movement of goods and services through targeted interventions. The strategic investment will ensure supply chain optimisation, digitisation, capacity enhancement and sustainability, all designed to strengthen and catalyse the company’s supply chain.

This new fund is part of the ‘vGROW’ programme that focuses on identifying and collaborating with start-ups, small businesses, individuals, and large organisations offering innovative industry-leading business solutions.

The post How P&G India and WeConnect International empower women entrepreneurs appeared first on HR Katha.

The station, used by about 380 passengers daily, will be managed by 12 women, including four deputy station superintendents, four points women, three railway-protection personnel and one station ticket-booking agent.

This is another achievement towards making the Railways more inclusive.

It is interesting to note here that in 2018-19, about 786 women were hired against 5,707 men whereas in 2019-20, about 8,957 women were recruited against over 12,800 men. In 2020-21, the number of women hired was 779 as against 4779 men. In 2021-22, 276 women were hired against more than 4,000 men. The ratio hasn’t improved much in 2022-23. As per provisional data, It is 1,611 women against about 20,000 men.

While all posts or vacancies notified by the Railways are open to both men and women, the application fee taken from women candidates is refunded to those who appear for the test or exam.

Also, the upper age limit in case of widows, divorced women and women who are legally separated from their husbands and have not remarried, is relaxed up to the age of 35 years.

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These women employees have been selected from all its group companies, which include Mindspace Business Parks, Chalet Hotels, Inorbit Mall, and K Raheja Corp Homes.

The programme includes both onsite and offsite training sessions, group coaching, and application-based assignments. The programme was designed by the internal learning and development team. An external consultant was also roped in. Besides, the training sessions were executed by some experienced and specialised trainers, external speakers, and image consultants.

In an official communique, the company claims that the Sheroes programme was designed to leverage these unique strengths and unlock the potential of women leaders. Urvi Aradhya, CHRO K Raheja Corp, shares, “The Sheroes initiative represents our commitment to building a workplace that celebrates excellence and offers equal opportunities for everyone.”

“By providing women leaders with the necessary skills and experience, we aim to empower them to make a lasting impact not only within our organisation but also in the external business environment,” she adds.

“We believe in constant growth, engagement, and productivity, and this is a tailored initiative to empower our employees to unlock their potential, cultivate leadership skills, and drive positive change. Our commitment to ESG principles goes hand in hand with our dedication to creating an equitable and inclusive workspace for all,” she states in the official communique.

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“Achieving gender diversity at the entry level is simpler than at senior levels,” points out Shailesh Singh, CHRO, Max Life Insurance. Firstly, colleges and campuses tend to have a more diverse representation than organisations. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of women entering the workforce from colleges. Compared to five or ten years ago, there are now more women being admitted to campuses, which makes it easier to achieve diversity at the entry level.

Agreeing with the same, Maneesha Jha Thankur, Senior HR leader, also points out, “At the entry level, it’s much more easier to visit campuses, where one will find a lot of diverse applicants.”

“Achieving gender diversity at the entry level is simpler than at senior levels as there has been a significant increase in the number of women entering the workforce from colleges. Compared to five or ten years ago, there are now more women being admitted to campuses.”

Shailesh Singh, CHRO, Max Life Insurance

However, at the senior levels, the story is different, and also achieving diversity becomes more complex at the higher levels. One way to do it is by developing an internal pipeline of talent over the years, but that’s clearly not the case because, as a priority, it’s only now in the last few years that organizations have begun to focus. So that ratio unfortunately is a little adverse for most organizations at the senior level,” points out Singh. This results in an adverse ratio of women at senior levels, making it difficult to bring in more women.

Emmanuel David, senior HR leader, enumerates, “The number of women in the workforce tends to reduce for various reasons, including marriage and childbirth, and this is where the pipeline becomes a little brittle. Therefore, at the top or leadership level, the pipeline tends to become thin or leaky.”

Thankur opines, “Many diversity initiatives aim to support the careers and retention of women and other diverse groups, as these individuals often leave their careers mid-way. Despite efforts to bring in more diverse candidates at entry and junior levels, many leave mid-career due to various reasons such as life-stage issues, organizational treatment, pay gaps, and lack of career opportunities.”

This makes it more difficult for organisations to get more women at the senior levels as there are hardly any being fed into the pipeline at the leadership level. Singh opines, “Organisations can only induct more women at the senior level when there is attrition or a new role is added. However, these opportunities are limited, and in most cases, it takes time to hire someone from the market at the senior level if the internal pipeline is not ready.”

However, organisations have been focusing on this issue of late. In the past few years, there has been some internal pipeline building and timber building, which is making it easier to improve gender diversity at the middle levels, albeit gradually. Therefore, it is comparatively easier to execute and deliver diversity at these levels than at senior levels.

Sector-specific nuances

“In addition to the mega trend of prioritising gender diversity, there are also subtrends or next-level trends, depending on the sector, as some may be lagging behind in this area,” says Singh. For instance, manufacturing sectors require a higher level of physical presence compared to service sectors, where working from home is more feasible. Service sectors also tend to have a more progressive work culture and better policies for work-life balance, making it easier to attract women. However, this is not necessarily the case in manufacturing sectors, where long working hours, difficulty in achieving work-life balance, and security concerns when leaving the workplace late at night or on weekends may discourage women from joining. Therefore, there is a variation across sectors regarding this issue.

“The number of women in the workforce tends to reduce for various reasons, including marriage and childbirth, and this is where the pipeline becomes a little brittle. Therefore, at the top or leadership level, the pipeline tends to become thin or leaky.”

Emmanuel David, senior HR leader

“Currently, prioritising gender diversity is a widespread trend across all sectors,” believes Singh. He further points out, “In the past, certain sectors, such as financial services, placed greater emphasis on gender diversity at all levels compared to others. However, I have noticed that this has changed and now all organisations must prioritise gender diversity regardless of their sector.”

“Along with the sector-specific nuances, another aspect to consider is diversity across different functions and areas of an organization,” points our Thakur. There may be more women in certain areas, such as HR and customer services, but fewer in others like sales and manufacturing. Giving example of her own previous stint, she adds, “In my previous role at an FMCG company, we made efforts to increase diversity in our manufacturing and supply chain functions. Many organizations are working to do the same in various functions, by identifying talent and providing training and development opportunities within those areas.”

Why is it important?

From a company perspective, gender diversity at the leadership level has a bigger impact on the enterprise as a whole. While it may be easier to achieve diversity at the entry level, the impact of having women in bigger and senior roles is rather more significant. “Having senior women in leadership positions creates a better platform for role modelling, mentoring, and encouraging other women to continue in the workforce,” observes Singh. Senior women can also mentor the younger women, which can have a positive effect on the pipeline and hierarchy of the organisation.

“Representation is key, and senior leaders must drive the diversity program to create a culture that prioritises diversity. Therefore, it’s essential to have full conviction and commitment from senior leaders to achieve diversity goals.”

Maneesha Jha Thankur, senior HR leader

“Without women in leadership roles, diversity initiatives can sound hollow, and representation becomes vital,” opines Thakur. When there are female leaders at the top of an organization, it sends a clear message that the organization is committed to diversity and fairness. Representation is key, and senior leaders must drive the diversity program to create a culture that prioritises diversity. Therefore, it’s essential to have full conviction and commitment from senior leaders to achieve diversity goals.

David adds, “We need to spread awareness regarding some special skills that motherhood can develop in women. The industry needs to not only acknowledge and accept this, but also make use of it.” Giving his wife’s example, he explains how she decided to not work after she became a mother. He goes on, “I asked her share the skills she gained from becoming a mother. She responded by email after about four or five days, listing out the skills she had learned as a mother. This sparked my interest, and we decided to conduct a survey. About 115 women responded and shared the skills they had acquired during motherhood, including financial management, interpersonal communication, planning, budgeting and event management! Except for those who already possessed an MBA or a PhD, we found that most women developed these skills on reaching certain milestones in their lives. From this informal survey, I hypothesized that motherhood provides women with unique competencies that are not typically taught in school.”

This has a positive impact on workplace policies and culture, and having women in senior roles can influence how organisational policies are crafted and tuned.

 Role of leadership in fostering a diverse culture

“When CEOs and CHROs hire new employees, they should focus on creating a robust pipeline of talent in the middle-management level,” suggests David. They need to ensure that there is a plan in place to nurture these employees so that they can advance to the next level. Since this is a long-term project that requires continuous engagement, it’s important to have a development plan in place to ensure that progress is being made.

“To effectively implement and sustain the focus on gender diversity in an organisation, leadership’s primary responsibility is to advocate diversity and make a compelling case for why it is essential for the organisation,” asserts Singh. Specifically, in the context of gender diversity, it is crucial for leaders to focus on creating a workplace culture that reflects a holistic understanding of gender diversity, rather than simply setting quotas for the number of women in various roles. Once this case is made, it will be easier for employees at all levels to understand and support the initiative.

Thakur also highlights the role of a leader in fostering a diverse culture and adds, “In my opinion, as leaders, it’s crucial to lead by example and fully support diversity initiatives. Leaders need to model appropriate behavior within their own teams and remain dedicated to the organisation’s diversity goals. They must maintain an unbiased and fair mindset and continuously assess whether the organisation’s culture is conducive to diversity. Since they’re responsible for setting the culture and ensuring everyone else follows suit, it’s vital that they prioritise diversity initiatives; otherwise, they will not be successful.”

“The role of leadership is to nurture, build and take care of the middle so that there is a reasonable pipeline for leadership roles,” believes David. The key to achieving this is to implement policies that are easy to understand and acceptable. These policies should ensure that roles have meaning and purpose, and foster a work culture that is supportive and empowering.

The second action is for leaders to model their commitment to gender diversity and demonstrate their conviction to their teams. This will inspire others to act on the initiative and create a workplace culture that supports and sustains gender diversity. “By doing so, they can help employees understand how a diverse workforce can contribute to more balanced products, better work-life balance, and a workplace that caters to diverse customer needs,” explains Singh.

Additionally, a company that reflects gender diversity is viewed as an employer of choice, providing a range of benefits.

Companies may prioritise diversity at different levels depending on their specific goals and circumstances. However, in general, companies tend to place more emphasis on diversity at the leadership level as it has the greatest impact on shaping the organisation’s culture, values and strategic direction.

At the entry level, diversity initiatives are relatively easier to implement as companies can focus on recruiting a diverse pool of candidates. They can do so by creating inclusive job postings, partnering with diverse organisations and educational institutions, and implementing blind hiring practices.

At the middle level, diversity initiatives become slightly more complex as companies may need to focus on retaining and developing diverse talent within the organisation. This can be achieved by providing mentorship and sponsorship opportunities, setting up diverse employee resource groups, and implementing equitable promotion and pay practices.

At the leadership level, achieving diversity can be most challenging as there is often a lack of diverse representation in the pipeline. Companies may need to focus on developing and promoting diverse talent from within the organisation, creating inclusive leadership-development programmes, and holding leaders accountable for driving diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Overall, achieving diversity at all levels of an organisation requires long-term commitment and a multifaceted approach that includes recruitment, retention, development and promotion. It not only brings unique perspectives and nuances that can be missed by men alone, but also works as a superior model for organisations to respond to the marketplace and customers. It is important for leaders to make the case for diversity and explain how it benefits the organisation from a cultural standpoint.

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Mashreq Bank’s subsidiary, Mashreq Global Network Bangalore, is a crucial player in the company’s digital strategy and has taken on the responsibility of enabling remote work. Mashreq Bank is a prominent financial institution with a global presence in Europe, Asia, Africa and the US. It has been one of the UAE’s most successful banks for 50 years, and is well-known for its innovative products and services.

Jayanthi Gopal has recently joined the Mashreq Global Network India as VP-head, HR. With more than 20 years of experience in human resources functions, and a wealth of expertise in developing HR programmes and initiatives to support businesses for various global organisations, Gopal talks about how the company has been committed to gender diversity, and improved women’s representation in its workforce from 28 per cent to 32.4 per cent. The company dreams of achieving 50 per cent gender diversity by the year 2024.

Why and when was the strategy to include more women in the workforce adopted?

“It’s been an ongoing strategy. However, the idea took a front seat after Ahmed Abdullah, CEO, Mashreq Bank, visited India and gave us an ambitious goal to achieve 50 per cent gender diversity ratio by 2024,” shares Gopal. She goes on to add, “Currently, we’re running with a 32 per cent female workforce and have plans to reach the set target”.

