Tips For Creating Female Friendly Organisations.

Posted by admin on 10/30/09 Categorized as Women in Business

Not everyone gets Twitter. For a lot of people its a geeky thing or a triviality for teenagers, but not a serious business tool. Here at Bidiversity we use Twitter as a source of inspiration. There are thousands of voices on Twitter a real diversity of thinking that you might not otherwise be exposed to. Todays article is a great point. We came across it using Twitters powerful search function. Searching for the worlds Innovation, Diversity and Women led us to this article originally posted on Performance Management Traditional command-and-control organizations dominated by male hierarchy dont always create female-friendly environments. But with a few changes to organization design, its possible to create more effective organizations that can easily adapt to changes in the networked, global marketplace. The phenomenon has been called the leaky pipeline, the black hole and the Bermuda Triangle, but high-powered executive and professional women are increasingly opting out of, or otherwise disappearing from, the workforce. Forcing XX to Act Like XY If youre a woman forced to exist in a male-dominated and male-designed organization, life can be difficult. While not all men or women conform to the stereotypes, there are some prevalent tendencies worth noting. Much has been written about the need for women to adapt and change their behavior to fit with the organizational norms. For example, typical advice tells women to be more focused, confident and direct in their discussions with men, who tend to see conversations as a means to solve a problem or convey information. Other differences are not so clear. What Is a Female-Friendly Company? A female-friendly company is more gender balanced on average, 52 percent women employees versus 38 percent women in male-dominated firms. The corporate strategy may or may not be clearly defined, but the vision and operating principles are. Employees often feel they are part of a team directed at impacting a higher goal that is usually inspired by the founder or leader. Similarly, the culture at a female-friendly organization is often described as family friendly, collaborative, lacking competition, flexible, balanced and embracing quality of life. People are hired primarily for interpersonal and organizational fit. Skills, which decay rapidly, are secondary, since the belief is a motivated person with

the right attitude can learn the job. With the increasing need for people to work seamlessly across business units, functions, channels and regions, organizations must foster high social capital, without silos, and an ability to manage conflict constructively in order to solve problems. The managers in key roles must be naturally collaborative, build networks, live the companys values and be able to influence without authority. This is not the type of organization where a person with the need for a command-and-control leadership style will thrive. In a female-friendly organization, project and process knowledge may be captured in documents or computer databases, but they tend to be transmitted via person-to-person interactions, which build relationships and shared values. Finally, reward and promotion policies are clear, honest, objective and fair. For example, a woman-designed company in Seattle pays all of its employees, including senior project managers, on an hourly basis. The founder strongly believes she is treating her employees with more respect and fairness. She said if she paid an employee a salary, every hour that person works beyond the standard 40 hours per week profit is going directly into the owners pocket. In addition to the hourly compensation, the founder establishes an annual profit-sharing pool of money, a discretionary fund that varies depending on the profits of the business. Every employee, regardless of seniority or tenure in the company, receives an equal distribution from that fund. How to Create a Female-Friendly Organization By no means an exhaustive list, here are some additional policies to implement:

Make the business case for diversity. Studies show companies with more women in management and more female directors have higher return on equity, higher revenue, higher profit, higher total return to shareholders and lower share price declines than their competitors. Fill the pipeline. Companies must actively work to build a critical mass of women. In 2008, Norway enacted a controversial law mandating 40 percent of all corporate directors must be women. While the male establishment balked at the law, it was a group of female directors at international energy company Statoil who pushed a corruption probe that led to the resignation of the CEO and chairman. Root out bias from the hiring and appraisal process. Cisco installs a woman and person of color on every interview team to ensure there is a variety of views on each candidate. Make it easy to network and communicate. Co-locate teams, provide rotational assignments and sponsor training and problem-solving events where networking is a natural outcome. Remove barriers to success. This includes allowing work groups to establish their own process flow and hours; promoting balance between work and life, such as shorter meetings with more breaks; reviewing the reward system to ensure collaboration, fairness and transparency; establishing clear guidelines on job requirements and how promotion decisions are made; providing training in both technical subjects and leadership; encouraging peer support networks; actively promoting mentoring; and reaching deep into the organization to promote promising women. Adopt a zero tolerance policy toward authoritarian command-and-controllers. This may require coaching and possibly removing a stellar performer who does not live the collaborative values.

