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India’s labor force will soon become the largest in the world. By 2027, the working-age population in India will reach 18.6% of the entire global labor force, according to a Bloomberg News analysis of United Nations population-projection data. Despite these numbers, India’s female labor force participation rate (LFPR) – the share of working-age women who are either employed or available for work – fell to a historic low of 23.3% in 2017-18. This was indicated by the Periodic Labor Force Survey (PLFS), India’s official employment survey data published by NSSO.
While there has been a rapid increase in the number of women enrolling themselves for higher education in India over the past few years, the workforce remains very small. The representation of women in the corporate pipeline is very low. This is unfortunate for India as research by top business consulting firms has shown that putting women at the forefront can lead to greater innovation, scale-up productivity and improve financial performance for the company.
Being a working woman in India is not easy. The most common hurdles faced are dealing with family responsibilities, not being able to travel very far for work, not staying out late, and not taking up coveted postings in other cities. For many, it’s a tight ropewalk after marriage, handling their new homes and extended families. Even with the new generation of young mothers, they are expected to assume a major part of the household management as well as childcare. The low pay bracket is also another concern. According to PLFS data, male salaried workers earn 1.2 to 1.3 times that of female salaried workers in urban areas.
The time has come for companies in India to take a stand to empower India’s women workforce by helping them overcome these challenges. To improve bottom- and top-line development, it is necessary to position gender diversity as an occupational imperative. In fact, according to a McKinsey report, a 10 percent increase in women’s labor force participation could add $770 billion to India’s GDP by 2025.
What can companies do to promote a better working environment for women?
Organizations need to work on creating a robust system for women employees that includes enhancing and revising policies, infrastructure, flexibility and employee benefits such as ‘work-from-home/part-time work, bringing their children on working days’ To encourage and help women achieve work-life balance. Bringing in more mentorship and friend programs can help make the workplace female-friendly.
Business leaders should take initiatives to create gender equality while building the potential of their female workforce. There is also a need to do more in terms of sensitizing both the sexes to the other so that awareness can be raised about the many benefits of gender diversity.
Indian companies need to address the needs of mothers by providing support in terms of childcare facilities (including breastfeeding rooms for nursing mothers) where necessary. In many developed countries, organized day-care centers and crches are ubiquitous – some are subsidized by governments or employers. Such facilities provide a safe place for young mothers to drop off their babies.
In India, these services are not easily available. While the best are exorbitantly expensive, the rest suffer from quality issues that make them unsuitable for young working couples. While some companies are gradually introducing day-care centers, these are still limited, and available only in those larger organizations and some metros.
There is a need for more flexible policies and maternity benefits to help reduce the stress on female employees. In this way, it may be possible to help female employees balance home and family life while dealing with workplace pressures. Additionally, companies need to introduce more programs to bring back women who have taken a break in their careers either because of motherhood or other family related reasons. Senior leaders can inculcate a culture of empathy and understanding so that such women feel comfortable and confident about coming back to the organisation.
Working hours can also be limited so that women can better balance personal and professional lives. The average working Indian woman works longer weeks than her developing country counterparts. According to ILO estimates, the average employed Indian woman worked 44.4 hours per week (in the April-June 2018 period), while the developing country average was 35-36 hours.
Overall, it is time for companies to pay more attention to the issue of creating a comfortable working environment for women. Companies need to join hands to ensure a better environment for women at workplaces.
(by Hemant Sethi, Country Head India, British Safety Council India)
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