The year 2020 has been not easy for anyone. The pandemic has not just shown its effects on health, but also on the economy, industries, & many others aspects of regular life.
In the clutch of affected people, women have a majority stake as they had to take up additional roles, be it as a teacher, employee, bosses, support system, care taker, cook and many more. And attempting to juggle it all left them feeling stretched too thin.
In the midst of all of this, there is some good news. According to a JobsForHer report, the percentage of women hired in middle and senior management rose to 43 percent in 2020.
The JobsForHer DivHERsity Benchmarking Report 2020-21, released in May 2021, examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women's career advancements across the country and at various levels of corporate India.
The Benchmarking Report is based on information gathered from over 300 companies that took part in the DivHERsity Awards survey, including large enterprises, SMEs, and startups from a variety of industries, including IT, BFSI, FMCG, and Pharma. The Benchmarking survey also revealed some intriguing data on the hiring of women at various levels.
According to the report, the hiring of women in mid-management to senior-level positions increased from 18 percent in 2019 to 43 percent in 2020.
JobsForHer research shows that the 41 percent of startups surveyed for the report had met their goal of gender diversity hiring by 2020, indicating that several companies are implementing initiatives to eliminate gender biases and create a more diverse workplace.
What is notable here is that 87 percent of large enterprises and 49 percent of SMEs and startups reported that gender diversity is a top hiring priority for their company and that they are doing everything possible to achieve it the best way to accomplish that goal.
The pandemic also created a new normal in which remote working has become the norm, is gaining traction, and will have an impact on the future of work.
The number of work-from-home opportunities and the number of applications for it has increased. According to JobsForHer's Benchmarking Report, 40% of companies implemented special and customised work-from-home roles following COVID-19.
In 2017, India passed the Maternity Amendment Bill, which increased working women's right to paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks, making India the third-highest in the world.
Offering extended maternity leave is a positive step. However, it is equally important to create a gender-balanced workforce and implement family-friendly policies, not just women-friendly policies.
As per the DivHERsity Report, 45 percent of all companies (large enterprises, startups, and SMEs) provide 6 months of maternity leave. The proportion of large businesses that provide more than the required six months of maternity leave increased from 14 percent in 2019 to 20 percent in 2020.
In a press statement, Neha Bagaria, Founder and CEO of JobsForHer said, “Organisations are finally coming to understand the significance of diversity in their workforce, and have now started implementing the same. It is heartening to see several organisations taking a step in the right direction to make the workplace more women-friendly. We are hopeful that this trend will enable and encourage more women returnees, women in tech and women in leadership roles to enter the workforce and climb the professional ladder while ensuring gender parity across all levels.”
While all these are improvements, the survey also reported some dips that still exist in achieving gender equality.
Though many Indian employers implemented new policies to build a human-centric employee experience to create a better world of work during the pandemic, but only 13 percent of all companies – large enterprises, SMEs, and startups, provided additional paid leave for parents during the pandemic.
According to an analysis of the 2020 report, there has been no increase in female participation compared to 2019, which stands at 34%. The report also highlights the gender gap that exists at all levels of the talent pipeline for women, and it widens as they advance to senior management/CEO positions.
In 2020, India's workforce participation of women returning to work after a career break had also dropped by 20%. To repair this leaky talent pipeline, the corporate world will need to work together continuously.
According to the survey, 65 percent of large enterprises are launching special initiatives to bring women into the workforce after a career break.
The tech industry is one of the most visible examples of gender disparity. Women make up only 34% of India's IT workforce, with the majority of them under the age of 30. It is past time for us to focus on the next generation of tech talent and ensure gender equality at all career stages.
Diversity in leadership is beneficial to business. However, the proportion of women in senior management and leadership positions remains unchanged at 18%. However, corporate India has been working hard in recent years to increase the number of women in leadership positions through discussions and affirmative action on gender diversity.
The JobsForHerDivHERsity Benchmarking Report is a one-of-a-kind report that covers a wide range of parameters, including Best Practices in Diversity Hiring Policies, Best Practices in Diversity Programs, Women Returnee Programs and Women Leadership Development Programs, D&I Programs, and Gender Sensitisation Program, to help us understand the magnitude of the challenge we face in increasing female participation and performance in the Indian workforce.
