The Future of Women@Work

The year 2020 has been one of the most disruptive year of this century when it comes to matters related to work. While the digital adaptation was exponential, organisations also had to find quick solutions to make the work from home options deliver the efficiency and productivity of pre-covid times. Working from home , delivering on the organisational expectations have been challenging for most of the employees. The boundaries of work and home have blurred and there is no cut-off time from work. The pandemic has also intensified challenges that women already face in the workplace. Working mothers have always worked a “double shift”—a full day of work, followed by hours spent caring for children and doing household labor. Now the supports that made this even possible for women—including school and childcare have been upended.

 Before the pandemic hit the percentage of women at work have been stagnant or declining across different industries in India. The gender-wise workforce data clearly indicates that there is much lesser participation of women in the workforce in India as compared to other developed nations. In fact, there has been a decline in the female labour force participation in India, falling from 36.7 % in 2005 to 26 % in 2018 (as per the 2019 Deloitte Report). The trend is very worrisome and needs to be arrested if we really want to see India as a 5 trillion dollars economy by 2025. The Share of Women-Led Companies in India Has Stagnated. Only 3.7% of CEOs and Managing Directors of NSE-listed companies were women in 2019, a number that has increased just slightly from 3.2% in 2014. 8.9% of firms have women in top management positions. As of 2019, just 29 companies (5.8%) on the Fortune India 500 list had women in executive roles. Women make up only 31% of Chief Human Resources Officers (CHROs), a role overrepresented by women in other countries such as the US and South Africa. Women account for only 13.8% of board directors from listed companies in India. Based on hourly wages, women earn, on average, 65.5% of what their male colleagues earn for performing the same work.

While women are still struggling to make entry in the workforce, there is challenge faced at every level. Promotions at the first step to manager continues to remain a major barrier. As we move up the ladder the women representation drastically reduces. Even functions like retail, customer service and human resources where there are higher percentage women enter the functions, the senior leadership percentage varies between 20-30 %.

The Challenges that keep Indian Women out of Workforce :

The burden of unpaid work falls disproportionately on women in India because tasks such as cooking, cleaning, fetching water and firewood are highly gendered, and patriarchal norms dictate that women also perform care work, validate men’s failure to assume domestic responsibilities and thus entrench women’s unequal social status, the report says. Women in India currently spend upto 352 minutes per day, on domestic work, 577% more than men (52 minutes) and at least 40% more than women in South Africa and China (the other two BRICS countries for which data are available), according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) data.

Exposure and investment in education keeps on declining : Even when across the educational boards 10th and 12th exam results show higher average percentages secured by girls and higher percentage representation in the merit list, the number of girls in professional courses like engineering, medical, forces, chartered accountancy is very low. The private institutes where the cost of education is higher the family has preference of sending boys for the same.

Lesser opportunities of jobs seen as they can be done by women in absence of them being perceived as women friendly. There are stereotypes build around the jobs in which while the doctors, engineers, military officers, business leaders are positioned as male, women are positioned as nurse, teacher, customer service exec etc. The jobs employing large numbers e.g. sales, armed forces, engineers and all field jobs are perceived as male centric jobs , not making it aspirational for young girls to join. The families also feel these fields are dominated by men, so it is not safe and convenient for girls to join in

Family pressure or acceptance of women to be working outside home : In Indian society there has been a barrier of earning and financial responsibility to be that of men. While they may approve of women working from home, women stepping outside to work is seen as stigma, their social structures starts question the mans’s ability to earn and take care of the family. A survey on social attitudes in 2016 found that around 40-60 per cent of men and women believe that married women should not work if the husband earns reasonably well

Violence against women and sexual harassment is another major factor. Fear of assaults & harassment during transit to/from work as well as at workplaces is a limiting factor stopping women from seeking paid work outside their homes.

Certain challenges are more likely to push women out of the workforce : A recent survey by Indian Express reveals A recent survey found that 90 per cent of working women and only 10 per cent of men thought of quitting their jobs because of childcare issues.

The pressures of the pandemic are driving some employees—especially women—to consider downshifting their careers or leaving the workforce. The following factors are predictive of whether an employee considers downshifting or leaving:

• >> Lack of flexibility at work
• >> Feeling like they need to be available to work at all hours, i.e., “always on”
• >> Housework and caregiving burdens due to Covid-19
• >> Worry that their performance is being negatively judged because of caregiving responsibilities during the pandemic
• >> Discomfort sharing the challenges they are facing with teammates or managers
• >> Feeling blindsided by decisions that affect their day-to-day work
• >> Feeling unable to bring their whole self to work
• Difficult to get a job post the maternity break

Although these factors hurt all employees, some groups of women experience certain challenges at higher rates. For example, mothers are more likely than fathers to worry that their performance is being negatively judged due to their caregiving responsibilities. Women in senior leadership are more likely than men at the same level to feel as though they are “always on.”Women workforce disappearing, most affected in urban India Women entrepreneur are struggling to survive, women employed as domestic help in cities, at construction sites and in call centres, and in handicraft and retail units, have lost jobs Eight months after the lockdown was imposed, 13% fewer women than a year ago were employed or looking for jobs, compared to 2% fewer men, data show. Urban women saw the deepest losses. The economic shock caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has "hit both genders", in absolute numbers more men than women lost jobs simply because there are more men than women in the labour force to begin with.