With skill and perseverance, companies can transform themselves into agile and networked organizations that meet and exceed the requirements of increasingly demanding customers and, at the same time, foster an environment that delights their women managers and plugs that leaky pipel

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

There are two women on the executive management team and six men

1. Forma, a French consulting and engineering company was one of the first businesses to sign up to the Diversity Charter 2. The company believes women are strong in certain attributes important for their industry such as a taste for art, innovation, empathy, listening and curiosity 3. A woman, Catherine Ehlinger has been hired to run the Change Management Practice, in which sensitivity to human behaviour is paramount 4. Work flexibility is ingrained in the organisation; people are judged by their performance. The policy is relevant for men just as much as women

What it's like to work for a woman-friendly company

Interview with Isabel Trigon, Associate MD, Form'a

Isabel Trigon, Associate Managing Director, Forma

INTERVIEW BY DANIELA SFEIR Isabel Trigon is an Associate Managing Director at Forma a consulting and engineering company that assists organizations during the transition from real estate strategy to project and space management. Isabel runs business operations for Forma, supervising the commercial and consulting arms. She has been with the company for 14 years in roles of increasing responsibility. She and her colleague Valrie Blin, the Director of Consulting, are the only two women on the executive management team out of seven people. While their roles are very important to the success of the company, it clearly has some way to go to advancing women in sufficient numbers at the top. However, the companys approach to gender diversity is more likely to enable it to achieve greater parity at higher levels in the future than many other organisations in Western Europe. Forma was one of the first companies in France to sign up to the Diversity Charter (2004), which called on businesses to fight discrimination by ensuring that their workforces reflected the different groups within the national population. The Charter was launched by Claude Bbar, President

of AXA Insurance company and Yazid Sabeg, co-author of Les Oublis de lEgalit des Chances (The Forgotten of Equal Opportunity) in 2004. Forma also has achieved an impressive gender parity of almost 50/50. Daniela Sfeir, Formas director of development interviews Isabel Trigon to find out more about the current practices of a woman-friendly company.

I had both my children while working at Forma and that didnt stop my advancement. On the contrary, I have been given the chance to reconcile my personal and professional life.

Conversation with Isabel Trigon

Philippe David, President, Form'a

Tell me about your career background? I started with Forma in 1994 as a sales agent and have moved to Key Account Manager, Key Account Director, Project Director, Space Management Director and Director of the Consulting and Development part of the business. This year I have been promoted to Associate Managing Director and am still working on improving my performance in this role. I am married and have two children, 5 and 8 years old. How has your career evolved? I have been lucky to work for a company that genuinely encourages the career development of women. Our previous president, Christian Reybaud and fortunately the current one, Philippe David have both been avid supporters of diversity long before diversity became a fashionable concept. I had both my children while working at Forma and that didnt stop my advancement. On the contrary, I have been given the chance to reconcile my personal and professional life. What does the Diversity Charter mean to Forma? We were one of the first SMEs in Ile de France to have signed it. This was actually at the request of Andr Santini, the mayor of Issy les Moulineaux that we joined. By signing, we agreed to better reflect the diversity of the nation in our company. The decision to sign was an easy one for us after all, we had been doing just that for years!

I believe it had something to do with our vision and open mindedness. Having employees with foreign names does not scare us. We also noticed through 20 years of experience that diversity drove better performance. In a way I believe we are one of the companies that have pioneered this concept.

The women play an enormous role. However, in no way do I want to belittle our mens contribution! We all work hand in hand and the results we get spring from a common effort.

How does it work at Forma? We have a very diverse pool of employees: almost 50% are women (though it is reduced to 20% at the executive management team level), all ages are represented and we have a good mix of different nationalities including British, Algerian, Romanian, Lebanese, Portuguese and Senegalese. This provides the business with different perspectives to doing business and always keeps us challenged, as we do not foster a rigid attitude. How do you explain the gender parity at Forma? Was hiring women a conscious choice? This is a bit difficult to answer. I guess it is explained both by the kind of field we are in given that architecture and design seem to attract more women. But also it is driven by our belief that women naturally have the kind of qualities that we think bring success in our business such as a taste for art, innovation, empathy, listening and curiosity. In fact, the three business areas where Forma contributes most value benefit from the womans touch. I am talking here about:

Change management: we just hired a woman, Catherine Ehlinger to develop this part of the business. Women do seem to have a better feel for this particularly sensitive area and a natural inclination to do well in it.