To get more women in the workforce and reach the mentioned target, the company uses numerous practises. The first and foremost step is reflected in the company’s recruitment process. The company prioritises women, and only considers male candidates if there are no suitable women candidates.

The company’s main focus has been women who wish to return to work after a career break owing to reasons such as maternity, elder care, or marriage. “Our goal is to offer opportunities to anyone who wishes to rejoin the workforce, regardless of the reason for their career break,” asserts Gopal.

Additionally, the company also offers training and apprenticeship to qualified individuals who are eventually absorbed into the organisation. However, they are also free to work elsewhere if they so wish. For instance, the ‘Woman Returning Programme’, focuses on women who wish to restart their careers and provides ongoing job training.

With proper training accompanied by the right corporate culture, the company is creating a ‘pipeline’ of women who are future ready and can work anywhere. Gopal points out, “At the end of the programme, if they are not absorbed by our organisation, other similar organisations in the banking sector can employ them. By creating this pipeline, we aim to have a pool of qualified women ready to join the workforce.”

“We have found that this flexibility in working is especially appealing to women, and it sets us apart from other employers. We believe that offering flexible work arrangements has had a positive impact on our organisation and has helped us attract and retain top talent.”

Jayanthi Gopal, VP-head, HR, Mashreq Global Network India

Other than hiring women, Mashreq also focuses on retaining the women in its workforce. There are discussion groups that try to understand women’s specific challenges and minimise them. Giving details of the nature of discussions in the group, Gopal explains, “Men and women have different perceptions of ambition, with women often prioritising career retention and men prioritising career growth. This presents a challenge for us, but we offer one-on-one coaching to help women address gaps in their career and pursue their ambitions without feeling guilty about balancing work and personal life.” Their soft programmes are focused on coaching women and building confidence in them to address their perception of themselves as employees.

How has this change in demography by including more women in the workforce, improved productivity?

In the distributed workforce at Mashreq, 60-70 per cent roles are such that they can be performed from home. Hence, a significant portion of the workforce works in a hybrid model. This model has been working well for Mashreq allowing the Bank to leverage the best talent in the country. Gopal points out, “We have found that this flexibility is especially appealing to women, and it sets us apart from other employers. We believe that offering flexible work arrangements has had a positive impact on our organisation and has helped us attract and retain top talent.”

Additionally, the main focus of the company is about meeting deliverables, not on how or when the work is done or where the employee is located. “We have sensitised our male managers to this fact and encouraged women employees to be authentic and confident in their interactions with male colleagues. This approach has helped us retain some of our female workforce and attract them back if they need to take a break. Our flexible work module is one of our key differentiators,” adds Gopal.

The company manages its regular and hybrid workforce just the same. Regardless of gender, all employees must meet the same standards of capability and productivity.

Which are the levels or roles with the maximum women? What is their impact?

The company follows a gender-balanced workforce at all levels, particularly in banking and consumer-banking operations. As these roles are remote, there are more women in these roles. “We have made a deliberate effort to hire women for most of our technology roles, which is necessary because our industry requires a lot of technology professionals. Fortunately, many of these professionals can work remotely, which aligns with our strategy of having a distributed workforce,” adds Gopal.

The company is also exploring other roles that may interest the female workforce instead of traditional banking operations, including banking operations and contact centres. These roles can be full-time ‘work-from-home’ or office-based jobs, including work such as collections, sales and marketing.

Diversity is being pursued in risk management too, as there are few women in this area of the banking industry. “We want to hire women in this field and have all roles certified before offering them to men,” says Gopal. Other areas where the focus is more on diversity are corporate investment banking, retail banking and contact centres. “Although its’ easy to find people for contact centres, it’s challenging to retain them. Therefore, we are working hard to retain the women who already work with us,” she adds.

How do you differentiate the women talent across India, Pakistan and Egypt? Surely, they bring in different perspectives and expertise or some special talent to the table? Are the problems or challenges across these three countries any different?

Mashreq Global Network (MGN) is the innovation-led arm of Mashreq Bank that supports all functions and business groups of the bank, including commercial and consumer banking, as well as technology-related functions. While MGN has over 1800 employees spread across India, Pakistan, and Egypt, the larger chunk of employees is based in India. Unlike other multinational banks that have a presence in India but deliver work to other countries, MGN allows any role to be based out of any location as long as they are able to deliver and are associated with MGN. The company has diversity targets across all locations, and programmes in place to identify top talent regardless of gender. However, they also have a target to ensure that women are not left behind in their workforce. The women talent from different countries also bring in different perspectives and expertise, and MGN recognises and values that diversity.

Unlike Mashreq Bank India, which has been operating here for over 10 years, its global network in Pakistan and Egypt is relatively new. However, “it was easier to have 50 per cent women in the workforce in such networks and establish a standard approach and meet diversity targets,” says Gopal.

In contrast, in India, they had to make a conscious effort to increase the number of women in management roles. The COVID pandemic was a turning point for Mashreq, and lessons were learnt from it, including the importance of having a distributed workforce. Now, employees all over India are engaged through virtual programmes, including a virtual celebration for Garba and other festivals. They are also focused on attracting returning mothers to their workforce, in addition to increasing diversity.

Overall, what kind of talent is required by the company, and how do men and women employees fulfil them differently?

We require individuals with banking and technology expertise. However, skills alone are not enough. Attitude and a willingness to learn are critical at all levels, particularly at the entry level. Our organisation is flexible and constantly adapting to change. Therefore, we need people with confidence and a positive attitude. While banking operations are crucial, knowledge is only a small part of what we need. That is why, we find it easy to hire women, as they are often multifaceted, adaptable and quick learners.

What challenges does the company face in increasing diversity or inviting more women to the workforce? Is it lack of talent or apprehensions from the women talent to join the workforce? Is the scenario any different among these three countries?

Despite the fact that the company has highly flexible working arrangements, these benefits are comparable to those offered by larger multinational banks. However, the biggest issue is not having an awareness about their programmes. Hence, the company consistently communicates their benefits, culture, and collaborative working style to attract talent at large. “Rather than actively seeking out talent, our hiring has largely been driven by word of mouth,” opines Gopal.

“The well-known leaky pipeline phenomenon, where women tend to leave the workforce, is something we need to address. Our goal is not only to have 50 per cent women in our workforce, but we also aim to have diversity at all levels, including senior management,”

Jayanthi Gopal, VP-head, HR, Mashreq Global Network India

Their efforts are more focused on creating and increasing their brand presence. Recently, the company also won the Great Place to Work award. “We genuinely care about our employees and actively listen to their feedback, which is our unique proposition,” she says with pride.

What is your overall talent-acquisition strategy? Do you also hire people from campus, or is it more of lateral hiring?

For talent acquisition, the company primarily has been focusing on lateral hiring and also targeting campuses for some time now. Talent is picked from many technology and management campuses, along with people with disabilities.

“We’re aiming at bridging the gap in our diversity, which is currently between 32 to 50 per cent. This is a significant goal to achieve in the next two years, and we need to hire about 50 to 60 per cent of our current hiring capacity to meet this target.

“Our current focus is to hire more women employees for various roles. However, we are also aware that the challenge is not just about hiring them but retaining them in the organisation. Our net difference in diversity has only been about 3 to 4 per cent, which is not enough given the amount of focus we have on diversity. We have a significant diversity gap of almost 18 per cent that we need to address by creating a pipeline of female candidates who can potentially join our workforce, whether they decide to stay with us or not. The well-known leaky pipeline phenomenon, where women tend to leave the workforce, is something we need to address. Our goal is not only to have 50 per cent women in our workforce, but we also aim to have diversity at all levels, including senior management. We do not want to measure diversity by hiring more women at the junior level, and then it gradually decreases as we move up the ladder. The number of women graduating from management institutions is almost equal to that of men, but the proportion of women in the workforce drops to 40% and further decreases to 30 per cent as they move up their career. Hence, it is crucial for us to focus on preventing the leakage of female talent and increasing the number of women in our workforce in the next few years,” concludes Gopal.”

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J C Madhuswamy, the Law & Parliamentary Affairs Minister, explained that there were limitations on work hours for women, and the government had been under pressure to relax these restrictions, including from the software industry. He also mentioned that the High Court had directed that equal opportunities must be provided to all under Article 14 of the Constitution.

In 2020, the government had allowed women to work night shifts in hotels, restaurants, cafes, theatres, and other such establishments. The Bill now extends this provision to factories, subject to a list of safety norms that must be put in place by employers. Employers must provide transport facilities to women workers from their residences and back during night shifts. Additionally, the vehicles must be equipped with CCTV and GPS.

According to the Bill, employees who work for 12 hours a day for four consecutive days, not exceeding 48 hours, can take off for three days in a week. The Bill also allows the government to increase daily work hours to 12 from 9, not exceeding 48 hours a week. The government believes that this will create more economic activities and employment opportunities.

The Bill also emphasises that employers must ensure appropriate working conditions for women and that no employee should have cause to believe that there is a bias against her regarding her employment. Moreover, women workers must be employed in a batch of not less than 10 to ensure their safety. The factories must have proper lighting and CCTV coverage, with footage stored for at least 45 days. This will deter any miscreants who may seek to cause trouble. The Bill also allows the government to fix work hours for overtime duty during which employees have to be paid wages at the rate of twice the ordinary rate of wages.

The Factories (Karnataka Amendment) Bill passed by the Karnataka Legislative Assembly is a significant step towards gender equality and providing equal opportunities to women. The Bill outlines several safety measures that employers must implement to ensure the safety and security of women workers during night shifts. The Bill also aims to increase economic activities and employment opportunities by increasing the work hours to 12 hours a day for four consecutive days, with provisions for adequate rest periods.

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In India, language plays a huge role in culture. With most Indian states having their own unique language and culture, it is understandably easier for those who speak the same language to relate to each other better. When some in the workforce enjoy such an advantage, the others who do not follow the language tend to feel left out or unheard.

It is the job of the HR department in an organisation to ensure that employees are well accommodated and not discriminated against in any form.

In industries such as information technology (IT), people from all over the country fly in to work in big metropolitans, such as Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Rarely do these professionals try to learn the local language spoken in these cities. After all, it is easier to find a group of people who already relate to them at some level.

Linguistic groupism in a corporate environment can cause myriad issues. Let’s look at some.

Bad teamwork

Employees who work together on a project but are from different groups can create a situation where one individual isn’t open to working with the other. This restricts team effort and creates a sub-par product.

Networking hassles

There are times when new recruits are unable to find a group to fit into on entering or joining a company. Such social complications cause unnecessary stress to the employees, which can reflect in their work, adversely affect their productivity, and leave them feeling unsatisfied and having shallow networks.

Dip in productivity

With lower satisfaction levels at work, employees lose the motivation to do their best. This leads to them feeling undermotivated, which directly affects the quality of their work.

Adverse work environment

“When organisations begin to openly favour certain groups, it leads to a dysfunctional workplace lacking in diversity.”

Amit Sharma, vice president, head – people and culture, Volvo Group India

When various issues trouble employees, the work environment breeds inefficiency and unhappiness among them. This leads to unhealthy competition among groups and a drop in individual performance.

Any form of groupism showcases an organisation’s inability to promote good communication among employees. When groups are formed on the basis of their language, it makes it even harder for employees to communicate clearly, not allowing them to voice their opinions in a holistic manner.

Amit Sharma, vice president, head – people and culture, Volvo Group India, details some of the issues he observes when such groupism occurs in an organisation.

“When organisations begin to openly favour certain groups, grapevines are formed within other groups, causing unnecessary office politics. This, in turn, leads to a dysfunctional workplace lacking in diversity,” he enumerates.

What is the solution?

An organisation that promotes good communication and emphasises the importance of a productive work environment will work towards rectifying the issues caused by linguistic groupism. Here is how they can go about it.

Better diversity & inclusion programmes

“When an organisation becomes open to including everyone — making that the celebrated culture — it becomes easier for it to battle issues such as linguistic groupism.”

Mangesh Bhide, senior vice president and HR head, Reliance Jio Infocomm

In India, diversity and inclusion programmes have been targeted on a gender and caste basis more than anything else. One of the key ways companies inadvertently cause linguistic groupism is when their new recruits are not from diverse backgrounds.

It is up to the organisations to create a space where people of all cultures are welcomed and the possibility of ostracising a particular person or group of people is mitigated.

Companies need to ensure happier employees who are more receptive to the company’s needs, communicate freely, and are aligned with its vision. For this to happen, simple programmes need to be introduced that will initiate conversations around linguistic diversity and the importance of having a homogeneous workplace. Only then can employee welfare be guaranteed.

