With remote working, even traditional setups today are re-looking at the workforce: Anuranjita Kumar

The onset of the pandemic has increased the availability of a more diverse talent pool who are active job seekers, especially returnee women, says Anuranjita Kumar, chairperson, WiT (Women in Technology) India. In an interview with ET’s Brinda Sarkar, Kumar says remote working further broadens the horizons with opportunities for women to re-enter their jobs post a maternity break, as much as drawing in women from further corners towards mainstream roles that can be handled remotely.Edited excerpts:Q: How has WiT been driving the hiring agenda of corporates during the pandemic?There has been a trend of the number of women in the workforce increasing since the pandemic started. In India, four out of every 10 women lost their jobs due to Covid. The rate of job loss for women in India is 17.6% more than that for men, in the Covid-19 induced situation. This also means the availability of a more diverse talent pool who are active job seekers, especially returnee women. We have been focusing on tapping into pools that are hidden for hiring fulfilments - these include women on breaks, alternate professions, and women who are on the bench due to restructuring. We have been working with organisations to review their diversity value proposition (DVP). This is key for retention of women. Hiring is one part of the equation and retention is equally critical to enable a pipeline. Remote working further broadens the horizons with opportunities for women to re-enter their jobs post a maternity break, as much as drawing in women from further corners towards mainstream roles that can be handled remotely.Q: What is your approach to help increase women participation in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) careers?Our organisation focuses on fulfilling a gap in gender diversity in STEM leadership roles by building diverse talent in the domains while also fulfilling the current demands of the industry. This is being achieved through various interventions under three key pillars of the platform - engagement , enablement and employment. Our focus is on women across various life stages from the classroom to the boardroom. We engage with organisations, leaders, and influencers to drive the gender diversity agenda that creates a progressive work culture and a positive impact on business outcomes. We also work with both men and women, especially those in STEM, to address gaps, created by lack of aspiration, absence of diverse mindsets, unconscious biases or prejudices, that come in the way of leadership growth and career opportunities. Q: What challenges do you think women face in their professional growth? How can they overcome these difficulties to step up in the new normal?The challenges women face in professional growth are three-fold – social, familial, and their own lack of confidence or aspiration. At each stage of their career, each of these play their own pivotal part in pulling them down or making it much harder to continue on their chosen path and hence succeeding. It is important therefore to take charge, spotlight one’s priorities and to motivate oneself to succeed. Our focus has been to support the women through their journeys whilst also being inclusive of men and making them allies as women transcend these journeys. Men are mentors and supporters on our platform, and co-own the goals.The so-called ‘new normal’ offers greater opportunities as much as the challenges that it poses. With remote working, flexi hours, even the most ardent traditional setup today is re-looking at the workforce and re-modulating delivery systems. Women bring in their own perspectives, ways of working, adaptability, and a different approach to solving complex problems.Q: Are businesses currently concerned about creating an inclusive workforce? Or is the focus only on maintaining business continuity? During this period of a global pandemic and related transformation - when there is financial stress, an innovative and creative strategy is imperative to turn around the tide. This innovation and creation emanates from diverse thoughts and a different mindset that can help us look at this situation with a different lens, thereby finding those hidden solutions, products, consumers. Gender inclusion is one of the key ways to bring in that diverse mindset and creativity. We engage with multiple CXOs and company boards, and this is a key focus area. However, progress has been slow. Even today in India, in spite of having 35% women in technology at the entry level (better than globally), there are about 9% at mid-level and less than 1% at the CXO level, which is lower than other sectors in India and globally. I do think that organisations are making efforts on the policy and development front, however, driving inclusion has to be done more consciously, otherwise the leaky pipeline will continue.

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/3gwMb7n