Environmental quality: this is part of our sustainable development business service. This area is also run by a woman, in this case our partner, Christine LeCerf. Corporate design: Corporate Design is about integrating the brand identity and company culture into work environments and requires a lot of creativity and sensitivity. Again, women seem to have a better feel for this and this part of the business is run by our interior design architects, Emilie Derreal and Julie Levesque.
These are all areas that are giving us an edge and which are very valuable to us and as I explained, the women play an enormous role. However, in no way do I want to belittle our mens contribution! We all work hand in hand and the results we get spring from a common effort.

Women in particular need to be able to spend time with their families in order to perform well at work. It is my personal belief based also on my experience that women are more productive when they are serene.

What kind of concrete measures did Forma put in place to encourage womens advancement? First of all, we offer work flexibility. We look at an employees performance, not their nine to six presence. Also we have created a relaxed atmosphere where people can thrive. I believe that an employee cannot fully perform when he or she is hassled by the stress of arriving in time and having to rush to take over from the nanny. We also encourage people to speak their minds and dont set any rigid work barriers. When and why did the company come up with these flexible ways of working? We came up with these measures some time ago as a way to retain talent. When more and more women in our teams began to start a family, we realized we needed to come up with something to stop them leaving. We needed to find ways to make their lives easier. Work-life balance is not just a concept for us, it is daily reality. As a mother of two who had her children while working at Forma, I can testify to that. Women in particular need to be able to spend time with their families in order to perform well at work. It is my personal belief based also on my experience that women are more productive when they are serene. Is it hard to make work/life balance a reality? Not really, it is not rocket science. We have put in place the necessary tools such as laptops, cell phones and VPN. We also dont believe that maternity should be an obstacle to a womans advancement. I am a good example of this belief. But other people in our company are mothers or soon to be mothers. We aim to make coming back after maternity leave easier and not let this absence become a handicap in ones career. And lastly, this initiative is not limited to women! Men also have a role in the family and we notice a tendency for more and more men to get involved in what used to be exclusively a mothers territory. So, the flexible hours option is open for everybody of both sexes! Why do you think this initiative is successful in your company? First, there is commitment from the top. We were lucky to have two Presidents: Christian Reybaud (our ex-President) and Philippe David, our current President, who both took womens advancement to heart. They have encouraged diversity and are proud to have seen these practices actually work in real life. They dont just produce empty words! Another factor which I believe is very important too is that at Forma, we work as a team of men and women, with an equal committed to making this work. Nobody takes advantage of the system and thus we have a real win-win situation here. Also diversity is teaching us that we can benefit from it in so many ways. Focusing on the personal side of relationships (which not until long ago was considered taboo), having a mix of different ages, backgrounds, languages, beliefs, points of view and so on gives us a great richness and broad horizons. I believe that a successful business is all about innovation, thinking out of the box and at Forma, this comes from having a very diverse pool of employees.

Lastly, we also have a successful mentoring programme. I was mentored by Philippe David, ( who was at the time our Sales Manager), and in my turn I mentored a young woman, Emilie Andr who joined Forma three years ago as an intern and is now the Director of Business Development.

I dont like the cut-throat attitude, which some women seem to have adopted from the mens club. I didnt have to change my personal style to get where I am.