Mangesh Bhide, CHRO, senior vice president and HR head, Reliance Jio Infocomm, ensures that, “diversity and inclusion programmes, in essence, allow for diverse thoughts, feelings and actions. When an organisation becomes open to including everyone — making that the celebrated culture — it becomes easier for it to battle issues such as linguistic groupism”.

Well-rounded talent acquisition and management

Nitin Thakur, head of learning and development (L&D) at Jindal Stainless, believes it is natural for a leader to hire from similar backgrounds. Citing an example, he says, “If an Asia-Pacific company is led by an Indian, chances are high that a significant portion of the new workforce will comprise Indians.”

It is common for organisations to show a tendency of bias while hiring and tasking, thus causing an uneven talent pool extenuating the problem at hand.

“If an Asia-Pacific company is led by an Indian, chances are high that a significant portion of the new workforce will comprise Indians.”

Nitin Thakur, head of learning and development (L&D) at Jindal Stainless

 

Creating a workplace where an organisation either intentionally or unintentionally hires members of a certain linguistic group causes employees in the linguistic minority to feel undervalued and underappreciated.

The same is true when organisations frequently assign important projects and tasks to those in majority in the organisation.

These issues can be quickly solved by examining the recruitment data already present at most organisations. Studying the hiring trends and making note of uneven hiring practices can help identify and then rectify the issue, thus helping create a better working environment.

Sharma emphasises on the importance of maintaining organisational diversity, “Organisations in India should be representing the regional and linguistic diversity in India. They need to make a conscious effort to look for diversity in parameters outside of gender. Trying to include members from various regions, languages, even educational institutions will help mitigate the issue of forming small cliques within an organisation.”

Company-wide policies

A trend seen in many foreign countries is the practice of enforcing an official language in the company. English is the preferred one in India. Many organisations are open to trying a company-wide linguistic rehaul that enforces a common spoken language at the workplace.

Having an official language will benefit those who find it difficult to communicate with larger linguistic groups. The latter are assumed to be communicating in the language they have in common.

Bhide acknowledges, “it is the responsibility of those in the linguistic majority to shift to an all-inclusive language to not alienate those in the minority.”

“Both the alienators and alienated have to work together to find a common language best suited to them all. That does not necessarily mean it has to be English,” says Bhide

Language is a significant part of basic communication and culture. Organisations that do not understand this fact often fail to include people from various linguistic backgrounds. This can cause problems at the most basic corporate levels. Although the recommended fixes may be simple on paper, organisations should take the first step to understand their linguistic demographic and the native issues they have to tackle.

The post Linguistic biases at Indian workplaces; a bitter truth appeared first on HR Katha.

Though Marico has been very open to hiring people with career breaks in the past, it is only now that it has come out with an official programme to streamline things.

Marico has employees who have taken multiple breaks in their career. Rakhi Gupta (name changed) had to take multiple breaks in her career due to many reasons such as shifting to the US with her husband, childbirth and child’s health condition. Later, she unfortunately lost her husband at a time when she became a leader in a manufacturing setup. She was forced to take a break to take care of her own mental health and support her family.

However, she joined Marico in a full-time consultant role and is content with her job, and the facilities and flexibility it gives her.

To be the part of the Phoenix programme, a candidate needs to have a career break of a minimum of one year.

Phoenix is a “gender-neutral second-career programme curated to address these tectonic shifts,” says says Amit Prakash, CHRO, Marico.

Marico recognises that the new-age workforce envisions their careers very differently. In Prakash’s words, “While for some, career breaks may arise out of different life stages or family needs, for others career breaks may mean a chance to pursue their passions. Thus, we decided to extend it to all genders, without judging them on the reason for career break”.

Marico continuously re-evaluate its policies and programmes to build a workforce of tomorrow. With the Indian family system undergoing significant changes and the roles and responsibilities of caregiving being realigned, there is a substantial change in what the future workforce expects from the workplace.

This programme will help the Company tap into specialised and unique talent.

A unique quality of this returnship programme is that it is not focused on taking just women. The Company has recognised the changing world and the role of a father in caregiving.

The programme will include two types of hiring, project –based and lateral. In project-based hiring, the candidates shall be hired as consultants for a duration of six, nine and 12 months. The final absorption shall be based on their performance and role availability. In lateral hiring, based on experience, the candidates shall be hired directly in lateral roles.

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Reportedly, the Company has doubled its hiring for FY23, as compared to FY22. “The onboarding of over 3000 graduate and post-graduate engineering trainees in FY23 marks a more than three-fold increase over the last fiscal’s 1,067 figure,” the Company said in a statement.

It is also worth noting that 30 per cent of the current batch of fresh engineers are women, which is commendable given the fact that 75 per cent of the fresh engineers are hired from mechanical, civil and electrical streams that otherwise tend to be male dominated.

The number of women engineers hired has more than quadrupled, from 248 in FY22 to 1,009 in FY23. The Company also stated that it aims to significantly improve diversity and bring more inclusiveness.

Currently, at L&T, women make up 7.6 per cent of the total workforce, making significant inroads into industries long seen as the domain of men. Additionally, the L&T programme, WINSPIRE, keeps increasing women’s participation in the industry.

C Jayakumar, executive vice president & head, corporate human resources, L&T, said, “L&T as a company is expanding rapidly and is presently sitting on a record order book. This necessitates keeping ready a steady talent pipeline of trained technical professionals for meeting effectively the current and future business/customer needs. This was central to the management’s decision to more than double the hiring of fresh engineers compared to last fiscal year. We went to market to address our additional business requirement and got an overwhelming response from fresh engineers”.

He is pleased to see that over 80,000 applications have came from pan-India. He attributes this to “L&T’s rich culture of nurturing young talent and providing them with specialised and customised training to make them the best engineering talent in the industry.”

As an equal opportunity employer, L&T is dedicated to giving people the chance to express their creative tendencies and reach their full potential at all levels.

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Now, the Bank has decided to increase the representation of women in senior levels, including assistant vice president (AVP) and managing director (MD). Presently, only about 40 per cent of women are found in such senior ranks. From now on, the Bank will endeavour to improve this figure and take it to 43.5 per cent by 2025.

Upholding its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, it plans to increase the number of Black employees in senior ranks, such as AVP and MD, in North America, as reported by Reuters.

In Brazil and the UK, the Citigroup will try to hire college students from underrepresented communities to further improve its ethnic diversity.

Currently, only 8.1 per cent of the senior positions are held by Blacks. Over the next couple of years, Citi seeks to increase this figure to 11.5 per cent. In the US, it will focus on increasing the representation of Hispanic and Latino employees in senior positions, from AVP to MD, from the current 13.7 per cent to 16.

In early 2020, Citi had improved its leave policy to offer at least 16 weeks of paid maternity leave for birthing parents and four weeks of paid parental leave to employees who were adopting a baby or welcoming a baby via surrogacy, irrespective of gender.

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The launch of mahilawfh.rajasthan.gov.in is aimed at empowering women employees in the state, by giving them opportunities to work with government departments as well as private firms. Women may apply for jobs as per their skills across various government offices, public undertakings, private organisations as well as autonomous institutions.

The interested women talent need to simply register on the portal using their Janadhar card and their salaries will be decided accordingly by the department or firms.

The Rajasthan government has set aside a budget of Rs 100 crore for the WFH scheme for women. Till now, more than 150 women and nine companies have already registered for the scheme.

This scheme will ensure that the status of women in society is improved. It will also ensure equal participation of women in development and decision making.

The scheme will also make sure that there is equal distribution of political, social, cultural and economic resources in the society.

The state already has in place a scheme for women entrepreneurs, where women who own small businesses are able to sustain themselves. Called the ‘Mahila Nidhi’ scheme, it offers a loan of up to Rs 40,000 to women to start their own ventures.

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The order came following a plea by a transgender woman called Shanavi Ponnuswamy. She has accused Air India of refusing to hire her as cabin crew because she was a transgender woman.

Ponnuswamy had approached the Court in 2017. Born male, she had undergone surgery for reassignment of gender in 2014. She had sought to be employed as cabin crew with Air India, but as the latter did not have a column for third sex, Ponnuswamy had mentioned her gender as ‘female’. However, she was refused the post because she was a transgender.

Air India, however, claims that the job was refused to Ponnuswamy simply because she had failed to score the minimum qualifying marks in the Scheduled Caste (SC) category; that her rejection had nothing to do with her gender.

The Central government has been ordered by the Supreme Court to create a suitable policy, in consultation with all stakeholders, to enable / facilitate the employment of the third sex.

According to Ponnusamy, who is an engineering graduate, Air India’s vacancies were meant only for men and women, and there was no provision for a transgender person to apply. She also sought the removal of the hiring criteria, including a personality screening and group discussion for those applying for cabin crew roles.

The post ‘Create policy for employment of third gender’: SC to Centre appeared first on HR Katha.

Called the Revolut Ira Scholarship, it comprises an award of Rs 5 lakhs each. The scholarship will be awarded to the best girl students, from the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Lucknow, as well as top girl students from XLRI, Jamshedpur and Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad.

The initiative is aimed at identifying women leaders of tomorrow. Paroma Chatterjee, CEO, Revolut India, calls this scholarship “a step towards my dream of bringing about a workplace evolution, where I envision an equal number of brilliant men and women occupying the seats in a boardroom”.

Chatterjee is also “encouraging this approach in the hiring we are doing for Revolut in India, and I am delighted we had an equal gender split last quarter” despite a rather “gruelling recruitment process”.

The global financial superapp, which has over 20 million customers, will soon make the scholarship available globally, so that bright girl students can be identified and rewarded early on. This will also ensure that they work on a great career path to become successful business leaders in future.

Being committed to creating a healthy and inclusive working environment, Revolut launched its D&I framework in 2021 in an endeavour to accelerate progress on this subject.

Revolut is probably the first British fintech to set up a large base in India, and it expects to rapidly scale its financial services offerings in the country.

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This ‘diversity’ grant will provide financial assistance to women, persons with disability (PwD) and members of the LGBTQIA+ community, who aspire to be entrepreneurs, so that some of their expenses in setting up a business are taken care of.

Under this DSP programme, entrepreneurs interested in starting their own delivery business will be allowed access to Amazon’s sophisticated delivery technology, and receive hands-on training and also benefit from exclusively-negotiated deals on various services including payroll management, insurance and recruitment technology.

It is not necessary for these aspiring entrepreneurs to possess any prior logistics experience to be eligible for the grant. In fact, the Company will try and eliminate all obstacles that prevent entrepreneurs — especially those from underrepresented communities— from starting their own businesses.

Almost $7 million will be invested in this programme by Amazon, globally, to support entrepreneurs.

The programme has, since its launch in the country, helped SMBs to grow and has enabled Amazon to expand its delivery network and reach the remote areas of India.

“We are pleased to offer a special grant to women and other underrepresented communities joining the programme to evolve the entrepreneurship ecosystem in logistics. Amazon’s mission is to be earth’s most customer-centric company, and this mission is central to our work in diversity, equity and inclusion,” said Karuna Shankar Pande, director, Amazon Logistics, India.

For most delivery service partners, especially women, the experience of becoming a successful entrepreneur, in the form of a DSP has been very enriching. Amazon has managed to provide them “with all the required knowledge, training and skills to build a strong business foundation.”

Amazon India now has over 350 entrepreneurs as part of the program, with more opportunities for diverse partners to build their own businesses. Over the years, the DSP network has managed to set up over 1,000 delivery stations around the world, and has expanded to over 14 countries, including the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, Japan, France, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Brazil, the Netherlands, India, Belgium and Austria. Recently, it was launched in Saudi Arabia, the first country in the Middle East where the DSP programme operates.

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Two months ago, Mahatransco’s job ad sought applications for various vacancies. The petitioner, Kranti, noticed that while there were many other categories of reservations, there was none for members of the transgender community, despite the Supreme Court having directed the Centre and states to provide such reservation in government jobs. Kranti, therefore, wanted the hiring process to be stayed till the ad was modified.

Mahatransco, however, maintained that transgender applicants could choose to avail vertical or horizontal reservations that are in place, as per the Constitution and relevant statutes, basis their eligibility. Mahatransco, in fact, pointed out that far from violating any fundamental right, its recruitment process was actually in line with the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, which provides for the ‘other than male/female’ option/category for applicants.

Meanwhile, in Kolkata, LGBTQ activists took to the streets protesting against the inaction of the Transgender Development Board.

It is alleged that the Board, which was formed to defend and uphold the rights of the LGBTQ community, has failed to fulfil its promise of reserving seats for members of the LGBTQ community in state-run educational institutions and state government jobs. The community has also been demanding a separate identity card for a long time now, but is yet to see any action, even though it has been seven years since the inception of the board.

