Decoding Maternity Bill

One of the key topics of discussion at public forums these days is the evolving role of women , indicating the  change in how women are contributing to society. 

Given the fact that women constitute half of the world’s population, their wellbeing and role in development cannot be understated .   Any unresponsiveness to the needs of half of the global human capital base will only foster lop-sidedness in the growth structure. While some countries have made significant strides in closing the gender gap -in terms of educational attainment, employment and health status; there are others where huge disparities remain.

The latest World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2016 states that only five countries have closed 80% of the gender gap or more. While about 50% of the countries evaluated in the report (74 out of 144) have been able to close less than 70% of the gap.

Empirical evidence suggests a high correlation between gender equity and greater development . An educated woman has a huge positive externality not only in an economic sense but also through the benefits that society reaps.

The role of women needs to be seen in this light and should be embraced with greater understanding and acceptance. It is heartening to see the efforts being made by countries, societies and companies in going the extra mile in this regard. 

Policies are being adopted across countries to promote education/training choices among women, improving employment conditions, providing scope for exploring entrepreneurial opportunities and sensitising and undertaking reforms in legislation related to inheritance.

There are numerous examples where countries have undertaken measures to back employment and education among women. For instance, in Vietnam the Ho Chi Minh City Mass Rapid Transit Program has been designed to include a certain percentage of station jobs for women. Credit  unions in Uzbekistan under the Small and Microfinance project have provided funding to many women for initiating their own businesses. These are all laudable steps.

India has some distance to travel. According to a recent World Bank study "Reassessing Patterns of Female Labour Force Participation in India", only about  27% of women are a part of the labour force in India which is lowest amongst  the BRICS as well G 20 countries and has dropped . . One of the more positive interpretations of this is as income levels have moved up women have moved out of menial jobs like construction workers but have not entered the formal workspace .

The Indian Government is  working towards the goal of gender mainstreaming and has initiated several changes towards women empowerment. The recently released vision document by Niti Aayog recognizes achieving gender equality as a specific goal to assure sustainable development.

Moreover, the passage of the Maternity Bill earlier this year was a land mark decision and marks an important step  to make the work environment more conducive for women. The Act , which extends maternity leave to 26 weeks, makes it mandatory for every establishment with 50 or more employees to provide a crèche and also talks about provision for a woman to work from home . The Act places India amidst the most progressive countries with respect to maternity benefits. 

An increase in the period of leave and the flexibility to explore the work from home option will give women an opportunity to balance their personal and professional commitments rather than choosing to drop out from the workforce. 

While some apprehensions have also been expressed regarding the Maternity Act, there is sufficient evidence suggesting greater loyalty and improved productivity . An increase in maternity leave benefits the company  with better retention of talent and a decline in the rate at which new mothers quit. In fact, many companies like Flipkart (6 months + 4 months of flexible hours), Godrej (6 months), Hindustan Unilever (6 months) and Tata Sons (7 months) are already offering 6 months of maternity leave. Increasingly there are firms which offer crèche facilities within their office campus as well.Indian companies are taking a lead in becoming more sensitive to the needs of women employees and are striving to assure a healthy work place gender balance. 

Further, organisations are also making an effort to train women for top management positions. Infosys, for instance, has established the Infosys Women Inclusivity Network to encourage a gender sensitive work environment and train women for managerial and leadership roles.

Such initiatives are encouraging  and going ahead it will be important to make sure that the intent of the law is followed and companies genuinely embrace the need for diversity in the workplace .Nor can we stop here as we still have a long road to cover.