You have spoken about what women bring to an organization. Could you elaborate on that? I think women have a natural ability in listening, problem solving, creative thinking, multi-tasking, inventiveness, conflict resolution, mediation and attention to detail, all of which is very important in our line of business as in many others. We need to really listen to our clients and be highly attuned to the human behavioural issues that drive success in organisations, as area that is particular pronounced in change management. So far, our project teams are well balanced and tend to be functioning very efficiently together! What drove your success? In my case, there were a multitude of factors that contributed to my personal development. First of all, I have had a very supporting spouse which is a great help. This I believe is very important, as having a well balanced personal life gives you the necessary serenity to thrive in your professional life. On another note, I also have a participative approach to the relationship with my employer. I started as a sales agent and I had to work hard to build my career. I didnt expect to be given a title, but preferred to earn it. I gave and received and it turned out to be a good fit. Actually we have many people who have been with Forma for a long time, which is a testimony to the quality of our work environment. Another factor which I believe is very important is to have the correct attitude towards career progression. I mean being ambitious in the right way, and not trying to succeed at any cost. I dont like the cut-throat attitude, which some women seem to have adopted from the mens club. I didnt have to change my personal style to get where I am. What is your advice for young women at the beginning of their careers? I have some guidelines that I think might work:

Be yourself; dont try to model yourselves on your male counterparts. You dont have to be masculine to succeed. Be ambitious, but not at any cost. Know your own value. Be daring and work hard. Dont get discouraged and follow your path. Have a healthy attitude towards work and a healthy relationship with your organization.

Most critically, do your job with passion. If your heart is not there, you wont be able to make it work!

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
President & Managing Director Philippe David General Manager Alain Werth Associate general Manager Isabel Trigon Director of Consulting Valrie Blin Director of Architecture/Study Jean-Claude Martin Director of Engineering and Works Sebastien Bourgeois Director of Space Management Stphane Banet Technical Director Christian Minot

About the author

Daniela Sfeir has studied for five years at the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest, and holds an MBA degree from the Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussees in Paris. She developed an international career of 12 years in administration and finance and business development in various industries including pharmaceuticals, energy, airlines, consulting, FMCG, automotive, media/publishing and oil contracting. She has travelled to, lived and/or worked on four continents and calls herself a citizen of the world. She is married, and has three children. She is French and Romanian, lives in Paris and works as a development director for Forma. In 2004, Sfeir founded and became the President of a Women in Business Club. She is also an active member of the European Professional Women Network in Paris.

Women Power
Surekha Kothari The old adage,"The consumer is not a moron; she is your wife" has to be rephrased: "The consumer is not a moron; she is your BOSS." How did this development take place ? The single most significant reason for this development has been the dawn of the consumer era. Today, it is neither the industry nor the government sector that drives the economy. The expenditure and savings of the household sector have become the driving force of the urban industrial economy. The growing economic power and autonomy of the woman is giving her greater power in the boardrooms also. This is because she is the consumer and understands both the needs of the household as well as another woman better than men do. Men have controlled the corporate world till date but are now being forced to reckon with the fact that women can now contribute to corporate profits as well as - if not better than - men can. The role of women has evolved drastically since their hesitant advent into the corporate world through "soft" jobs, more in keeping with their roles at home stereotypes like "caring" jobs such as labour welfare, cosmetic jobs like Public Relations and Receptionists, creative jobs like advertising and subordinate/subservient jobs like secretarial/clerical jobs. Today, however, women have integrated themselves into every field of activity and every kind of industry smoothly and skillfully. Whether travelling twenty days of the month or accepting transfers, they are as performance-oriented, sincere, competent and persevering as their male counterparts, if not more. Their presence in the corporate world is now more a rule than an exception such that a feminist agenda and, in fact, any special reference to women in business seems obsolete. The conventional misgivings with regard to their capabilities to handle the conflict between the demands of the home, family and profession are redundant and irrelevant in the present context. The fact is that, at present, there is a much greater demand of women executives than there is a supply. Their consumer expertise in a consumer-oriented economy places them in an enviable position where they are given priority at Management Institutes as well as in recruitment for managerial positions. Companies are competing tooth and nail to hire the best female executives with "women-friendly" personnel policies. Even banks are looking positively at consumer loans and often giving them priority. Ask any serious investor which industries are worth investing in today and the answer is;the sunrise industries such as software, health-care, pharmaceuticals, Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), and consumer banking. All these require more female executives at the helm of affairs than available. In pharmaceuticals,

