Indian companies take initiatives to retain female employees

Following the freezing egg-announcement by Apple and Facebook (as debatable as it is), people in India are looking around to see how supportive the Indian companies are of their female employees. Our country might be quite far away from helping the women preserve their eggs but many companies across India are making efforts to retain and help their female talent.

According to a report by Times of India, MTS India has reserved parking spots for women employees who drive to work. Tarun Katyal, chief human resources officer of the company said, “There are also cab drops for female employees who end up working late as well as a security guard in case any female employee needs escorting.”

Close to what Apple and Facebook are doing, ICICI Bank allows 180 days of leave to employees who wish to undergo fertility treatment, in addition to maternity, childcare and adoption leave. Anuranjita Kumar, chief human resources officer, Citi South Asia, told Times of India that her company provides a separate lounge for new mothers to relax in. She said, “It is an imperative to build a workplace that nurtures and promotes career trajectories of men and women alike.”

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Where some companies find policies like freezing eggs “culturally insensitive,” there are few who are not completely against the idea. Shachi Irde, executive director, Catalyst India's western region centre is one of them. She believes that practices like these will bridge the gender gap parity in salaries and promotions.

Irde adds, “While companies are offering a lot of benefits to women employees, the question that should really be asked is why are these not translating into a greater number of women employees at the mid-levels or senior levels? Why are women not getting promotions as fast as men do? Why are there pay gaps between women employees and male employees? Organizations which focus on general inclusion must look deeper into these areas so as to ensure they attain gender diversity.”

ORIGINAL SOURCE: Times of India

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Companies-go-all-out-to-win-women-over-at-work/articleshow/44920497.cms