Sairee Chahal talks to SHAlINI SAKSENA about the challenges women face at workforce and how to overcome them
What are the challenges women face at work todayIJ
Women face a multitude challenges. One of the biggest ones is the dilemma of having to choose motherhood or a career. Typically, women are forced to take a career gap, thus leading to a loss of income, skill-development and self-esteem. For those women who do give up jobs at this critical stage, they seek opportunities to work from home, which needs to mature as a work model in India. The gender gap is of course, still a reality with women often earning up to 30% or less than their male counterparts for the same roles. Another major challenge that needs to be addressed is the prevalence of sexual harassment at work, which affects women’s careers and lives. There are concrete solutions for all these issues, however, mindsets and policies must evolve, to address them holistically.
What is your platform aboutIJ
It is the largest growth network for women, delivered as an ecosystem of opportunities that empower women to #TakeCharge of their careers and lives. We have a mix of features ranging from a helpline for women to get counselling on various aspects from careers to relationships, to our product. We host events across cities ranging from summits to sessions at ITIs and colleges outside the metros to get more women onto the platform. In May 2017, we launched our app, that is now a growing community, where members don’t merely engage with us, but with each other, thus tapping into the collective wisdom of a million-plus women, and counting, across a multitude of subjects. The idea is simple — we help women get #MoreFromlife.
What steps should organisations take to make workplace for women more friendlyIJ
There are several proactive steps. The concept of onsite daycare centres is slowly but surely seeping into the DNA of businesses as a core benefit, as they realize its potential to retain talented women in the system. Even when women return to work after a gap, they develop excellent managerial skills through their personal experiences. It’s important for businesses to be open to taking in skilled women sans judgement. Three, educating all levels of the workforce on policies around sexual harassment, and also having proper mechanisms in place that focus on prevention is a progressive step. I also believe that we as a society tend to discourage women from taking on careers. This approach must change. Women have time and again proved that they cannot be boxed into certain career choices.
What are the complaintsIJ
The queries posted by women are widespread — from career-related queries and starting up their own businesses, to relationship and family issues. A woman’s professional and personal life is deeply intertwined, so typically it is a mixed bag of queries, and many women return for more advice and solutions. What’s really amazing, though, is that many of these women have extended the circle of support, helping others and bringing more women into the network.
How do you ensure social equality for womenIJ
We believe every woman needs support and we try and create more and more avenues to engage with women across the board. At the recent Mia Sheroes Summits in Mumbai and Delhi, we had multiple conversations around how women can empower themselves in the workplace and outside, by exercising their own agency, and also support other women, and so on. At the end of the day, women must come together to collectively fight for social equality and it is not a battle that can be won in silos, or selectively.
How will technology solve problems of gender disparityIJ
Technology is making opportunities more accessible to women, be it jobs, entrepreneurship or counselling. To bridge the gender disparity, we do not just need equal rights, we need equal access to opportunities, and we are using technology to make these opportunities accessible to women across the country.