In yet another case in Maharashtra, the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal (MAT) has given six months’ time to the Government of Maharashtra to come up with a ‘clear policy’ that will provide jobs for transgender persons. This was in response to the case of a transgender applicant seeking to apply for a job as police sub-inspector (PSI).

The applicant, who was born a male, had opted to take on the female gender later, and had applied for the post of PSI as a transgender candidate, from the options provided. The applicant sought to be considered as a female candidate. The Maharashtra Public Service Commission or MPSC said that it will allow the candidate to appear for the preliminary examination scheduled for 8 October, 2022. The applicant’s plea seeks reservation for transgender persons.

But all is not lost. In West Delhi, an MoU was signed by the district magistrate with the Lalit Group of Hotels. Under this agreement, members of the transgender community will be trained and provided jobs in the hospitality sector. The ‘Trans-Empower’ will provide training free of cost and create jobs for transgenders. The scheme will also help them avail the benefits the National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM), Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME), as well as the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP).

The post State of transgender job seekers in India appeared first on HR Katha.

While women make up 36.1 per cent of its workforce, they also account for 22.2 per cent of its board of directors and 14.8 per cent of its executive committee members.

That the Company is progressing in furthering its D&I agenda is further clear from the fact that the share of women in its leadership ranks has also grown from 7.3 per cent in FY21 to 12.4 per cent in FY22.

The share of women in mid-management has grown from 10 per cent in FY21 to 11.3 per cent in FY22. Similarly, there has been growth in the share of women in junior management too, from 19.1 per cent in FY21 to 21.8 per cent in FY22.

All this has been possible due to Wipro’s capability programmes.

Women are able to stay relevant, competitive and also tackle challenges at the workplace through the Your Career Your Choice (YCYC) and Women in Leadership (WIL) initiatives. Quarterly discussions under the W-Connect Forum, with the CEO and the executive board, allow women to voice their opinions and be heard. These candid conversations help improve our charter and provide for effective two-way communication.

Under the initiative called Enrich, high-potential women employees are sponsored for leadership programmes to strengthen the talent pipeline and create an enabling ecosystem.

The Begin Again programme hires women who have taken a break from their careers and helps them get back to the active workforce. This programme has witnessed about 96 per cent of new mothers returning to work, with a whopping 99 per cent staying on with Wipro for more than a year after returning from their break.

The Refresh programme is designed to help women returning from maternity leave to smoothly transition back to work. These women are not only reskilled but are given support to build their technical and behavioural capabilities and assigned to meaningful projects.

Women techies in India were sponsored for the NASSCOM W2RT (short for Women Wizards Rule Tech) programme in FY2022. This year-long programme trained 10,000 women in the Indian industry on new and emerging technologies.

These initiatives are truly contributing to making Wipro a place, where according to Saurabh Govil, CHRO, Wipro, “everyone feels safe, respected, seen, heard, and understood irrespective of race, demography, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or any other factor”. Govil, who announced the release of the Diversity and Inclusion Report on LinkedIn, admits, “We have accomplished significant milestones but know that we have a long way to go. We are confident that our efforts will take us where we need to be”.

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However, there is another debate taking place on the sidelines. Should diversity be given more importance or equity?

Before we try to arrive at an answer, we should first try and understand the meaning and context of the words, ‘diversity’ and ‘equity’.

Diversity, as we all know, is a strategy to make an organisation diverse in every sense of the word. Earlier, India Inc. simply focused on gender diversity, but now people are talking about different forms of diversity such as religion, age, neurodiversity and more. It is about giving an opportunity to people from all walks of life.

“Diversity means nothing without equity and Inclusion”

Anup Seth, chief diversity & inclusion officer, Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance

On the other hand, equity is more to do with the mindset of the organisation. It is about understanding the needs, problems and challenges of a diverse set of people and coming up with a tailor-made solution for all, so that equality is ensured and justified.

Simply put, while diversity leads to the presence of differences within an organisation, equity is the process that ensures impartial and fair systems through which the possible outcomes are equal for each employee.

For instance, by hiring persons with disability or PWD, an organisation ensures diversity. However, by giving special attention to the mobility and special needs of PWD — by building ramps or exclusive lifts for their safe, convenient and hassle-free movement — an organisation ensures equity. Additionally, making sure that everybody accepts these special arrangements for such people, will lead to true equity.

As Seema Bangia, VP & chief people officer, Mahindra Agriculture, Defence and Aerospace businesses, defines, “Equity is a mindset that needs to be developed in an organisation.”

Bangia is quite clear and certain that equity is by far more important than diversity in an organisation. She tries to explain that often HR leaders are asked to make the workforce diverse, “but we should first ask ourselves how we are going to sustain diversity if we do not have a plan in place to provide tailor-made solutions to a diverse workforce”.

Anup Seth, chief diversity & inclusion officer, Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance, also states, “Diversity means nothing without equity and Inclusion.”

“Building a diverse organisation will automatically lead to the need or necessity for having equity in the company”

Naresh Kumar Puritipati, HR director, Lactalis India

He further explains that equity is like creating a balance in an organisation.

For instance, let’s look at women as an employee cohort and lets look at what diversity without equity would look like. Companies may recruit a larger female workforce for the sake of diversity, but pass them up for important opportunities for reasons like caregiving responsibilities, maternity, etc. In other cases, organisations may look at reseting the age-old faults in the workplace culture at large by giving disproportionate opportunities of growth only to women. Both these scenarios are not ideal because in the first case its only tokenism and in the second you are discriminating against another set of employees, which is men, in a bid to fix what’s broken.

“Equity is more nuanced than that. It is about recognising where different people are coming from, the legacies they carry, and then offering them adequate and relevant opportunities based on their merit,” Seth mentions.

Seth further puts an example of two equally capable employees who are up for appraisal – one man and a woman – you may consider giving the man a 10 per cent raise and the woman a 15 per cent raise. This way, you are taking gradual but concrete steps to bring them at par in terms of pay. You are also ensuring that the company is not alienating one cohort for the benefit of other.

The gimmicky approach of many organisations in the industry is what actually leads to this debate.

As both Bangia and Seth mention, there are organisations that just fall into the rat race to achieve diversity in numbers. In doing so, they miss out on incorporating a mindset of equity in an organisation. In such an environment, diversity cannot achieve stability.

“Though several organisations are doing some fantastic work, there are many that consider diversity a fad,” observes Seth.

“Equity is a mindset that needs to be developed in an organisation”

Seema Bangia, VP & chief people officer, Mahindra Agriculture, Defence and Aerospace businesses

If equity is more important than diversity, how can one build an equity mindset without diversity?

Naresh Kumar Puritipati, HR director, Lactalis India, rightly asks, “If the population is not made diverse first, who would be the takers for equity in an organisation?”
He goes on to add, “Building a diverse organisation will automatically lead to the need or necessity for having equity in the company”.

Even without creating a diverse workforce or endeavouring to especially achieve diversity of any sort, there does exist age or generational diversity in every company.

Making tailor-made policies for all can take the organisation closer to achieving a mindset of equity.

Clearly, equity is winning the debate by just a margin. Many a time, the approach of an organisation towards its DE&I strategy depends on which cycle of development the organisation is in. The organisation may even decide its approach based on the the talent supply and demand game of a diverse talent pool. Accordingly, it will prioritise either equity or diversity.

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The HR initiative is part of the company’s HR transformation programme, called ‘Prerna’. Earlier, in July, the Committee also launched ‘EmpowerHer’, a women- focused employees’ committee.

The HR-transformation programme, ‘Prerna’, aims at enhancing productivity through digitalisation of processes, employee-centric interventions and learning revolution within the banking space, as per the official release.

‘EmpowerHim’ is launched by Manimekhalai, MD&CEO, Union Bank of India. At the launch event, Manimekhalai touched upon certain points on the importance of having dedicated committees to promote and counsel for career growth of each and every individual.

She motivated and encouraged committee members to think of ways that could further grow their employer brand in the industry and help improve diversity across all roles. She gave personal instances to inspire the members to serve as a wave of positive change that sweeps across the Bank.

The event was attended by senior management members with more than 60 EmpowerHim committee members across the country. Rajneesh Karnatak, executive director, Lal Singh, chief general manager (HR), and G N Das, general manager (HR) also attended the event.

The senior leadership team encouraged committee members to work upon some of the inclusion and diversity challenges at the local level and work upon some of the existing pain points.

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It has hired around 28 women from nearby villages to run its drive-thru restaurant, which is closer to the Unity of Statue in Ekta Nagar in Gujarat.

Around 90 per cent of the women crew hired for the restaurant, were from the GMR Foundation, working for the development of under-served communities through initiatives in education, health and livelihoods.

The women crew have been trained as per FSSAI guidelines on all the necessary safety, hygiene and other restaurant procedures.

This restaurant is spread over 17,000 sq. ft, with a seating capacity for over 100 people and offers ample parking space that can fit up to 60 cars and 50 bikes at a time.

Smita Jatia, MD, Westlife Development, says, “We believe that this initiative will enable us to strengthen our commitment towards diversity and inclusion as well as fostering communities, by bringing in more women from the region to the workforce.”

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The company has hired 18 professionals who are transgenders. The new hires will work in the shared services division of the company and will be based out of Jamshedpur.

In December 2021, Tata Steel had hired 14 professionals from the transgender fraternity in its West Bokaro Division. These 14 people work as heavy earth moving machinery (HEMM) operators at its mines. With these additions, there are now 97 people in Tata Steel’s workforce who are transgenders. They are based out of Kalinganagar, West Bokaro and now Jamshedpur.

Among the several groups within the LGBTQIA+ community, it’s extremely difficult for transgenders to find a job or get into mainstream society. Tata Steel not only aims to help the LGBTQIA+ community to break the glass ceiling, it has been making efforts to bring transgender people to mainstream in the society.

With an aim of 25 per cent diversity in its team, Tata Steel through its D&I (diversity & inclusion) initiatives, ensures that everyone is respected, every voice is heard, and that people can bring their authentic selves to work.

The Company has introduced several practices, including menstrual leaves, equal benefits for LGBTQIA+ partners, gender neutral parental leaves, and support for gender confirmation.

Welcoming the new members into the Tata Steel family, Atrayee Sanyal, vice president, Human Resource Management, Tata Steel, says “Tata Steel will continue with its efforts to drive LGBTQIA+ inclusion and build a benchmark workplace for all. This journey of HR excellence has been extremely rewarding and motivates us to explore new horizons on diversity and inclusion.”

“This is an endeavour to make a more diverse and inclusive workplace. The initiative will set an important milestone. As an equal opportunity employer, Tata Steel respects the uniqueness of individuals and is putting its best foot forward to shape the workspace of tomorrow,” adds Probal Ghosh, vice president, shared services, Tata Steel.

Tata Steel is a certified gold employer under Workplace Equality Index for LGBTQIA+ workforce.

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The company plans to train 200 people from LGBTQI (Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender), community and make them employable.

The training will be imparted in various areas such as digital marketing, data entry, tele-calling, some critical soft skills.

It will help the individuals to get employable and Mahindra Logistics hopes to get access to some untapped potential talent in the country.

“The initiative to train 200 individuals is the first phase towards this commitment. We will continue to encourage and value diversity through our policies on adding talent and develop various skills within these communities through our employees, associates, business partners and customers,” says Rampraveen Swaminathan, MD & CEO, Mahindra Logistics.

The firm has made the effort to conduct various sensitisation efforts to build inclusivity in the organisation and has done special audits to check the readiness of the organisation for hiring differently abled people.

MLL has also shown commitment to provide employment to ex -ervicemen with its V.E.E.R. (Veteran Employment, Engagement and Retention) programme, where MLL has hired JCOs/NCOs, Officers at the rank of colonel and ex-servicemen in various roles of the company.

The company claims to be sector leader in initiating a special career comeback programme called ‘Udaan,’ where the company is providing internships to women who had to take a break in their careers and hire them at all levels, functions and divisions.

For training the 200 diverse set of people, MLL has partnered with GTT foundation, which provides skill development and employment solutions.

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In an official communique, sent to HRKatha, the company stated that the tool named JD Decoder, has been under testing for more than two years, and is now ready to be unleashed for its hiring managers and talent acquisition teams across South Asia.

Sukla Chandra, I&D Council leader, GE South Asia says, “This is another step forward in our inclusion journey.”

