Celebrating Women @Work each day! A Call to “Accelerate Action”

Another 8th March and an opportunity for the media to fill up column space & social media handles  celebrating women achievers and in equal measure lamenting that very little has changed. The data from the World Economic Forum highlights that at the current rate of progress it will take until 2158,  five generations from now, to achieve gender parity underscoring the need to take swift and decisive steps to achieve a fair, free, safe and inclusive world. It calls for increased momentum and urgency in addressing barriers and biases that women face at a personal and professional level. It is not without reason that the theme for the International Women’s Day 2025 is “Accelerate Action”.                                                                                                                                                            

This post is an attempt to present a balanced picture of the ground reality of “Women” who represent 48.5 percent of the working population of India but remain considerably underrepresented in the workforce. The northward shift  from 14% to 23% (PLFS23-24) over the last few years is attributed to the increase in self-employment & gig work, both falling in the seasonal and vulnerable categories of employment. Interestingly the 2024 Time-Use Survey reveals that Indian Women spend nearly 5 hours per day on unpaid domestic services inhibiting them from taking up paid jobs outside their homes. The economic value of women’s unpaid labour across rural and urban India is estimated to exceed 22 trillion Indian rupees.  A World Bank South Asia Development Update 2024, claims that if women participation in the workforce were to equal that of men “Viksit Bharat” 2047 would be a reality.                                                                                                           

According to a recent study by NCAER, women in top management roles are about 22%, in mid to senior levels they occupy only 20%   vs a global average of 33%. Half the NSE listed Companies had no woman on their boards. In 2013 the percentage of Independent Women Directors was a mere 3.23%. Systemic hurdles & traditional mindsets have kept this number low. The time frame for gender equality on boards has marginally shortened from 2045 to 2038 as a consequence of legislative and Executive Fiats.

What are the factors at the familial & societal  levels which are stuck in the past, difficult to change and contribute to an abysmally low participation in the workforce:                                                                                                                            

Research suggests that Women are socially conditioned to deprioritize their ambitions, resultant lack of determination to overcome all odds to work and dogged by the imposter syndrome (never feeling ready for the job) are key mental blocks in their journey from education to employment. The low awareness of employment opportunities, inadequate networking skills, coupled with low proficiency in English and a mismatch of employable skills compounds their exclusion.  

Familial perceptions about safety, long commutes & working hours, relocation to urban areas, societal inhibitions about certain careers and “ male dominated “  sectors including Aviation, Marine, Mining & Quarrying ,  Space & STEM result in role stereotyping , stigmatize progress &  hinder talent availability at the entry level.

Popularly known as the 3M Penalty, 12% of Women at mid-levels drop out of employment due to Marriage, Maternity & Spouse Mobility. Collapse of the joint family creates an unsupportive home environment which expects women to fit into gender based roles. Drop outs take to sandwich careers:  Elder Care Giving & Child Rearing curbing their financial freedom during their peak years. Limited opportunities to “Return to Work” to reskill and upskill after a pause presents a near permanent loss of their talent to the business world.                                         

Eroding an inclusive and diverse environment are workplace challenges, significant amongst them being conscious and unconscious biases in hiring, posting, promotions and pay increases, navigating an “all-boys club”, lack of mentorship makes them feel undervalued and unsupported, inability to balance work and family life & lack of flexi work arrangements result in a leaking pipeline. Strangely longer maternity benefits are working at cross purposes with their employment, weak enforcement of supportive laws result in inadequate childcare and nursing support facilities pushing women to opt out of the workplace.              

Aon Voice of Women Report 2024 India, shows 42% Women face bias at the workplace, 40% say that maternity leave has had a negative impact on pay , 37% say they faced insensitive behavior at work,  75% said they faced a career setback after return from maternity leave. A recent PWC survey highlights that women often struggle more than men to get their first promotion and prove that they are a dedicated set.                                   

