Here’s what Netflix, Uber and others are doing to bring more women onboard

• A recent study by McKinsey & Company said that the companies that have a higher share of women in their senior management teams outshined those with few or no women.
  
• However, the increased boardroom participation is due to a law that mandates at least one woman on every company board.
  
• Last year, Intel claimed that it has achieved gender pay parity across the workforce.
  
• Uber says it believes in equality and makes sure women get equal opportunity and earnings as men.
  

Companies in India are striving to achieve gender parity in the workforce and boost women participation across verticals. A recent study by McKinsey & Company said that the companies that have a higher share of women in their senior management teams outshined those with few or no women.

In fact, research shows that over 30% of the non-technical roles are represented by women — including 11% participation in the leadership roles. “Today there are many women who are active in roles like machine operators, cab drivers, construction workers, field sales etc. The organisations have undertaken advanced skilling initiatives to improve the employability and productivity of the workforce. In fact, more organizations are now using apprenticeships to train and skill women, many also absorbing them,” Sumit Kumar, Vice President at NETAP, TeamLease told Business Insider.

However, the increased boardroom participation is due to a law that mandates at least one woman on every company board.

“Inclusion of women has significantly increased today, from the field to the board room. Over the last few years, regulatory interventions along with the introduction of new labour policies has been aiding this paradigm shift,” said Kumar.

Here’s what TCS, Netflix, Uber and others are doing to bring more women onboard :

Intel

Last year, Intel claimed that it has achieved gender pay parity across the workforce. Its Home to Office (H2O) hiring programme is focused at bringing the women employees back at work after a career break.

The Global Gender Gap Report 2020 by the World Economic Forum (WEF) shows that women represent merely 12% of workforce in cloud computing and 26% in data and artificial intelligence. To push women in technical roles, ‘Intel Involved’ inculcates interest in STEM among girl students, thereby helping women to take up technology roles.


“When I started in the technology industry over two decades ago, opportunities for women, especially at senior levels within organizations, were very few. While women have come a long way since, substantial gaps remain when it comes to gender parity. There is wider recognition of the fact that true gender parity is the key to thriving economies and societies. Technology companies are more aware than ever that a diverse workforce and inclusive culture are not just critical to their evolution but are the driving forces of their growth,” Huma Abidi, senior director at Intel Corporation.

Accenture


Women represent 44% of the workforce in Accenture, globally. It was one of the first companies to measure gender ratio. The tech giant is focussed at achieving a gender balanced workforce in the next five years and having 25% women in leadership roles.

It offers executive sponsorship to promote equality. The sponsors invest in learning and development of women employees, under its ‘Grow Women in Leadership’ programme. Since 2016, more than 500 women executives at senior levels in India have benefited from this global initiative.

“We hire, retain and grow women to have long and fulfilling careers through a combination of investments to remove the challenges that women face with staying in work including career pathing, learning & development and childcare & family friendly policies,” Accenture said.

Unacademy

With 37% of the total workforce as women, Uncademy says it gives utmost priority to gender equality. Unacademy an education technology platform which claims to have at least 38% women in leadership positions.

It has rolled out several HR practises including an in-house wellness room equipped with comfortable bunk beds and hot water bag to enable a conducive work environment. Unacademy says it conducts yoga sessions and menstrual health and hygiene workshops also.

Netflix

Global Streaming giant Netflix recently partnered with the United Nations for equality. As much as 49% of its workforce is women. “We hope that it will spread the message that realizing women’s rights means putting women front and center to achieve gender equality,” says Netflix.

Uber

Uber says it believes in equality and makes sure women get equal opportunity and earnings as men.

“We are also committed towards fostering a culture of inclusiveness and diversity. Through various initiatives and programmes, we aim to onboard more women and gender-diverse partners by devising a value proposition that offers earnings, safety and support experience to them. We would like to continue onboarding more women driver partners so that they can make a mark in the industry of mobility and earn a sustainable livelihood," Uber said.

Zivame


Zivame has about half the workforce as female for the past 2 years. With it, it also claims to have “a 50:50 ratio within their leadership team”.

According to Siddharth Vishwanath, Head- Human Resources, Zivame, diversity at the leadership table helps them make strategic decisions to grow and promote merit-based talent irrespective of gender, and create superior value for stakeholders.

Flipkart

Flipkart has a diverse opportunities for its women employees. It supports employees who are working parents with its ‘Mom on Board’ programme, which is designed for new mothers to grow in a structured manner. In fact, the provision of maternity leave at Flipkart in case of adoption is same as biological mothers.

“At Flipkart, several employees are working parents with children across different age groups, and many others are on their journey to embracing parenthood. As parents, they do not need to prioritise work over children, or vice versa; and we believe that with the right policies in place, working parents can achieve great success without any compromises, while bringing their ‘whole’ selves to work everyday,” said Krishna Raghavan, chief people officer (CPO) at Flipkart.

Western Digital

Western Digital, which is among the top 100 employers for women in India, helps new mothers with its mentorship programmes to assure self-confidence and development of leadership skills among its women employees. Its sponsorship programme promotes women in their career, along with various rewards and recognition.

“There is a strong need for companies to have dedicated programmes for women who want to take a break during the childbirth and early development of a child. Investing in programmes for reskilling such that they can Leapstart to the workforce Is imperative. Having a fair representation of women leaders in the organisation will encourage other women employees to feel inspired in the workplace,” said Supria Dhanda, country manager and VP of Western Digital India.

Optum Global Solutions

Optum Global Solutions, a part of the UnitedHealth Group encourages an inclusive ecosystem to nurture a bias-free and high-performing culture.

“The increasingly competitive job market calls for focusing talent management efforts on reskilling and skill upgrading, and leveraging the diverse talent pool that is capable, yet remains untapped due to dated talent acquisition/talent development models. The writing is on the wall – organizations today simply cannot afford to overlook the potential of and the need to be inclusive and diverse,” said Sandeep Ghai, senior director human capital at Optum Global Solutions.

See also:
Women’s Day Special : From Nirmala Sitharaman to Priyanka Chopra here are the powerful women who conquered the headlines