Alok Nanda, CTO, GE South Asia and CEO, GE India Technology Centre says, “At GE, we use technology to solve several challenges and problems in the energy, healthcare, and aviation sectors.

“Our engineers have brought their scientific thinking to solve for unconscious bias and have developed a tool that helps make our job descriptions more inclusive,” Nanda adds.

The GE India Technology Center regularly participates in LGBTQIA+ focused job fairs and

has made successful offers to candidates. have also onboarded a LGBTQIA+ as an approved talent acquisition partner thereby being inclusive in all their external hiring processes.

The announcement was made on the occasion of the pride month which is celebrated in the month of June.

The GE India Technology Center portrays itself as a true inclusive organisation. The company regularly participates in LGBTQIA+ focused job fairs, and claims to have even onboarded a LGBTQIA+ inclusion focused organisation to ensure inclusiveness in all external hiring.

The company has various diversity commitments in place which can be categorised under gender, disability advocacy network and Pride Alliance to ensure an equal and safe work environment for all genders.

The post GE develops an inhouse tool for writing extensive & inclusive JDs appeared first on HR Katha.

Naturally, the Company now wishes to expand the franchise network and widen its pool of holiday experts across India.

Presently 43 per cent of these holiday experts are mothers and caregivers working from Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Indore, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh and Lucknow. During the pandemic, the interest from women freelancers to join this team grew 200 per cent, especially in the metros.

The team includes women who are equally proficient in addressing holiday booking queries in different languages. In addition to English, while 84 per cent of these women are proficient in Hindi, 14 per cent are proficient in Marathi, 12 per cent in Gujarati, 12 per cent in Punjabi, 11 per cent in Bangla, 9 per cent in Kannada and 9 per cent in Telugu.

Jasmeet Singh, business head, holidays & experiences, MakeMyTrip, recalled how the Company was amongst the first to realise “the power of working from home, and started investing in a team of freelancers”.

Singh said, “Our efforts to build a strong base of end-to-end holiday planning experts have been consistently delivering dividends in the form of rising contributions to the ‘holiday package’s segment”.

That is why, the Company is keen to expand this team of freelancers to be able to “penetrate deeper in this segment.”

Proud of this team of women from all walks of life, Singh revealed that “It’s a platform that offers flexible work engagements, attractive conversion-based remuneration, and numerous opportunities for holistic growth”.

These women are offered various benefits including self- and family-insurance cover, access to upskilling and development courses, team bonding and engagement opportunities and travel perks.

Even during the pandemic, MakeMyTrip continued to invest in this team and “leveraged their expertise for building cause-related and pandemic-focused assets, beyond travel packages”.

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The programme aims to provide a conducive environment to women by offering them a host of new policies and initiatives via which they plan to recruit working mothers, single mothers and women from nuclear families.

Ravi Subramanian, MD & CEO, Shriram Housing Finance, said, “The ‘SHeFirst’ initiative will enable Shriram to be a gender-balanced organisation that will increase innovation, profitability, customer success and employee satisfaction”.

Shriram Housing Finance will also offer women flexible working hours and the facility to opt for a sabbatical.

In fact, the Company, which is part of the Shriram Group, had designated the month of June as ‘Diversity Month’, ensuring equal opportunities for women. One of the crucial pillars of these initiatives is the ‘Back to Work’ policy, which welcomes and supports women professionals who had taken a career break — because of personal or other reasons— and now wish to pursue their career goals by re-joining work.

“The ‘Back to Work’ policy, among other initiatives, is an attempt to bring back talented, hardworking and resourceful women professionals who may have had to step back from work, by offering equal and appropriate opportunities as per their personal and professional goals,” said Subramanian.

It is the Company’s endeavour to help women professionals who possess various skills at individual and supervisory levels, in the areas of sales, credit collection and operations. The hiring process also includes a structured onboarding process, focussed mentoring and reskilling, along with on-the-job training to help these women regain their confidence and face the world with a more women-friendly work environment.

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Through this series, the Company recognises the exceptional women who have made an indelible mark with outstanding accomplishments within its global workforce.

Chandan Chattaraj, president – human resources (India & Global), UFlex, elaborated how “packaging, has suffered from a lack of gender diversity for many years” primarily due to the “nature of work involved and the lack of right women talent”.

He went on to say that UFlex has witnessed “the value of the contribution the women employees bring to the workforce and organisation at various levels,” first hand. Acknowledging how “these women have climbed the ladder of success with their spirit, aptitude and hard work,” Chattaraj states that Uflex believes “recognising the value an employee brings, irrespective of their gender”, and when such appreciation is applied to women, “that recognition becomes an even more powerful force for equality, one of the critical purposes to achieve through this series.”

Chattaraj admitted that “With the earlier series showcasing our domestic women talent, we have been receiving staggering feedback from employees as well as more interest from women candidates for roles that were often considered to be the province of men”.

He is confident that in times of challenges,”having a diversity of voices can bring innovative solutions”, and this platform helps “highlight the ethnic diversity we bring in with our talent we acquire in each of our operating countries”.

Through #BreakingTheBarrierGlobally, Uflex presents the inspiring journeys of its women employees with the hope that it will motivate more women to view the sector as a potential career option.

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However, it was brought to light that many of these interviews, which were seemingly attempts at ensuring diversity and giving opportunities to women and people of colour, were conducted for posts that had already been filled.

The employees who revealed this thought this was the financial services provider’s way of improving its scores in the area of diversity hiring.

One employee had even claimed that he received a negative reaction on expressing his doubts regarding the policy, and was dismissed.

After the rule had been formalised in 2020 with an aim to dispel racial inequality, Wells Fargo had also pledged that it would work to ensure double the number of Black members in its leadership ranks in five years.

However, following the recent allegations and the resultant investigations into the matter, the leaders at Wells Fargo concluded that the implementation of the policy could be improved in many ways. Therefore, the plan is to relaunch the ‘diversity slate’ policy next month, which the Bank claims had actually led to the recruitment of 42 per cent people from various racial and ethnic backgrounds.

This is not the first time that the Bank has grabbed headlines for all the wrong reasons. Two years ago, it had paid $7.8 million in back pay following allegations of discriminating against over 34,000 African American job applicants.

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The Company has been quite devoted to and passionate about creating a workplace that offers an environment where all under-represented sections of the society can feel equal.

Cognizant refrains from revealing exactly how many people will be hired or have already been recruited from the LGBTQ+ community. However, Nambiar does clarify that the Company does not believe in singling out or keeping track of those from the LGBTQ+ community, or reducing them to numbers. Instead, the focus is on the organisation’s diversity and inclusivity (D&I) goals in terms of “creating a culture, where people from all sections and backgrounds can thrive together and grow”.

Active participation by leadership: In the last two years, many employees at Cognizant have voluntarily come forward to participate in the sensitisation drives and programmes, aimed at educating employees about different genders and orientations. “Many of the senior leaders have helped and encouraged others to participate,” says Nambiar.

Employee resource group: Additionally, Cognizant also has an employee resource group called ‘Embrace’ which promotes initiatives to make Cognizant an all-inclusive workplace for LGBTQ+ associates.

Due to the pandemic, all sensitisation sessions were organised virtually with trainers educating existing employees about the basic gender differentiation, why it is important to have a diverse workforce and inclusion of people from LGBTQ+ background, and what sort of terminologies should be used while addressing people from such backgrounds.

Preparatory workshops: In fact, in teams where people from LGBTQ+ background are about to join, the team members are sensitised and prepared via intensive workshops where they are given detailed guidance on sensitivity in communication — what to say and what not to.

“We do not believe in singling out or keeping track of those from the LGBTQ+ community, or reducing them to numbers. Instead, the focus is on the organisation’s diversity and inclusivity (D&I) goals in terms of creating a culture, where people from all sections and backgrounds can thrive together and grow”

Nita Nambiar, AVP-HR and India diversity & inclusion lead, Cognizant

Sensitisation of student community: Cognizant’s support is not restricted to its own employees alone, but is extended to the student community too. The Company has helped sensitise more than 7000 students from the campuses of top B-schools to the nature and needs of the LGBTQ+ community. Cognizant plans to cover students from various technology institutions as well as part of this sensitisation drive.

“The institutions themselves came forward to express their interest and thoughts on sensitising their students,” says Nambiar.

Hiring from LGBTQ+ community: For hiring people from the LGBTQ+ background, the Company has two major sources for attracting talent. One is an association with a D&I consultancy partner, which organises job fairs to attract talent from LGBTQ+ background. “We receive man applications from such events and job fairs,” admits Nambiar.

Another source of LGBTQ+ talent is the Company’s outreach arm, which is connected to NGOs and other institutions and facilitates easy access to talent from this community.

Nambiar clarifies that no special treatment is given to these candidates during the hiring process. “Since we also need to maintain a culture of meritocracy, the hiring process remains the same for everyone. The LGBTQ+ candidates are also evaluated on their competencies and skills for the job like any other candidate,” shares Nambiar.

However, ‘Embrace’ the affinity group at Cognizant, stays in touch with these employees during the onboarding process, just so that the candidates do not feel excluded.

Nambiar admits that there is no perfect yardstick to measure the impact of the sensitisation sessions, but the Company’s employee-engagement survey shows that it scores quite high on its D&I initiatives. Cognizant’s Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) Report of 2021 also confirms the same.

Cognizant’s efforts at inclusivity are not limited to the LGBTQ+ clan alone. The Company is focussing strongly on creating an inclusive workplace for women as well. As per the Company’s 2021 ESG report, in India, 39 per cent of its 2,40,000-strong workforce comprises women. Now, Cognizant — which is amongst the largest private employers in the country — wishes to take this figure up to 50 per cent.

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That is not all, as the Airline reveals in its Sustainable Development Report 2021, it has set up a special Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Steering Committee and a dedicated team in 2021, to help accelerate decision making on issues pertaining to inclusion. The Airline has also opened its first gender-neutral bathroom at Cathay City.

A review of the Airline’s formal Hire-to-Retire process has led to several revisions to current policies and introduction of certain new policies basis the needs of employees, talent acquisition and management as well as areas for development.

The parental leave policy has been revised to cover all family circumstances instead of just the traditional mother and father roles. Staff in Hong Kong are allowed to self-declare as either the primary or secondary caregiver (unless they have physically given birth to the child, in which case they are can take 14 weeks of leave under Hong Kong Law).

Primary caregivers are entitled to 14 weeks of leave, and secondary caregivers can take five working days off.

The focus on ‘gender and sexual orientation’ has increased via its employee-resource groups.

Augustus Tang, CEO, Cathay Pacific, realises “We need to work towards having a truly inclusive workplace – a workplace where people feel comfortable to share their thoughts and opinions freely”.

According to him, “Our people’s distinct experiences and diversity of thought can give us a competitive edge in understanding customers from all corners of the world – their needs, their behaviours and what drives them”.

The Cathay Women’s Network aims to strengthen messages of gender equality and women’s empowerment, even while stressing on the importance of work-life balance. The Network ran a corporate-wide survey in 2021, to better understand how the Women’s Network can support the needs of the women in its workforce. Every year, in October, the Airline’s ‘Fly Pink’ campaign offers charity sales and activities to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research, and prostate cancer.

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“For the first time in Saudi aviation history! Flyadeal operated the first flight with all-female crew, majority of which are Saudis by the newest A320 aircraft,” tweeted the airline.

Most of the seven crew members were Saudi women including the co-pilot named Yara Jan, who is also one of the youngest Saudi women pilots. However, the captain of the flight was not a Saudi woman, according to what a spokesperson of the airline shared with the media.

The flight took off from Saudi’s capital city, Riyadh, to Jeddah on 19 May.

Saudi Arabia’s aviation authority, which also confirmed this news from Flyadeal, is working constantly towards creating more opportunities for women in the aviation sector of the country. In fact, as a country, Saudi Arabia has managed to increase the participation of women in the workforce in the past six years. As per a data by General Authority of Statistics, the participation of women in the workforce stood at 33 per cent in 2020, having gone up from 19 per cent in 2016.

In 2019, Saudi Arabia saw its first woman co-pilot flying her first flight. The participation of women in the workforce of the country has significantly improved under the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 economic diversification plan.

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Anitha Manikantan, head of people practice, Medi Assist, reiterates that a “lot of thought has gone into this programme” and since all the leaders gave their full support, the firm went ahead with its implementation.

The firm wishes to hire women not just in leadership roles, but across departments such as operations, partnerships and technology.

The organisation is working towards creating a gender-equal workplace by providing equal opportunities. Currently, 42 per cent of Medi Assist’s workforce comprises women and the firm is aiming to increase this in the next few quarters. To achieve this goal, the firm hopes to tap the huge talent and capability among women professionals who are on a break due to various reasons.

