Hiring policies in several companies is undergoing a transformation and making them more woman-focused. This is because they have proved that they are equally skilled as men and hence corporations have realised that it is time to make the workplace more woman-friendly, says Sanjeev Agrawal
Breaking shackles of archaic social impediments, the generation has gradually transformed to be gender balanced. This very demeanor has made corporations to become places with special provisions to match with the requirements of women. It is evident that women have proved themselves to be equally skillful as men and perhaps in more advantageous stature in many cases.
let us take an example. The human resource has apparently changed into a woman-dominated sector and results are impactful. It is now imperative for companies to refine and revisit their policies providing special amenities to women. A number of companies have successfully implemented such provisions leveraging women in workplace.
Recruitment policies in many corporations have been revisited to become woman focused. Many companies now have holistic approach to hiring. Emphasis is now on maintaining a certain ratio of male to females in offices. In some companies, a bulk of recruits is reserved for women. Other policies like retention of women employees are become more pertinent.
leave policies to subsist with maternity, provisions for working from home and other amenities are reformed for women. Maternity leaves let women to resume job after leaves of many months. There are also rejuvenation programmes, which helps returning employees after maternity leaves to resume with their responsibilities. Policies assisting women to cope with domestic and family issues are granted. Flexible working hours has become a common provision helping women to manage family issues along with job.
Maintaining decent office aesthetics is becoming a trend. Office décor, furniture and the overall interior are designed to be gender neutral rather than the prevalent masculine traits. Colourful offices are coming up outdating grey coloured workplaces. Furniture that are ergonomically designed are being used increasingly. Posters and placards, which carefully maintain a decent environment, are used in office spaces. Technology has been a better aid to provide a women friendly ambience in workplaces.
Abusive languages are filtered out in incoming lines from customers. Safety and security of women has been a major issue. To address this problem, companies provide adequate transportation facilities and door step pick and drop provisions. Within office spaces, separate rest rooms are provided for women. Following healthy etiquette is made mandatory in workplaces. A crèche facility for caring children for the time a mother is at work is becoming a trend in office spaces. Even facilities like grocery stores, stationery and shops for other household items are provided by some companies.
A number of enterprises manage exclusive women-only forums. Such provisions let the women in office to deal with mental, moral and behavioural issues. They help both professionally and personally. These forums let women to share personal difficulties in workplace and open up to be more confident in dealing with them. Buddy programmes are good techniques that are helps newcomers to become friendly with the workplace. Such programmes are proven to be successful in helping out women Increasing provisions to make office spaces more women friendly is bringing a sense of gender equality.
It must be acknowledged that companies will be able to utilise human resources to the fullest extent when only skills would be endorsed rather than gender. A good definition of an egalitarian society rests on its attitude towards women and so does a workplace.
The writer is VP Human Empowerment Group, Impetus Infotech (I) Pvt ltd