How do you #EmbraceEquity? -By Arindam Paul(CBO, Atomberg)

Every day, women are subjected to many biases in their workplaces.

“This is a sales role, don’t think women can survive here.”

“She is expecting and will soon go for a maternity leave within next 6 months. Better not to involve her in this important project”

“She has a young kid and might not be comfortable with long hours. Better to put her in an easy role”

These kinds of statements are not very uncommon in many workplaces.

In addition to biases, women also have a lot of things going against them. Having period cramps 1-2 days a month reduces their ability to travel comfortably in those days. Having a toddler at home who could be sick needs their time and attention. Traveling at night using public transport isn’t safe for many of them in many cities. These challenges are not even visible to most men.

For me, embracing equity means providing women the additional support to level the playing field, and at the same time removing all gender biases which people have built over decades.

At Atomberg, we have been working on both fronts- leveling the playing field and removing stereotypes.

These are policies which give our women colleagues the additional support:

a)???????Flexi Working Policy: This enables our female colleagues the much-needed flexibility to take care of their kids/parents etc. while delivering exceptional business outcomes

b)??????Unlimited Leaves: Many women hesitate to take specially called out leaves like “menstrual leaves”. But having a policy of unlimited leaves helps them plan out their month better.

c)???????Safe Working Hours: Having safe working hours and travel hours goes a long way in helping women take up challenging roles

To remove gender biases and stereotypes, we have been conscious of our actions and have taken these actions:

a)???????Having women in Sales Roles: This is one of the biggest stereotypes that sales roles are challenging for women. In the last 12 months, we have had women as ASEs and ASMs in key markets of Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, and Kochi. And they have performed as good as anyone else in those roles.

b)??????Women at Brand and Organization Defining Positions: The other bias is not having women at organization defining roles. In a digital first consumer brand, brand/ecommerce/digital roles define the organization's success. And we have women talent in more than 50% of the leaders in marketing, ecommerce, and digital roles. And the results are there for all to see.

Embracing Equity means a lot more than doing events and providing gift hampers during the women’s day week. It means breaking stereotypes, having a safe workspace, having women in roles which society thinks are challenging for them and giving them the support to set them up for success in their professional lives.

And we are proud to say that we have been doing this and much more at Atomberg.

Written by:

Arindam Paul (Chief Business Officer, Atomberg)