Usually professional women who take a hiatus find it very challenging to restart their careers. The gap is seen as a huge disadvantage, and the women themselves lose confidence in their own abilities and start considering themselves incompetent.

The insurtech and healthtech organisation hopes to give opportunities and support to such women to re-enter the workforce and have a go at a second innings.

Therefore, the components of this initiative are structured onboarding, targeted mentoring, flexible work alternatives, and on-the-job learning, which prepare the potential employees for career 2.0.

The initiative helps women achieve their career goals and break down barriers by creating an environment that encourages them to resume their careers.

The health benefits administrator invites women to send their profiles to talent@mediassist.in

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As per an annual report published by the Ministry of Roads and Highways in India, in 2018, women formed only 20 per cent of the entire logistics and transportation sector in the country!

Gati, part of the Allcargo Logistics Group, has decided to take a concrete step in the direction of increasing the number of women in the Company.

Talking to HRKatha, Mehernosh Mehta, chief HR officer, Gati, shares that the Company has started a pilot project wherein it has created an all-women shift at some of its operating units. That means, every day, there is a dedicated eight-hour shift comprising only women.

How is it happening?

“Very often, in my previous stints as well, I have been frequently asked how we can increase the number of women in the logistics sector. I feel it is not very difficult to achieve. If we have the right ecosystem, governance and policies that support women at the workplace, this impossible task can be easily fulfilled,” asserts Mehta.

Increasing the ratio of women in the Company is a big agenda and part of the business score card, admits Mehta. The ground work to make the workplace inclusive for all women talent has been done.

“Very often, in my previous stints as well, I have been frequently asked how we can increase the number of women in the logistics sector. I feel it is not very difficult to achieve. If we have the right ecosystem, governance and policies that support women at the workplace, this impossible task can be easily fulfilled”

Mehernosh Mehta, chief HR officer, Gati

Sensitisation: Mehta shares that all managers and employees have undergone gender sensitisation sessions. The Company has sensitised its employees to Protection of Women from Sexual Harassment (POSH) policies and compliance to ensure that a gender-inclusive workplace is created.

While Gati hasn’t revealed the precise number of women it has hired at its operating units, it is clear that the Company is working continuously to tap women talent through various sources and channels, for all levels of jobs.

Returnship programme: The highlight of the recent initiatives by Gati is the group-level returnship programme that benefits women on a career break. Allcargo provides opportunities to women who have witnessed a halt in their careers to restart their professional journey, by enrolling for this programme.

Tie-ups: Additionally, Gati has tied up with various NGOs that work to empower women and tap female talent for its operating units.

Mehta reveals that Gati wants to take this initiative even further by having all-women shifts across the operating units of the Company in India. “We have more than 200 operational units in India. We know that it will be a humongous task to implement something like this, but our teams are making efforts and laying down plans to achieve this mission,” declares Mehta proudly.

While the all-women shift programme was started as a pilot project, Mehta admits that it has really given great results. That is why, Gati wants to take this initiative to all operational units across the country.

Since the logistics sector is not amongst the preferred sectors for women, companies do find it challenging to attract them, especially for frontline roles. “Our employer brand and the overall brand image is quite strong. We have positioned ourselves in the talent market as we are, and people are aware of us since they have interacted with our brand and services at some point in life,” concludes Mehta confidently.

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While ordering the state government to pay the pending maternity benefits of three women employees of the Kerala University of Health Sciences (KUHS), the High Court observed that employers should offer all possible support to women so that they are able to achieve their potential as professionals at the workplace.

This observation was made while considering a petition filed by three women employees of KUHS, who were employed on contract and were denied maternity benefits, even though they were allowed to proceed on maternity leave.

Two of the petitioners, had been employed with KUHS for nine years, while the third had worked for KUHS for five years. Therefore, the petitioners, working as programmers, saw no reason for the varsity to deny them their maternity benefits.

When the petitioners had applied for maternity leave, they were denied the request saying that their contract was for less than a year. Actually, the University had purposefully inserted a gap of two days at the time of renewal.

The HC, however, ordered the University to pay their pending benefits in two months’ time, saying that the break which was introduced between the contract period should not be held against the women or come in the way of them being granted maternity benefits.

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The programme, which will focus on work, training, networking and mentorship, will ensure that professionals are hired directly into a role and enjoy the flexibility and support required to restart their careers.

Customised training will be provided to help them transition back into the work environment.

PM Srinivas, VP and head – HR, Indian Subcontinent, Procter & Gamble revealed that when professionals, especially women, are forced to take a break from their careers to take care of their loved ones, they find it difficult to return to work, as there are “limited opportunities to regain full employment”.

The P&G ReLaunch program will be a “holistic platform that will not only provide an opportunity to talented and experienced professionals but also empower them, through customised trainings, mentorship programmes, networking platforms, and flexibility, to have a successful career.”

As part of the programme, the Company will broaden the ReLauncher’s professional network by creating platforms that enable relationship building throughout P&G. These professionals will be supported by senior mentors and buddies, who will help hem with advice required to navigate the organisation.

Additionally, P&G India’s ‘P&G Shiksha Betiyan Scholarship Programme’ will offer financial aid and mentorship to underprivileged girls who wish to pursue STEM education. This programme will be offered across 50+ colleges including technical institutes, undergraduate colleges and post-graduate universities.

Srinivas hopes that “Access to technical education will provide an opportunity to girls to create their own pathway towards a successful career in manufacturing, engineering, and technology roles across industries, and will also advance equality in these roles”.

The programme is expected to “break barriers for girls who aspire to pursue careers in manufacturing and lead to inclusive growth of the individual, communities and the world.”

Being committed to providing equal opportunity to women in STEM roles, P&G has partnered with NITIE to host the P&G-NITIE Equality Summit to spark conversations on issues that perpetuate a glass ceiling for women, uncover deep-rooted stereotypes that still exist, and motivate change specifically linked to equal representation in STEM and supply chain. Through its ‘Venus Betiyan Programme,’ the Company is also providing an exclusive three-year training on manufacturing operations specifically to women and is also offering mentorship programmes to the women members of its employees’ families.

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This collaboration will witness TRRAIN and RAI working together to implement diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) policies with retailers registered with the RAI.

The partnership will encourage retail members to offer job opportunities for TRRAIN certified Persons with Disability (PwD) candidates at entry-level and other levels over the next five years.

The two entities will together identify and map job roles at different levels within the industry, taking into account the various types of disabilities.

Experts from TRRAIN will help RAI encourage retailers to sensitise employees and create workplaces that are disability-oriented and accessible, and support hiring PwDs.

BS Nagesh, founder, TRRAIN said, “As thought leaders and catalysts, we want to enable retail organisations in their diversity and inclusion journey, particularly with regard to employing Persons with Disabilities (PwD)”.

Nagesh highlighted that “80 per cent of retail jobs are customer-facing” and therefore, “employing PwDs will lead to creating awareness and sensitisation at a large level. And, since retail has low entry barriers with minimum qualification being 10th Grade, there is a huge talent pool to explore and impact.”

Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, RAI pointed out that, “India has one store for every 100 citizens making retail one of the top employers employing about 4.5 crore people. The industry is significant not only because of its contribution to the country’s GDP and commerce but also because it employs people with various abilities and backgrounds”.

This agreement signed between TRRAIN and RAI “will not only give PwDs a good chance at employment in retail and thereby support themselves and their families but also contribute towards the progress of retail as an industry.”

The partnership was inked during the Retail Leadership Summit 2022, wherein CEOs and CHROs from retailers such as Nexus Malls, Inorbit Malls, Vishal Mega Mart, and Reliance Retail have pledged their support, reiterating their commitment to making a difference in the industry by fostering diversity and inclusion.

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As per the agreement, over the next two years, Flipkart will work with DEPwD and SCPwD to jointly create structured skill-development interventions and enabling mechanisms that will bring PwDs into the mainstream, especially the e-commerce sector.

Flipkart will provide easy access to learning opportunities for PWDs to acquire relevant skills through the National Skill Qualification Committee and skills for supply chain operations through Flipkart’s Supply Chain Operations Academy.

With this move, Flipkart is committing to build an inclusive supply chain.

In July last year, Flipkart established the first-ever PwD-run delivery hub in New Delhi, managed end-to-end by PwDs, working in various roles, including delivery executives, cashiers, and team leaders. Flipkart today employs close to 1,500 people with disabilities across its supply chain.

Through its initiative Ekartians with Disabilities (EDAB), which started in 2017, Flipkart has already created job opportunities for thousands of PwDs for varied roles across its supply chain.

Today, the e-commerce player has a workforce of over two lakh, with a structured diversity programme that includes employing women and People with Disabilities (PwDs).

Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Virendra Kumar, said, “Divyangjan or Persons with Disabilities need support and not sympathy. This MoU between DEPwD, SCPwD and Flipkart will open up opportunities for them and play a major role in equipping them with the right skill sets to enhance their employability.”

Rajneesh Kumar, chief corporate affairs officer, Flipkart, is “proud of the fact that we have men, women and people with disabilities working together in our supply chain, helping break the stigma around their participation in the mainstream workforce and we are committed to increasing their participation”.

Employees trained in workflows, including sensitisation sessions, special classroom training and on-job training with the help of sign language interpreters. Employees in consumer-facing roles, such as wishmasters (delivery executives), are provided with customer-interaction cards to help any hearing-impaired employees communicate with ease.? The delivery executives have SOS-enabled smartphones and special badges and flashcards to communicate with customers. For security, the PwDs working in the warehouse floor are identified by their differently coloured jacket. Flipkart also provides sign language training to its existing employees to make the PwDs feel comfortable.

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Such an agreement is rare in the fashion space, and this particular initiative is probably the first ever wherein a known brand has entered into a legally-binding agreement to protect the women employed in the garment industry.

As per the agreement, all employees, supervisors and executives will be put through gender-based violence training. The Tamil Nadu Textile and Common Labour Union (TTCU) will hire and train women to serve as ‘shopfloor monitors’. Their responsibility will be to ensure that women are safeguarded from harassment and intimidation of any kind, verbal or sexual.

Natchi Apparels is amongst the largest suppliers from India for H&M. As reported by The Guardian, the victim’s family had alleged that she was raped and murdered, and that she had complained of being harassed and threatened at her workplace for months. They claimed that she was unable to protest or take any action. The incident took place last year. However, the victim’s supervisor later admitted to killing her, and is up for trial.

The incident was independently investigated by the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC), which discovered that Kathiravel wasn’t the only woman to be harassed or ill treated.

Following this, discussions took place between H&M and TTCU, along with other regional and international labour rights groups, which ultimately resulted in H&M entering into this agreement.

The agreement also provides for a stronger and more powerful internal complaints committee at Natchi. It enables women to approach an independent panel and report sexual harassment anonymously within the company. This panel will be empowered to take action against the culprits, dismiss them and also demand monetary compensation for the victims and their families.

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The Company has seen a nine per cent rise in the number of women in the workforce from 2020 to 2021. In 2020, representation of women stood at 16 per cent, and in 2021, it reached 25 per cent.

Talking to HRKatha, Anusha Suryanarayan, CHRO, Signify Philips Lighting India, shares that while they have been quite successful in attracting women for non-sales roles, attracting women talent in front-line sales has been a challenge.

Why women are scarce in front-line sales

“Firstly, there is a dearth in terms of women talent for front-line sales roles and secondly, for women, mobility is a big challenge,” says Suryanarayan. In the electrical consumer durables sector, people in sales are required to travel a lot and often work in remote locations. Women find it difficult to take up such roles due to various reasons ranging from personal preferences to unconscious bias with regard to women being incapable of doing justice to such roles, which deprives them of opportunities.

“This problem is not restricted to Signify alone. Most companies with a front-line sales team or people working in the field face challenges in attracting women talent for such roles,” says Surayanarayan.

However, Signify has resolved to bring about a change. The organisation has set a goal to increase the representation of women talent in its sales team and prove to everyone that women can also be successful in a role, which is majorly dominated by men.

How Signify attracts more women

Signify has taken various steps to achieve this challenging task.

“Most companies with a front-line sales team or people working in the field face challenges in attracting women talent for such roles but we are determined that we can achieve this difficult task”

Anusha Suryanarayan, CHRO, Signify Philips Lighting India

 

Back in the game: One of the major programmes at Signify is ‘Back in the game’, which focuses on giving an opportunity to women employees who had to take a career break due to maternity leave or marriage. Though the programme has existed at Signify for years, it was halted during the pandemic and has now been reinitiated with a major focus on increasing the number of women in the sales team.

