AT 30, Suhani a bright project manager at an MNC thought it was the right time for her to have a baby. After her maternity leave Suhani joined work filled with enthusiasm and renewed energy. After all she was due for a promotion. There was only one small problem. She needed to be with her three-month-old son whom she was too scared to leave at a day-care or with the babysitter the whole day. She prepared herself for a flexible workplace arrangement (FWA) wherein she would work half a day from office and half a day from home. But when she raised this issue at work she was not only declined the FWA option but blatantly informed that she should not expect a promotion this year as she was not around for three months. Suhani was left with no choice but to quit. There are hundreds of Suhanis in the workforce today who are pushed to leaving the workforce and made to feel guilty for asking for flexibility to take care of their personal needs. According to a McKinsey research, it is not just maternity leave which has proved to be a career killer for women; double burden for working mothers, inadequate/ expensive childcare and care of elderly people are also major barriers that hinder women’s advancement up the corporate ladder. Interestingly, statistics reveal that gender diversity improves the company’s RoI and brand equity and companies not leveraging the female talent pool and benefits of diversity will bring a competitive disadvantage. Organisations which realise this fact fast and align themselves to women-friendly policies are bound to benefit. They would not only prevent loss of key talent, but also be considered employer-friendly which would enhance the stakeholder value in the long run. Over the years, working women have always placed less value on compensation than on job flexibility be it the company’s effort to provide childcare, flexible work schedule, telecommuting etc. HR heads and CEOs need to appreciate this fact and adopt strategies to attract and retain female talent a crucial segment of their workforce. Some of these strategies are:
Flex-time, flex-place, flexweek are various FWAs which can be offered to women employees as long as goals are met.
Reduce cultural stigma and roadblocks around FWAs and ensure that women opting for FWAs are not discriminated against.
Provide an option for reduced work hours for women depending on their requirement and compensation can also be paid accordingly.
If possible, provide onsite childcare for employees or at least a childcare referral service or near site centres.
Create part-time and job-sharing models in the organisation.
Increase the number of sick leave that may be used for family illnesses.
Before they lose them, organisations need to capitalise on this powerful source of talent and help the female workforce strike a perfect balance between their work and life.
Originally written for The Economic Times
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