Are Women Up for IT?

Anti-sexual policy, flexible work hours, and flexible leave policy are some
of the best practices to support women at work. This was found in a recently
released report, Gender Inclusivity in India: Building an Empowered
Organization. Jointly conducted by Nasscom and Mercer, the study involved a
survey of forty-five leading technology companies and interviews with senior
executives in the IT-BPO industry.

One of the main reasons of approaching the IT-BPO industry for the survey was
its fast growing workforce comprising both men and women. Today, the industry is
one of the largest recruiters of qualified individuals.

The study reveals that women comprise 30-35% of the total 400 mn working
professionals in the country. A closer look at the IT-BPO industry shows that
the number of women professionals in the industry has risen from 4,21,460 in
2006 to 6,70,984 in 2008. Considering their rising number, it is imperative for
the industry to come up with policies that enable women to feel at ease and help
in their professional growth.

Respondents stated different steps taken in this direction. While some have
implemented anti-sexual policy and flexible working hours, others have
introduced health and wellness awareness programs and pick-and-drop facilities
for their women workforce. Some organizations also reported to have initiated
forums and recreation centers for their women employees. Whatever the practices
are, the bottom line is to create a secure environment at the workplace, where
women feel at ease, and also to enable them maintain work-life balance.

Along with these findings, the study also came up with a model for gender
inclusivity that can be implemented by organizations across different
industries. There are separate entities that influence gender inclusivity
program. Hence an all-inclusive model, converging all the influential forces,
needs to be implemented by organizations. According to the model, these forces
are namelythe individual, society, organization and government.

Self-help

It all starts from within. Unless an individual is not inclined towards
professional growth, none of the policies can help her. Hence, the first step
lies in realizing ones own potentials and making a realistic assessment of
ones own skills. Next comes the practice of decision-making. Women
professionals should start taking ownership of their decisionswhether they
prove to be right or wrong. Another key area is to learn to say no. Being a
good professional doesnt mean one has to agree to everything. There can be some
projects or work, which may not be as challenging. Under those situations, a
professional should have the willingness and the confidence to stand up to
disagreement. Besides these, constantly looking out for upgrading professional
skills, building contacts and collaborating with people who can help them grow,
while also reaching out to other women professionals as role model or mentor can
be some of the steps towards gender inclusivity that can be taken at the
individual level.

Happy Workplaces

Next comes the organization. Apart from the best practices that have been
implemented by technology companies, the report also presents some
recommendations for organizations. One of the major concerns for women
professionals is the career break that mostly happens after marriage or birth of
the first child. Most women quit their jobs at these stages, and its always not
easy to make a comeback, especially in a versatile industry like IT where
technology upgrades happen almost everyday. Even those who get a job after a
break, find it extremely challenging to catch up with their male counterparts.
Here, organizations can play a supportive role. Enabling re-entry of their
former women employees after a few years gap, or introducing training programs
for upgrading their professional skills after breaks can be some of the ways in
helping women make up for those years.

Counseling also helpsnot only in resolving professional conflicts, but also
in dealing with their personal problems. In fact, organizations can go a step
ahead by extending counseling services and help-center benefits to family
members as well. Organizations can also help groups to set up crches or
day-care centers, which will eventually help young mothers get back to work
faster. Moreover, there can be small teams across different functions within the
organization that can act as support groups for women employees. The idea is to
identify the social and mental blocks that hold women professionals back, and
craft individual development plans with the help of experts.

Governments Role

The government also has a major role in making gender inclusivity a reality.
For organizations with a certain number of employees, the government can make
mandatory to have in-house crches and day-care centers. Another way is to
provide benefits for professional home care for working families, or giving tax
exemptions to organizations that hire a certain number of women professionals.
The government can also make provisions for small companies to provide training
to their women workforce and help in their infrastructure development. In order
to ensure overall development, the government should also encourage companies in
tier-2 and tier-3 cities to implement such policies. It can make education
mandatory up to professional training and provide incentives to families in
lower income group.

The Social Network

Lastly, comes the society and family. Family members need to be supportive
and share burden of work-life balance. They should acknowledge phases when
job/career may take priority and be cooperative with the woman professional
during those phases. Also, providing emotional support networks to enable
realization of capabilities and skills can go a long way in gender inclusivity.

Monalisa Das

monalisad@cybermedia.co.in