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With childcare facilities shut and no immediate family support, this former financial sector employee was already at the end of her tether. When her employer's insensitivity surfaced, the fact that she was pulling in the lower salary at home made it clear who was expected to compromise. "It was the only option," she says.
But now, having used the time off to upskill, she is interviewing with several firms, and is clear on the one thing she will never again compromise on--flexibility. "I'll wait if I have to, but I won't go back to work for a company which doesn't understand my needs," she says.
It is one of Covid-19's ironies. Even as lack of flexible work options-one of the biggest barriers to women's careers-eased with the pandemic opening the doors to flexible work models, thousands of women dropped out of the workforce--many because of job cuts, and others because they could not balance their career along with the major brunt of household and childcare responsibilities.
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A research paper by Azim Premji University on the gendered impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on India's labour market said that compared with men, women were seven times more likely to lose work during the nationwide lockdown and eleven times more likely to not return to work subsequently.
The post-Covid workplace, however, could prove to be a game changer. With the third Covid-19 wave on the wane, life inching back to normalcy along with pre-Covid support systems, and a hybrid work model likely to stay -at progressive organisations at least - the new normal is likely to drive gender diversity at work in India, in traditional as well as the gig economy. "Women will come back to the workforce for two reasons," says Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, executive chairperson of Biocon. "On the one hand, as the world gets back to normalcy, the burden on women will reduce, while on the other hand, the ESG (environmental, social and governance) focus of companies will put the spotlight on being more gender inclusive.
"Every company is tracking the gender issue and focusing on affirmative action and the hybrid working model is definitely going to benefit the cause. It allows women to have a better work-life balance that often becomes a challenge in a 9 to 5 model," says Mazumdar-Shaw.
FLEXIBILITY, INNOVATIVE WORK MODELS, MORE EMPATHETIC CULTURE WILL MAKE THE DIFFERENCE
"There is now a complete openness in saying that people can do certain jobs from home-thus allowing many more women to join the workforce and not leave their careers. This flexibility was not there before the pandemic," says Kalpana Morparia, former chairperson of JPMorgan, South and Southeast Asia. "Hence, while it has been a harrowing two years for several women coping with remote working, in the long term, this flexibility will be beneficial for women professionals."
Several organisations are now experimenting with or offering various work models-hybrid, part-time, work from home or without fixed base locations to attract and retain high-potential women professionals. This includes even companies from the old economy sector.
Diversified miner Vedanta Resources is open to offering flexible work models. For instance, the company recently hired a lady who has a young child and wanted to prioritise her kid. The company allowed her a part-time work model where she works 3-4 hours a day.
"We have learnt during Covid times that location does not matter, and we have real-life examples that it enhances productivity," says group chief HR officer Madhu Srivastava. In her view, workplace changes brought about by the pandemic will be more beneficial for women professionals as well as for organisations to retain them in the long run if companies are willing to offer the enablers that allow women to continue pursuing their careers.
IT giant Tata Consultancy Services used the pandemic to accelerate its efforts on diversity and connect with women. Even at a time when attrition in the sector is at a record high, efforts are already bearing fruit--retention of women has increased in the last eight quarters. "Most service-oriented tech companies will have to have policies to bring in hybrid and flexibility in workplace models, bring in innovation," says Ritu Anand, chief diversity and leadership officer at TCS. "This way, companies can thrive."
HIGHER PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN A BUSINESS IMPERATIVE
Flexible work models have given many employers access to newer talent pools, and helped them gain as they are able to have more variability of employee cost, access expertise.
Saugata Gupta, managing director and CEO at Marico, says flexible organisations will be in a better position to attract talent. "If people with skill and talent who had moved out join back, it will be good for the country and the economy," he says.
SV Nathan, chief talent officer, Deloitte India, says the pandemic has made organisations take a close look at the policies that were needed to help women across various life and career milestones. "It had to be a mindset change among managers so that measures to meet the unique needs that women in the workforce have don't get labelled as demands for 'special treatment', something that is crucial to bring women back to work," he says.
CHALLENGES WILL PERSIST; FIRMS NEED TO KEEP UP EFFORTS
With the pandemic receding fast, and many employers calling their employees back to office, it remains to be seen how they continue to support flexible working.
"Flexibility has to be a systemic change. It has to translate into how work gets done, how it gets evaluated, how one gets rewarded for flexible work," says Arvind Usretay, commercial leader, India & South Asia at global consulting firm Mercer India.
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