According to a recent report, Chennai is recognised as one of the best cities in India which offers a broad working environment for women. Based on Social Inclusion Score (SIS) and Industrial Inclusion Score (IIS), every city has been assigned a City Inclusion Score (CIS).
The SIS is further based on 4 factors that make a city more welcoming to women:
- Offer sustainability, quality standard of living and economic ability.
- A parameter or scale that will show women's safety within the city.
- The proportion of women in the city's overall workforce.
- Women's participation percentage in terms of state-level empowerment programmes for women.
The IIS has three indicators which decide that organisations or firms of a city are favourable to women, the indicators are:
- Inclusive business firms
- Diversity in Industries
- Career promoters, which include flexible work timings, mental health consultations, remote working options, child care, equal payments and other facilities which any company should provide.
Eight cities of Tamil Nadu have topped both of the categories. Tamil Nadu is the top Indian city to achieve spots in both categories. Whereas cities like Delhi have also secured a position but only on the SIS factor. It is ranked 19th in the SIS ranking category. This implies that, apart from providing an inclusive workplace for female employees, this city fails to meet the SIS category which provides women safety, representation of women in the workplace a quality life, and employment.
Cities like Puducherry, Vishakapatnam, Bilaspur and Surat share high scores in SIS but low IIS scores. This results in a favourable environment for women to work but fails the inclusivity of women in organisations.
The report makes the following suggestions for the cities that lag:
- They should ensure quality living standards, usage of public amenities, and efficiency in response to crime.
- Positive working atmosphere, helpful peer groups, and conducive working culture.
- Workplaces and cultures that value inclusivity will support steady growth both personally and professionally.
