| | February 20198Headquartered in Chennai, Ashok Leyland is one of Indian's largest automobile company specializing in Automobile, Manufacturing, and Technology Services & Consultancy. & REMAIN IN THE WORKFORCE & REMAIN IN THE WORKFORCEPower of parity is a concept that needs to be understood more & more by the corporates even as sporadic efforts are on in pockets in that direction. With 25 percent of women in the workforce in India, India's GDP stands at 18 percent, which is one of the lowest proportions in the world. This means that about 70 percent of the potential GDP opportunity comes from increasing women's participation in the labour force by 10 percent points, according to McKinsey Global Institute's recent report. Increasing participation of women in the workforce has to be seen in conjunction with their personal commitments towards family and children as primary care givers.Birth of a child is a beautiful event in a woman's life, but it comes with its riders! A recent meta-analysis showed that about 20 percent of mothers in developing countries experience clinical depression after childbirth. This might affect the growth and development of the child, mother infant attachment, breastfeeding, and infant care. Moderate predictors of postpartum depression are childcare stress, low self-esteem, and maternal neuroticism, which can impact memory & concentration and lead to difficult infant temperament.Child & mother care facilities and genuine support from employers remain a major concern for new mothers and are one of the major barriers for women to step into the labor market or even work for longer hours when compared to men. Many decide to quit job or look for other jobs which will support them.Employers have to take it upon themselves to support women before and after maternity break by doing the following:1. Discuss with the woman employee about her plans and support system before the maternity break, in fact as early as possible. Look for opportunities where employers can support.2. Be flexible in terms of timings, work from home too sometimes (if the organization does not have a policy which allows flexibility frequently), reduction in workload of the woman employee few weeks before and if need be after her maternity break.3. Coach Managers to encourage the team to be supportive and caring of her, while woman is at work, on leave, and after her return. Such an atmosphere will make her long to get back and perform her best.4. It's also very important to launch `back to work' initiatives for women employees when they return. Some large companies have successfully introduced initiatives and programs which focus on re-skilling women, especially in the technology space or provide structured IN MY OPINIONUma Rao
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