Under this programme, experienced women who had to take a career break can apply for roles as per their relevant skills, and receive training and orientation to get back into the groove.

This programme also offers women a chance to take on a project-based role for a few months so that both the Company and the candidates can assess their suitability and satisfaction. Additionally, a lot of flexibility is allowed to women to carry out their roles effectively, so that they are drawn towards sales roles.

Referral programme: Signify runs a special referral programme, wherein women’s peer groups are being encouraged to refer suitable talent. The Company also has a WhatsApp group called ‘women in sales’ wherein people can refer suitable talent for sales roles along with a social-media campaign to attract women talent in sales.

Currently, at Signify, the sales team consists of 10.4 per cent women, an increase of 30 per cent from last year.

Sensitisation: Signify is working towards sensitising the workforce to make the environment more inclusive and equitable for women employees. It is relying on periodic workshops and drama-based sensitisation to make people aware of their unconscious biases.

Activities: As an engagement activity, Signify has a platform called ‘She the People’ where all women employees meet and interact every quarter. It starts with an ice-breaker session and concludes by inviting suggestions from everyone on how the Company can further enhance its gender diversity agenda. This acts as a roadmap for the Company to set its vision and goals for the future. During this process, people are organised into groups to discuss their challenges and what all the Company can do to mitigate those challenges.

Suryanarayan does agree that the task of increasing the number of women in the sales team is a difficult one. However, the Company is determined to increase women’s representation by another three to four per cent by the end of this year.

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Nina Nair, senior vice president & HRD head, India & Americas, said “As an organisation, we are extremely passionate about Diversity and Inclusion. We strongly believe in supporting our people in every way possible to help them manage their professional and personal lives comfortably”.

In a bid to become more women friendly, it has introduced several initiatives such as ‘equal pay for equal work’. The women are paid at par with (at times even better than) the men in the organisation. Compensations are paid based on merit.

The firm has a global mobility programme in place wherein virtual global roles are created for women who may not be able to physically relocate due to family commitments.

Hiring drives are organised focused on bringing more women into the workforce. [24]7.ai has tied up with several channel partners specialising in the diversity space to reach out to women in colleges, tier II and III towns, and via lateral and referral hiring.

Its women-focussed learning and development (L&D) programme, ‘Womenable’, and modules are designed to create a pipeline of potential women leaders for the organisation who can take on mid and top management positions. The company has already managed to create a powerful pool of women leaders who are leading various business functions such as IT/IS, legal, quality, HRD, sales, marketing and more.

There is an adoption support policy with maternity leaves for those who are adopting kids.

[24]7.ai understands that women need extra support and care during pregnancy, which is why it offers baby allowances when employees welcome a baby into their lives. ‘Baby showers’ are organised for expectant mothers. Special cabs are provided for pregnant women throughout their term of pregnancy for a comfortable and safe commute. Moms-to-be badges are given to employees to ensure special care is given to the pregnant women during the course of pregnancy by everyone in the organisation.

There is also a Gift of Time, a unique initiative where employees can help other team members in times of need by ‘gifting’ up to 30 days of leave or off days. This is especially beneficial to women seeking an extended maternity break or time off to attend to family priorities.

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The figure is very encouraging as the previous year, that is, in 2020, the women amongst new hires were 19 per cent less.

With more and more women opting for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers, the volume of talent available within the industry for these roles has gone up.

Eaton employs women engineers in various domains including data analytics, computer science, information technology, mechanical, electrical, electrical and communications, automation, power electronics, and aerospace engineering.

The Company plans to continue expanding its presence across campuses and incorporating new colleges with respect to niche skills hiring.

Ashish Kapoor, director, human resources, India, aims to “make Eaton a great place to work where the uniqueness of each individual is valued. In lines with our goal to become a model of inclusion and diversity in our industry, we remain committed to ensuring that Eaton continues to be an equal opportunity employer”.

Kapoor admits that “Eaton’s success is dependent on our ability to identify, attract and groom diverse people with the brightest minds.”

Founded in 1911, Eaton has been listed on the NYSE for nearly a century. The Company is to improving the quality of life and protecting the environment for people everywhere. It posted revenues of $19.6 billion in 2021 and serves customers in over 170 countries.

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The biopharma company has a headcount of over 1,800 employees. Nilesh Kulkarni, CHRO, Bharat Serums & Vaccines, tells HRKatha that the Company is dedicated to creating a gender-balanced workforce across its offices.

Since its primary concern is women’s health and care, it believes that having more women as employees enables it to understand its target population’s needs better and helps it reach its goals.

On a more practical front, the Company has flexible policies in place to attract more women to its workforce. It is doing everything possible to place more women in customer-facing roles.

Reimbursements: Being aware of the difficulties women face while travelling alone, the Company provides reimbursement for the field work, which covers food as well as expenses pertaining to commute.

Leave policy: The Company also provides equal number of adoption leave and paternity leave. The women employees also get allowances that are one level higher than the overall workforce. This is done with the aim of offering them convenience, safety and flexibility, keeping in mind their willingness to engage with the work at the BSV offices.

A significant 22 per cent of the research & development workforce at BSV comprises women, which is higher than the industry benchmark of 14 per cent. This has been possible because of the Company’s desire and resolve to have more women in the department, reveals Kulkarni.

“Employees who refer females candidates, who get selected for the job, get better rewards. We also remain in contact with recruitment agencies, and incentivise them if they bring us more women candidates”

Nilesh Kulkarni, CHRO, Bharat Serums & Vaccines

The biopharma firm is diligently working towards creating a gender-equal workplace, despite the innumerable challenges it faces in doing so.

Referral schemes: There are attractive referral schemes in place to encourage more women to join the BSV team.

“Employees who refer females candidates, who get selected for the job, get better rewards. We also remain in contact with recruitment agencies, and incentivise them if they bring us more women candidates,” shares Kulkarni.

Digitisation: Covid-19 has transformed the way companies operate, and it has also ushered in a wave of digitisation that has made things a lot easier.

In the field of sales too, BSV has been encouraging more women to join the team. Women, it is generally believed, feel uncomfortable travelling and going door to door to sell products, which explains their small numbers in the sales domain. However, Kulkarni points out that digitisation has made things far easier, when it comes to dealing with customers and conveying information to physicians.

Employees can now choose between meeting customers in a physical setting, or discussing products with them via digital interactions. It is hoped that this way of communication will eliminate some of the challenges BSV has been facing in hiring more women for the salesforce.

Yet, Kulkarni admits that they have a long way to go in achieving a healthy gender ratio in the department.

Kulkarni points out three factors that the Company will be focusing on, in order to establish a bright future — reskilling, collaboration and scientific expertise.

With rapid digitisation and technological advancements, it has become imperative for BSV employees to remain up to date with all the changes happening in the industry. The Company is committed to providing employees with all the resources required to reskill. It also understands the importance of collaboration, and with the hybrid working model in practice, it aims to emphasise on and facilitate the same.

Bharat Serums & Vaccines will also continue to work towards achieving scientific expertise and providing the best services to its customers.

The post Why Bharat Serums & Vaccines needs more women in its sales and R&D teams appeared first on HR Katha.

“A gender-balanced workforce is crucial to an organisation’s success. Women bring skill, experience, perspective, and diversity to Zensar. The Enliven initiative will facilitate the reintegration of women into our workforce. We hope Enliven helps debunk the myth that a career break is a life break. I look forward to the successful rollout of this program,” says Ajay S. Bhutoria, CEO & MD, Zensar.

Apart from hiring women with a career break, the Enliven programme at Zensar also focuses on hiring people with disability and individuals from the LGBTQ community.

“Enliven is one of our key D&I initiatives, as we expand our vision to create gender balance and bring in more inclusive practices while creating a progressive culture. We have been consistent in our pursuit of creating an ecosystem designed to help these women professionals take the right strides in their career re-launch. We have already inducted a dynamic set of women associates as part of this initiative and look forward to adding more to the team. Our diversity hiring practices follow global best practices, as we constantly try to learn and evolve to be a more gender-diverse, inclusive company,” shares Vivek Ranjan, CHRO, Zensar.

Other facets like equal pay and promotion, work flexibility, wellness resources, and benefits uphold Zensar’s inclusive practices. The company has introduced gender pay gap fitment, zero discrimination in promotion, performance rating processes, and learning platforms exclusive to its women employees.

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Most of the employees are customer care associates, personal shoppers, and beauty advisors who work long hours on the shop floor. This policy will allow these women to take 12 days of paid leaves under the menstrual leave policy, every year, in addition to the privileged and sick leaves.

Venugopal Nair, customer care associate, managing director & chief executive officer, Shoppers Stop, says the Company is aware of the long strenuous hours these women follow, “causing them fatigue and weariness when they are already uncomfortable on their period. We understand the discomfort women go through. This leave allows women to voluntarily take time off during their menstrual cycle.”

Shoppers Stop believes in promoting a safe and healthy work environment for its employees and wishes to break barriers and smash stigma. The firm believes that “these leaves are every woman’s right” and therefore, is “taking its step to support this agenda”.

Spread across 86 department stores in 46 cities, the Company also operates 11 premium home concept stores, two exclusive beauty stores in the name of SSBeauty, 130 specialty beauty stores of M.A.C, Estée Lauder, Bobbi Brown, Clinique, Smash box, Jo Malone and 24 airport doors, occupying an area of 4.5M sq. ft.

Shoppers Stop offers a unique shopping assistance service called ‘Personal Shopper’, which is revolutionising the way people shop, bringing more value, comfort, and convenience to customer experiences.

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The objective is to let fathers have more time to bond with their new-born children and support their partner by sharing childcare responsibilities, so that families can be happy and healthy in the longer term.

This gender-neutral caregiving policy promotes physical, emotional and mental well-being of not just Solv’s employees but also their families.

Solv has implemented many people-friendly practices to promote overall well-being and better work-life balance for employees.

The Company’s adoption leave policy has always been gender-neutral, allowing for 12 weeks of leave at a continuous stretch, for the primary caregiver in the case of an adopted child.

It already follows No-Meeting Hour, Special Day Off and Wellness Day Off across the organisation.

Under the ‘No-Meeting Hour’ policy, meetings are discouraged between 1 pm and 2 pm, so that employees have time to unwind, eat lunch peacefully, or work without any meetings distracting their flow of thought.

Employees are encouraged to take a special day off, as per their choice to celebrate their own or spouse’s birthday or to celebrate their wedding anniversary.

Wellness Day Off employees to vote for a day off once every quarter to take a break from work and unwind and return to work recharged and refreshed.

Amit Bansal, CEO, Solv, feels “Employees are at the core of our business, and we are making a conscious effort to not have a cookie-cutter approach towards our people practices. We constantly strive to make every effort to build a deep bond with not just our employees, but their families too”.

While the Company has offices in Bangalore and Noida, it believes that its core tenet of ‘customer first” can be achieved by employees working from anywhere. Therefore, employees have the option of coming into the office or working remotely, whichever is suitable.

This additional flexibility optimises their professional and personal responsibilities and contributes to overall employee well-being.

Registered as Standard Chartered Research & Technology India, Solv is a fully-owned entity of the Standard Chartered Group, headquartered in London.

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Hero Housing Finance

Hero Housing Finance introduced the ‘pink leave programme’ where women employees can take a break from work to recover from menstrual pain and discomfort.  Sharing the details about the programme, Paramjit Singh Nayyar, CHRO, Hero Housing Finance shares with HRKatha that as per the pink leave programme, women employees can apply for half-day leave during that time of the month. So overall, they can take up to six leaves in a year, which is over and above any other causal, sick or privilege leave.

Talking to HRKatha, Nayyar shares that the Company did a dipstick survey before introducing this programme. As per the feedback received, all women employees agreed to the fact that half-day leave is enough for them to take rest, rejuvenate and resume work. “Generally, if one wants, she can choose not to take this leave at all. But as a company we want to give them an option where they can create a balance,” says Nayyar.

Since the subject of menstrual discomfort is a sensitive subject and many women are not comfortable  discussing it openly, they often end up not using such leaves in the first place. To make this simple, Nayyar says that if women employees want to avail this leave, they are not required to take an approval from their supervisor. “They can simply apply for the leave on the Company’s dashboard,” says Nayyar.

“We could have also celebrated this Women’s Day by just offering flowers and chocolates to our women employees, but as a company, we wanted to do something truly meaningful and useful. Our vision is to create an equitable environment. For that, we all need to understand that we have biological differences and accept those differences. As a company, we chose to talk about it and address the issues around it as well,” shares Nayyar.