Sexual Harassment of women at the workplace is a reality, besides being unlawful, erodes the dignity of women. Factors contributing to the problem include poor investigation, long drawn outcomes, lack of awareness of the law, retaliatory fear surrounding reporting, pressures to withdraw and a low rate of conviction. According to a report generated by Strat fix Consulting & NHRDN in 2021, only 8% respondents were aware of POSH, 11% respondents said they would quit rather than report. Actually 47% women who faced harassment quit their employment due to this reason.                                                                                                                                                                      

 Mental Health at Work                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   The World Mental Health Day celebrated on the 10th October 2024 has focused on Mental Health at Work for good reason.  The usual suspects causing stress at the workplace are deadlines, back to back meetings, deluge of unread emails, poor team culture, lack of job satisfaction and recognition, sudden job losses, low accountability for inappropriate conduct & long hours at work. The Pandemic more than exacerbated the stressors. Women who doubled up as care givers suffered from mental health Issues more than men. Inability to cope with the consequences of stress started to show up in the form of depression, anxiety, emotional exhaustion/burnout, sleeplessness etc. Women more than men are known to  adopt the “ Flight” route in the form of absenteeism and attrition and in extreme cases suicide.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

The flip side of these challenges presented the Government & Corporate Sector Opportunities to Course Correct. Here’s for some “Good News”:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

The Companies Act 2013 and SEBI Regulations 2015, mandated that all publically listed companies must appoint one female director. The inclusion of women directors is increasingly seen as an essential aspect of good corporate governance. As of October 24, 98% of listed companies have women directors an increase from 88% in 2015. As against 177 in March 2015, only 53 NSE Listed Companies do not have women on their Boards. The number of independent directorships is 27.7% today vs 2015 due to the additional stipulation in this regard. To enlarge the talent pool of women directors, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs is building capacity and encouraging boards to go beyond quotas.                                                               

The Indian Space Sector is witnessing a rise in female participation in STEM education thanks to Government Initiatives like “Women in Science”. Women currently make up 30% of the workforce in this sector including ISRO from a mere 12% in 2019. Insiders at ISRO confess that “Gender “does not determine top assignments or success. DRDO Leadership echoes this sentiment.                                                               

IT Sector: The impact of women in this sector cannot be ignored. Currently make up 36% of the Workforce. This is being attributed to the education to employment pipeline wherein 40% STEM Graduates are women. By working on the ethical aspects of AI , its social consequences need for fairness and accountability  women are shaping the direction of AI. Fueling the growth of women are the Global Capability Centres which are estimated to grow manifold by 2030.

Aviation: 15% of the Pilots employed in this sector are Women making India the Global Leader by  surpassing the global average of 7-9%.This sector has marked a laudable departure from the rest of corporate India. Success in the Skies is being Recognized and Celebrated, giving women the confidence to climb and lift others behind them

Celebrating Women - Lessons in Promoting Diversity Equity and Inclusion from the Corporate Space!                                                                                        

Tatas:  launched the Second Careers Internship Programme for Women popularly known as SCIP, on 8th March 2008. The SCIP sought to address the “ Return “ of women who left jobs at the prime of their careers and were now reluctant to “ Return” either  due to family pressures or because their skills got buried in the past. It strived to serve a twin purpose: Unlock the latent potential and productivity of qualified women & it provided Tata with the opportunity of bringing back intelligent women into the Corporate Mainstream to leverage their expertise and foster a balanced organization. SCIP eased the return to work cliff into a gradual slope - Skipped a few Years / Skipping Back to Work This Programme has delivered a breakthrough not only for the TATA Group but for the whole country. The Programme continues to harvest talent and rewrite the stories of women’s lives.                                                                                Following in their footsteps several organisations in the Banking and Financial Services Sector launched their Returnship Programs: Notable amongst them being Morgan Stanley ,  ICICI Bank 'Career Comeback', Axis Bank 'Re-connect Program' and Kotak Mahindra Bank “ Career Relaunch Program”   

Mahindra Group recently introduced 'SOAR' (Seamless Opportunity for Amazing Return ships) a return ship program designed for women with at least five years of prior work experience who have taken a career break of six months to three years. The program offers full-time roles across various functions within the group, complemented by mentorship, flexible work arrangements, and continuous engagement to ensure a smooth transition back into the workforce.                                                       

