Rethinking workplace policies for women to achieve gender equality

As we head towards another International Women’s Day, it may be sobering to reflect on the progress that has been made towards gender equality at workplaces and acknowledge the challenges that persist. Gender Equality refers to the equal rights, opportunities, and treatment of all genders, regardless of their identity or expression. It focuses on eliminating discrimination, bias, and stereotypes based on gender and ensuring that everyone has the same access to resources, opportunities, and decision-making processes. The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2023 predicts that based on the trend since 2006, it may take the world at least another 131 years to achieve gender equality!

The question to ask ourselves is whether we wait that long for a basic human right or can we all as responsible corporate citizens hasten the pace to create a gender-equal world?  Enough and more has been already said about the benefits of having more women at the workplace – better decision-making; innovation; increased performance & productivity; talent attraction, engagement & retention; and risk mitigation to name a few. 

The recently announced Aon Salary Increase and Turnover Study which covered 600 companies across 40 sectors in India Inc. shows a very clear picture of the leaky female talent pipeline.  While almost 50% of the graduating classes comprise women in India, only 26% of the junior management is made up of women.  The pipeline worsens as it moves towards the C-Suite to a paltry 10% of female representation.  Are we so apathetic about this demographic dividend being frittered away?

Most of the organizations have a general idea about the reason for this leaky pipeline.  They may even know what they need to do.  But the sense of urgency to fix this problem is missing.  Is it because we have become so top-line and bottom-line focused that we have lost our way?  Have we stopped looking beyond the Excel sheets?

What are some of the policies that are critical and should be implemented on a war footing to ensure that we do not lose out on the potential and talent of 50% of the population (women) of India Inc.?

Diversity goals – Have an articulated policy on the diversity program of the company with goals and accountabilities.  Have stretch targets for improving the female: male ratio just like the company would do for its business targets.

Maternity and Menopause support – Companies need to have equitable policies to address the life stages of women.  Maternity Leave, Creches, and Mother’s Room are now table stakes. Companies need to ensure that they have a Maternity Support program for women from the time they announce their pregnancy to the time they return after their Maternity Leave.  This is a life-changing event for women and they can be overwhelmed and torn between their career aspirations and the motherhood guilt coupled with physical changes to their bodies.  Motherhood penalty has to be a thing of the past.  Menopause has been another blind spot at the workplace which needs attention in the form of education & awareness, nutrition and fitness counselling, and physical infrastructure adjustments (hot flashes need higher air conditioning!).  Women drop out of the workforce when they do not feel supported, or valued and feel that ‘it is not worth it’.

Returnship - Women need to be encouraged to make a comeback from a break (maternity or otherwise) through focused returnship programs.  Companies need to invest in upskilling the woman and bringing her on board as a regular employee at a salary band that matches her experience, competence and potential.  Ask yourself how would you look at a man returning from a sabbatical? 

Flexible work – Considering that women still continue to carry the burden of a ‘double shift’ of office work, childcare, elderly care, and housework; companies can offer flexibility around physical presence at the office and remote work.  Meet them where they are and evaluate performance on outcomes and not on Facetime in the office.

Inclusive hiring - Have an inclusive recruitment policy to ensure that women are not penalized in the selection process.  Ensure that the Job Descriptions are inclusive with gender-agnostic language to attract women.

Gender Bias & Gender Stereotyping training – Ensure that in addition to the general Unconscious Bias training, all employees are sensitized to gender bias and gender stereotyping so that women are not subject to unequal treatment or opportunities.  Gender-based insults, comments on appearance, gendered jokes or humour, assumptions about roles and responsibilities, disregarding inputs based on gender, sexualization or objectification, microaggressions, under-estimating competence, and benevolent sexism are some of the areas that need to be addressed to make workplaces inclusive for women.

Sexual Harassment – after the implementation of the POSH Act, prevention of Sexual Harassment at workplaces is non-negotiable.  Companies need to be vigilant to ensure that women feel safe and secure to raise concerns without fear of reprisal.

Male engagement – curate a program to engage men as Allies for women in the workplace.  In most companies, men occupy positions of power and influence and when they start addressing gender equality with intentionality and deploy their privilege and social capital, the progress can be faster.  As part of the allyship program women can be mentored and sponsored by men leading to career-enhancing opportunities for them – stretch assignments and introduction to newer networks.

Paternity / Elderly Care Leave – companies need to consider introducing/increasing paternity / elderly care leave and destigmatize the usage of the same.  This helps normalize the childcare and caregiving responsibilities which in turn reduces the double shift burden on women.

Gender pay gap – ‘You cannot change what you cannot see’.  Audit the gender pay gap across levels regularly and formulate a plan to fix it within a specified period of time.

Performance Management System – ensure that the touch points (appraisals) and outcomes (increments and promotions) of the Performance Management System are free of gender bias.  Track the no of promotions at the same level across men and women.

Let us roll up our sleeves and get to work and not let down the next generation of girls and women!

This article is penned by Roopa Badrinath, Founder of Turmeric Consulting. 

Disclaimer: The article features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the stance of the publication.