Delhi Secretariat To Soon Have A Crèche For Working Parents

Delhi government has decided to set up children’s crèche at its secretariat to allow women employees to work with a better frame of mind, officials said on Wednesday. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has asked the Department of Women and Child Development to submit the plan by June 15.

“It is a matter of great pride that a large number of workforce in the Delhi government consists of women. However, work-life balance for such women, especially working mothers, is not easy and it is the responsibility of employer organizations to improve working conditions of women.

It has been brought to my notice by my colleagues at the Delhi Secretariat that a crèche for children of working parents at the Delhi Secretariat is needed,” Sisodia said in a letter to the secretary of the department.

He has now instructed the WCD Secretary to explore the options and feasibility of a crèche at the Delhi Secretariat.

“A meeting may be convened at the level of Secretary WCD with concerned departments for making a plan for opening a crèche in the Delhi Secretariat,” the letter said.

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While it is a heartening initiative to provide crèche facility at the Delhi secretariat, it should also be promoted in a way that presents the fact that this facility will benefit all genders working at the Secretariat and not just women. This initiative is definitely a heartening one as many families where both parents are working or in cases of single fathers/mothers, it could help the worker in caring for the child and working in a better way without thinking about the child constantly.

Across the world, people are introducing a crèche facility in various circumstances. Recently, the Cannes Film Festival also had a crèche facility set up for the first time ever. The organisers listened to women attendees of Cannes who have been to the festival before and expressed their concerns around childcare at the festival thus came the idea of having a crèche at Cannes.

“It has been brought to my notice by my colleagues at the Delhi Secretariat that a crèche for children of working parents at the Delhi Secretariat is needed,”

Specifically, three women raised the concern and convinced the Cannes organisers to build a crèche for the new moms attending the festival.

“In a sunny corner overlooking the yacht-filled harbor, a handful of Cannes’ youngest visitors are bouncing around a vibrant-coloured carpet in the first-ever crèche at the world’s biggest film festival. Le Ballon Rouge (The Red Balloon), is a light, airy room “where children are the new VIPs”. Kids had previously been a very rare sight at the annual celebrity-filled festival, but for the first time this year, the festival has opened the special day care centre to lend a hand to parents in the film industry,” said Carey about the initiative.

Picture credit: Daily Mail

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