Currently, Hero Housing Finance employs 1200 of which 10 per cent are women. As Nayyar further shares, the Company is working to create a diverse workforce and has plans to move beyond gender diversity. It will onboard people with disabilities and also from the LGBTQ community.

ŠKODA AUTO Volkswagen India

ŠKODA AUTO Volkswagen India (SAVWIPL), celebrated this international women’s day in a different style. The company decided to start a campaign called ‘License To Drive’ where about 100 women employees of SAVWIPL from across locations participated and received their learner’s license on March 04. All female employees took part in the online training sessions for driving and also took an online exam to get their learner’s licence.

The second phase of the campaign commenced from 08 March, which will include a month-long drivers’ training programme, followed by an RTO (Regional Transport Office) exam for obtaining the driver’s license.

“Driving isn’t just a male forte. The number of skilled women drivers are increasing every-day, and today it is HER Lane as much as it is HIS. As a global organization with a strong focus on promoting equitable workplace and inclusion, the #LicensetoDrive initiative is a natural fit to encourage our women employees who, for various reasons, have not been able to commit their time and effort towards learning this vital skill. I am happy to share that almost 100 of our colleagues have received their Learner’s licence under this program and will undergo further training for their Driver’s License. We take this opportunity to wish our women employees and customers a very Happy International Women’s Day,” says Sarma Chillara, CHRO, SAVWIPL.

The initiative is being implemented with a series of communications campaigns, training sessions, and on-ground events.

Bata India

Bata India, the Indian footwear brand also celebrated International Women’s Day by announcing the opening of 25 stores across the country, run by an all-women staff.

The women-run stores are operational in metros such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru & Chennai and also Tier one and three towns like Pune, Nagpur, Udupi, Jamshedpur and Visakhapatnam.

“Diversity & inclusion and empowering women to pursue their dreams has been a key part of the ethos at Bata India. Retail traditionally has been a male dominated space. By increasing the all women-run stores from 10 to over 25 now, we wanted to shatter the glass ceiling and encourage more women to become a part of the fashion retail industry. We have now 25 women-run stores across metros and smaller towns. I’m also heartened by the fact that we have now more women entrepreneurs who are coming up and partnering with us to open Bata franchise stores in smaller towns. At the grass-roots level, we continue to support girls’ school education under the Bata Children Program(BCP) initiative,” shares Gunjan Shah, MD & CEO-Bata India.

The launch of all-women stores is yet another step taken by Bata in consolidating their commitment towards diversity and inclusion and nurturing an environment where everyone can grow.

ShareChat

ShareChat, the Indian social-media platform, has rolled out unique and progressive policies for all its employees, especially women on the occasion of Women’s Day. This includes leave allowances and packages around childcare, fertility, adoption and miscarriage.

Employees can avail five days annually to take care of health-related emergencies at home or education-related matters of their children.

Women will be provided Rs 7000 per child per month, as nanny expenses, up to six years of age.

Twenty-six weeks of adoption support leave will be provided to adoptive mothers of children less than six months old. For children older than six months, the adoptive mothers will get 12 weeks of leave.

The employee health insurance will cover fertility-related treatments and care packages for all expectant mothers. Commissioning mothers can avail up to 12 weeks of leave.

Additionally, to foster and reinforce a culture that supports employees through tough or critical times, employees can avail five days of leave to help associates or colleagues undergoing a tubectomy or vasectomy procedure. ShareChat will provide up to five days of leave to male employees to take care of their partners in case of their partners suffering a miscarriage or having to undergo a medical termination of pregnancy.

Being committed to diversity and inclusion, ShareChat already provides insurance coverage for live-in partners including members from the LGBTQ+ community. It organises webinars and Q/A sessions with India’s leading experts in women’s health, for the benefit of all the women in the workforce.
It celebrates new milestones and loved ones in the lives of employees with special gifts for new born babies, and even curated gift hampers for pets.

Mitalee Dabral, vice president – human resources, ShareChat and Moj points out that ShareChat aims to “create a truly inclusive and agile workplace where our employees are valued, supported, and feel a sense of belonging”.

The firm thought of launching these unique benefits on the occasion of International Women’s Day to celebrate womanhood and take a step towards ensuring holistic wellness for all its employees.

The Company wishes for its employees to “have not only a work-life balance but also a mental-physical balance”.

According to Dabral, these benefits are the Company’s way of letting employees know “that we understand their needs and have their back in managing both home and work.”

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The store will be fully managed by female employees. Roles such as the store manager to Samsung Experience Consultants, who help consumers make informed choices about buying Galaxy devices, to the Galaxy Consultant extending device support will all be managed by female employees at the store.

All female staff working at the store are trained in Galaxy devices of Samsung and other key operational skills such as customer service, sales, financial management, stock planning and consumer safety protocols.

“We are very excited to set up the first all-women mobile store and are confident about the new possibilities and milestones this incredible team is set to achieve, in keeping with our values of people, excellence and co-prosperity. We are committed to growing the number of women in our workforce and nurturing the next generation of women leaders across the company,” says Ken Kang, President & CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia.

Apart from this, as the company recognises that their women employees have played an integral role in the success of the company, Samsung has also set up an employee resource group called WiSE (Women in Samsung Electronics) which will provide support and help to women employees in personal and career development.

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The powerful stories of Amazon women employees and partners will inspire others to reach their dreams. The company has launched this initiative to highlight the success of female employees and associates at Amazon and how they redefined the role of women in the E-commerce industry as a whole.

The foreword of the coffee table book is written by Aruna Sharma, IAS, former secretary to the Government of India, where she reiterates the need to accelerate women’s participation in the workplace, to accomplish the vision of a truly self-reliant India.

“At Amazon, inclusion is at the heart of all our decision making and we believe that it’s not only good for society but also for business. ‘SheIsAmazon’ is a simple effort to recognise the stellar work done by many women, across Amazon India. There are thousands of women who are breaking bias every day and succeeding in unconventional roles and profiles. We are thankful to all these remarkable women for making what Amazon is, an inclusive and progressive workplace,” says Swati Rustagi, Director, DE&I, International Markets, WW Consumer, Amazon.

A fellow trans woman, Sindhu Mary, an associate at Amazon’s fulfilment centre shares her experience working at Amazon. “I am so glad to be treated as an equal at my workplace. The financial stability and growth opportunities make me feel independent and worthy. Honestly, I want to tell all my community members that when the right platform is offered to you, grab the opportunity and give it your best,” she says.

To make Amazon a truly inclusive place to work, the company has launched various DE&I programmes specifically to support female talent at the workplace. Rekindle is the returnship programme at Amazon which allows women who had to take a break due to personal reasons to restart their career. Another of those is Amazon WoW programme which helps to support women tech talent. The programme helps engineering students build long-term careers in technology; they can interact with Amazon leaders, participate in workshops, and connect with alumni on career experiences.

In addition, the company also has a dedicated program for hiring military veterans, called the Military Veterans Employment Program (MVEP) which creates work opportunities for military veterans and their spouses. Under MVEP, Amazon has an affinity group called Military Ambassadors that focuses on specific development needs of veterans and provides tailored training experiences to support them in their transition to the corporate world.

The post Amazon launches ‘SheIsAmazon’ campaign to bring women talent in spotlight appeared first on HR Katha.

Candidates who are eligible for this programme should have two years of experience and a career gap of at least two years. The company will launch this programme in Kolkata and then expand it to other locations in the country.

While it has been revealed that the programme is open for all but Mindtree hopes to attract women talent in particular through this programme. Generally, females are compelled to drop their professional careers due to personal circumstances such as child birth or marriage.

The programnme will aim at refreshing the candidates in their respective skills and restart their career. As part of the programme, the company plans to reskill the new candidates through digital learning boot camps, skills-based intervention, mentorship, and opportunities to work on live, cutting-edge projects.

“Restarting a career after a break can be at once exciting and daunting,” says Suresh Bethavandu, CPO, Mindtree. “The objective of our returnship program is to make that return as seamless and effective as possible. It seeks to help returners rediscover their talent and a sense of purpose. We plan to leverage our acclaimed learning and development programs to give these individuals an opportunity to upskill and evolve into higher-end career opportunities. The program will pave the way to bring in more diverse talent to Mindtree, helping them hone their skills to accelerate their careers, while enabling us to unlock greater innovation and creativity that come with a diverse workforce and an inclusive workplace,” Bethavandu adds.

Mindtree has created a community of women professionals in the company, named Athena. It fosters a spirit of togetherness at work through several dedicated initiatives. Women Wednesdays, a special get-together for women professionals, provides women leaders from within and outside the company share their life stories and experiences in order to guide fellow professionals. The Women Tech Trailblazer initiative involves coaching women at the associate, junior and mid-senior levels to help them make the right choices and grow.

The company also has a ‘She WILL’ (Women in Leaders League) initiative, which is targeted towards senior women leaders and promoting a gender sensitive and inclusive work environment.

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

With such focused hiring, leadership development, coaching and mentoring initiatives, the company aims to increase the representation of women at Mindtree which currently stands at 32 per cent to 40 per cent before the end of this decade.

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Talking exclusively to HRKatha, Chandan Chattaraj, president – HR, India and global, UFlex, shares that the Company started the campaign a few months back. The campaign has been so successful in India, that the Company has decided to take it global.

Under the campaign, UFlex is sharing stories of some of the successful women employees at UFlex working in different functions, businesses and roles to share their success stories with the world. The Company will be sharing these stories on social media, predominantly Linkedin, and also in their industry magazine that is circulated internally.

Speaking to HRKatha, Chattaraj says that for UFlex, attracting women talent in various roles has been a challenge. UFlex has a 10,000+ strong global workforce, with 8000 employees working in India. Though the Company refrains from sharing the exact percentage, but Chattaraj reveals that, as of now, the percentage of women at UFlex is in single digit in India, while globally it goes into double digits at certain locations.

“Being in a manufacturing company, we do not have many women coming forward to take up plant operation roles,” shares Chattaraj. “Barriers remain for women in the workforce when it comes to roles traditionally held by men. This is also largely because of lack of women role models in our industry,” adds Chattaraj.

“Being in a manufacturing company, we do not have many women coming forward to take up plant operation roles”

Chandan Chattaraj, president – HR, India and global, UFlex

Another challenge that Chattaraj describes is that UFlex is not just into the packaging business, but is also into the holography segment, where it provides marketing holographic products and solutions to its customers.

Chattaraj explains that this is a very new and niche line of business and people are not aware of it. However, for the chemicals business at UFlex, the Company does manage to attract some female talent.

He goes on to admit that attracting female talent in certain roles is also difficult. “We do get female talent in R&D roles for the chemicals business and for sales & marketing roles. We also make efforts to attract more women for such roles,” asserts Chattaraj.

Like other organisations that have strategies in place to attract women talent, Chattaraj says that as a company, UFlex believes that one does not need a particular strategy to attract any kind of talent. “Talent is talent and we believe in giving equal opportunities to everyone whether man or a woman,” states Chattaraj.

There are many interesting stories from the campaign, one of which is about Neeraj Jain, head of production, cylinder manufacturing robotics plant, who started her career in 1996 and was one of the first ones to start a career in a manufacturing industry in her family.

During her training days, she worked at the male-dominated shop floor where operations were difficult. Still, she came up and became the head of production. Infact, Chattaraj shares that she went to Japan to complete her robotics training.

Another interesting story is that of Kavita Lahoti, finance head, packaging films, India. As per UFlex, Lahoti is the first woman chartered accountant from her district, Sriganganagar in Rajasthan. As the finance head of the packaging films business in India, she constantly strives to excel every day and owes a big part of her success to her learnings from the operational excellence programme of the company.

Another story that emphasises the internal growth of women employees at UFlex is about Shalini Bhalla, marketing head, cylinder exports. She started as a front office executive but her impeccable skills and go-getter spirit led to her being moved to the domestic and export marketing division in the cylinders business. There, she has been instrumental in developing new markets including countries such as Thailand, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

Shalini has covered more than half the world today to successfully position the Company’s cylinder product portfolio as one of the leaders in the space. Bhalla is also one of the oldest female employee at UFlex who has worked with the organisation for 27 years.

Similarly there are various such stories of power women employees that the company has shared and posted on social media.

With the ‘Breaking The Barrier’ campaign, the Company hopes that women will get motivated and inspired to work for UFlex and the packaging industry as a whole. “We have shared some remarkable stories of the women working with us. I am sure these will inspire and attract many women talent,” says Chattaraj.

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