Gender Equality For Women Begins With A Robust Parental Policy
A global Mckinsey study quotes that women contribute 40% to the total GDP, but this figure dips to 18% when it comes to India. The study also reveals that only 25% of women are employed in workforce. This data begets the question as to why women are so poorly represented at the workplace.
There is no straightforward answer to this problem, leading us to evaluate why women downscale their career or opt out of workforce. A study conducted by ASSOCHAM for social development foundation referenced that around 40 per cent of working mothers quit their jobs to raise kids. A confluence of factors is responsible for this, and the pandemic has further accelerated this trend. Childcare especially that of new born infants is not an easy job. It exacts a lot of physiological and psychological toll on women. A lot of women also cite lack of family support to dispense with childcare responsibilities and lack of access to child care as one of the reasons to drop out of workforce.
Taken cumulatively, these challenges create a situation that is detrimental for women and their professional development.
How companies can help?
The above situation can be somewhat ameliorated through policy change that goes beyond maternity leave policy. There exists a gender imbalance in many companies especially pertaining to parental leave' policies. These policies have been designed with women being the pivot of caregiving while reducing fathers to the role of wage earners. Its fallout on the family ecosystem is immense. It denies fathers of the quality time with their baby and puts pressure on mothers to take on that role singlehandedly. . However, the millennial workforce doesn’t subscribe to the traditional roles of parenting and believe in equal distribution of parental responsibilities.
It is not the maternity policy but the Parental leave policy which becomes a necessary tool to retain women in workforce especially post the maternity leave, when the odds of their dropping out are maximum. For example, Danone was among the few companies which commenced six months maternity leave before it became a norm since it enabled women to breastfeed their babies. Our parental policy also allows time off for fathers so that they can spend time with new born and help share the responsibilities with new mothers. Extended work from home after the maternity leave and flexi hours also help young parents balance their roles and responsibilities better.
Measures like time off for fathers when kids are born helps since it ensures that they can bond well with their off springs. Provisions for Mothers like flexi working hours, providing part-time employment options for those who can’t work full time, working from home option (Pandemic has accelerated this trend) and flexible working hours which fits in with their caregiving schedule- all these measures enable women to be more productive at the workplace without compromising on their primary caregiving responsibilities. A robust parental policy ensures that new mothers are supported when the chances of their giving up on their jobs are high.
A Mckinsey Research shows that when women are well represented in leadership positions, chances are that the companies are going to perform 50% better than their counterparts who don’t have women in leadership roles as more and more organizations start to recognize this finding, they will incorporate relevant policies that support this agenda. It's only a matter of time when regulations stipulate that every organization will be mandated to have a percentage of women in leadership or have gender diversity ratio. Let us hope that we wake up to this trend before it is forced upon us.
The given article is attributed to Himanshu Bakshi, Managing Director – Danone India and solely created for BW People Publication
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are those of the authors' and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of this publishing house