The choices companies make could shape the workplace for women for decades to come

We still are struggling on to why we have not been able to attract and hire more women. Even when we have been able to hire we have not been able to grow them within the organisation and losing them for family or home related challenges. The big bad barrier to manager level is real, holding women back to shine.

There are two paths ahead. If companies recognize the scale of these problems and do all they can to address them, they can help their employees get through this difficult time and even reinvent the way they work so it’s more flexible and sustainable for everyone. If not, the consequences could badly hurt women, business, and the economy as a whole. This moment requires long-term thinking, creativity, strong leadership, and a laser focus on the value of women to their organisation

To attract the women most impacted by the challenges of Covid-19, companies need to take steps to create women inclusive hiring processes and recognise and communicate role models.

Make the job adverts more gender neutral or with representation from both the genders. Use the language that appeals to both men and women.

Identify and talk about the role models ( women) currently on the roles and doing a great job. Our airforce ,navy, army, commercial pilots have done remarkable job of celebrating the first batch of women aspiring more women to join them

Have the recruitment process evaluation to consider wide range of skills and competencies which are influenced by the job to be done and not by the current role occupants who may be predominantly men

Be willing to take risk and experiment with women employees in the roles where they have not been employed before

To retain the women most impacted by the challenges of Covid-19, companies need to take steps to reduce the additional pressures they’re experiencing.

Make work more sustainable

A sustainable pace at work is essential to helping mothers, senior-level women, and all employees facing burnout get through this crisis. To make this happen, leaders and managers need to look at productivity and performance expectations set before Covid-19 and ask if they’re still realistic. They may also need to reset goals, narrow project scopes, or keep the same goals and extend deadlines. Currently, only a small number of managers are doing this

Reset norms around flexibility

Covid-19 has made it much harder for employees to draw clear lines between work and home, and many employees feel like they are “always on.” Companies should look for ways to re-establish work-life boundaries. For many, this may require setting new work norms—for example, establishing set hours for meetings, putting policies in place for responding to emails outside typical business hours, and improving communication about work hours and availability within teams.

Take a close look at performance reviews

Performance reviews are an important part of running an effective organization and rewarding employees for their contributions. But given the shift to remote work and the heightened challenges employees are coping with in their personal lives, performance criteria set before Covid-19 may no longer be appropriate. Managers can relieve employees’ stress—and refocus on key priorities—by reassessing performance criteria set before the pandemic to make sure those criteria are still attainable. Bringing criteria into line with what employees can reasonably achieve may help to prevent burnout and anxiety—and this may ultimately lead to better performance and higher productivity. Take steps to minimize gender bias Adjust policies and programs to better support employees

Strengthen employee communication , it is important to have two way communication of listening to women issues and challenges, solving the same and communicating back. Only when we solve for the issues together we will be able to have increased participation.

Provide support system : Organisations need to go beyond creche support to providing other support systems for the kids to be taken care of. Organisations need to proactively invest in preventive healthcare and health care services for the family if the women need to be more productive.

 Have listening and counselling boards : Counseling services is becoming key for well being and practice health management. Issues of domestic violence , societal pressures can be identified and jointely worked upon to provide right career choices.

 Do inclusion Audits : In many places there is a gap between perceived inclusion practiced by the managers and leaders and actual employee experiences. Inclusion audit bridges the gap and brings everyone at the same plane.

 Role Models : Recognise and promote role models for other women to aspire and know it is possible for them to achieve

Increasing women’s labor force participation by 10 percentage points could add $770 billion to India’s GDP by 2025.

It is high time that we do policy level corrections with necessary social support systems to encourage women to join and continue in the workforce.

Indian organizations and the Government needs to take cognizance of the issues mentioned above and strive to strike a balance, adapt to the evolving needs to women workforce and introduce relevant changes where needed. Let's have a quick look at the major ways to boost the number of women working in India.

Tackling the cultural reasons that result in women leaving the workforce is the most important one. Changing social norms about gender equality and women’s work is paramount, and this is where awareness programmes and affirmative action policies can help alleviate gender stereotypes.

The 2017 Maternity Benefit Act increased the paid maternity leave and has worked in a big way towards limiting the drop-out of women from work after motherhood but has also negatively impacted the recruitment of women. This act needs to be adapted in letter and spirit across all sectors and organizations.

Access to subsidised and good quality childcare in terms of crèche and pre-school facilities at/near workplace can facilitate women with small children to actively engage in the workforce.

Introduction of paternity leave that allows for new fathers to take part in child care, and enable mothers to get back to work.

Provisions of flexible work scheduling for women is another way to promote their increased participation in the workforce.

Safe Pick & Drop Facilities for work, especially for odd-hour working shifts, is being adopted by many organizations and has a tremendous effect on the growth of women workforce for such job appointments.

Providing health and wellness measures at different life stages like pre and post maternity counselling, support around menopause.

Sabbatical Policy- To help working women tide over periods where they have pressing family commitments, like boards exams, taking care of a sick relative and so on.

Fair and Equitable Work Practices – To ensure women get equitable pay compared to male colleagues and they have opportunities to perform and grow.