Hindustan Zinc: Part of the Vedanta Group, the Company aims to have 30% women in its workforce by 2030. Currently at 25% in a sector dominated by men, it has established a first all-women’s underground miners and rescuers team. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion are very visibly the DNA of the Company. People centric Policies which support this culture include: spouse hiring policies, physical and mental health leaves, flexible working hours, yearlong sabbaticals for child care, talent mobility across functions, monthly no questions asked leave for women have ensured that gender ceases to be a barrier to career advancement. Women are being integrated in backshifts up to 10.00 PM in mines and plants ensure that women have opportunities equally available as to their  male counterparts. The credo   “Talent not Gender defines success” has made the Organization the top choice at campuses in Metals and Mining.                                                                                                                                                  

Tata Steel today has almost 3600 Women in the Workforce doubled from 2015 and was an early advocate of flexi work and menstrual leave. “Catching them young” from Engineering Schools and providing them a less hazardous environment due to automated shop floor operations has greatly helped this journey.

Siemens retains its women force through flexi work programmes, childcare and maternity benefits. The Gender Equity Programme unveiled globally in 2021 focused on women’s representation at all levels encouraging them to break bias, reimagine, rethink and realign stereotypes.                                             

ABB has more than doubled its proportion of women from 9% to 20% in four years by providing a gender neutral environment. Introduction of Technology - automation and digitalization on the shop floor, which reduced the need of manual labor & strenuous tasks has helped in attracting women.                                                                                                                                       

 Indigo Airlines operates on the belief that “Smart Teams do amazing things Diverse Teams do impossible things”. Indigo proudly promotes a workplace that considers diversity and inclusion to be the key drivers of innovation and growth. With the objective of reaching 1000 or 16% Women Pilots by March 2025 Indigo is pulling out all sops on this one. Mental Health Programmes for Pilots in general and Women in particular have eased the stress of long flying hours , irregular lifestyles, shrunken family time, making flying a “ Zero Error” endeavor each time. Roles have been made gender neutral, recognizing that an aircraft and its controls see no gender they respond to the hands managing them and mind applied to them, fading conscious unconscious biases in the process of hiring, rostering & promoting, easing contractual conditions related to age, marriage, maternity, offering alternate roles after any pause, has plugged the leaking pipeline. This Indigo Spirit is a recognition of the complete identity of a woman as a beautiful mosaic of a professional, creative, individual who is also a mother, wife and homemaker.                                                                                          

Zomato: In 2020, it implemented a policy granting up to 10 days of period leave per year to its women (including transgender) employees, acknowledging the need for rest during menstrual cycles. Additionally, it offers 26 weeks of paid parental leave for all employees, irrespective of gender, including non-natal parents and those who adopt children, promoting gender-neutral caregiving responsibilities.                                                                                                                                                         

SAP India believes that Inclusivity is not adding to the Head Count. It fosters a culture of mentor ship and leadership development through employee resource groups akin to community support. By normalizing care giving responsibilities and offering robust parental support it encourages women to take up leadership roles confidently.                                                                                                                         

Applied Materials through the launch of three flagship Programmes: RISE , Stand Tall and Guru fosters an equitable environment , nurtures long term career growth and leadership aspirations of women.                        

Mental Health : Driven by Episodic Incidents , Reports by AON and Deloitte and the financial consequences of ignoring this issue at the workplace  the Indian Corporate Sector has finally given a taboo topic , the place it deserves : Centre Stage. The initiatives at Larsen and Toubro range from online counselling services, webinars and workshops for employees and families. At Tech Mahindra an AI powered tool Be Me helps identify potential stress indicators and their Employee Assistance Programmes helps employees to address stress proactively. Data Driven approaches enable swift action to address risk factors. Based on the principle of listening to employee concerns Pegasystems has put in place regular 1 : 1 meetings and skip level check ins, remote work, quarterly wellbeing days and EAPs

In the words of Gloria Steinem “the story of women’s struggle for equality belongs to no single person, organization” or country for that matter. The International Women’s Day is about reinforcing key commitments, about collective global activism and a celebration of all those committed to fostering gender equality. Let it NOT be just another Day.

By Triveni Mehta Senior Human Resource Consultant                                                                                                                

With Inputs from Sunny Sharma Senior HR Executive MHROD Class of 2023