the Over The Counter (OTC) segment is being run by women executives. The ethicals (Prescription Drugs) will soon follow, because once talent and capability have been proven in a corporate environment, companies will work towards retaining and nurturing talent, irrespective of gender. In fact, a time may come when, if there is a discrimination on the basis of sex, it will be the turn of the men to complain! The personnel policies of some of the most successful companies in the "growth" sector, say Hindustan Lever, have become so "women friendly" that the male executives may well face some discomfiture. In the light of these observations, what are the current critical issues that need to be addressed? What measures will the corporate sector take to harness the skills of more and more educated and talented women for executive jobs? Of what magnitude and quality will the incentives given to them be, in order to attract their interest, and thereafter, ensure their continued loyalty? Will these incentives be attractive enough for self- employed professionals such as those in medicine, law, politics and finance to forego their freedom to join the world of business? How will the companies minimise the role conflict for women executives so that neither their performance nor their loyalty are affected? How can the corporate roles of women managers be effectively performed while addressing their needs of selfesteem and upward mobility? Where merit and performance dictate success and upward mobility, companies must necessarily adopt "women friendly" policies while addressing all these issues. The reality today is that women managers are an integral part of any organisation. Therefore, the complementary male and female aspects of creation as conceptualised in the "Ardhanareeshwara" or the "yin" and "yang" must be interpreted as the two aspects of the "self", both of which are essentially to be balanced for objective decision-making and management and each aspect to be used consciously and deliberately as and when required in the process of administration. The other interpretation of this concept - that man and woman are complementary "halves" of a "whole" - would seem to bear little relevance within the corporate sector environment. In fact, in the boardroom, the so-called "complementary half" often becomes an adversary. The corporate ladder has been known to hang the skeletons of several "beautiful" relationships while the real adversary is actually the "ego" which should ideally have no place in a proactive environment. As history has borne evidence, while the male ego might still feel a little insecure and uncomfortable with the idea of accepting a female colleague at the same or superior level, time and habit will take care of this, for finally, it is economics that defines culture. Egos have an amazing ability of adjusting to economic realities. Then, maybe, the old saying,"Behind every successful man, there is a woman" will

have to be rewritten as"Behind every successful woman, there is a man". Equality, mutual respect and support and interdependence may be the demands and the needs of these times, as also the only ideology for a proactive and peaceful coexistence. The success of women managers has to be measured by a far more comprehensive yardstick than the one the corporate world has so far been using... sustained productivity. Traditionally defined as "value added" to an "asset base", this definition limited itself merely to the measurable aspects of productivity which failed to take cognisance of the human factor, thus resulting in the collapse of several high productivity societies like Japan. The resultant emotional and cultural sterility had to be reversed by redefining productivity not by excluding material values but by including cultural and emotional values. "Assets", therefore, include human assets, and women managers have become an invaluable asset to an organisation owing to their technical skills as well as their personal qualities of integrity, diligence, sincerity and result-orientation mixed with the right degree of professionalism. The glorious chapters of history bear testimony to such women of substance, from luminaries of the calibre of Rani of Jhansi, Indira Gandhi, Helen Keller, Madame Curie, Golda Meir, to those currently making history, be it Carly Fiorina's journey from a shipping secretary to the CEO of Hewlett-Packard, one of the largest US Corporations and Commander Eileen Collins leading a group of astronauts into space, or Benazir Bhutto, Begum Sheikh Hasina, Chandrika Kumaratunga or Kiran Bedi. To conclude, women, traditionally home-makers, and intrinsically concerned with the wholeness of human life, inevitably carry to their work environment a similar concern rather than merely that of production per Rupee and/or per minute. As such, their workplaces have to be redesigned to be places of culture, health maintenance, empathetic interpersonal relationships and a positive and proactive environment. This "Utopia" of yesteryears is the reality we are moving towards today and is happening in companies with a vision, and, it is paying rich dividends. Women in Management are custodians of "quality" which automatically makes "quantities" more meaningful. In the words of Clare Boothe Luce,"Woman knows what man has long forgotten; that the ultimate economic and spiritual unit of any civilisation is still the family." The author is a Chennai-based entrepreneur.

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Companies roll out women-friendly initiatives to retain female staffers

Ashni Biyani took her baby steps in the corporate world when she had joined the Future Group as director of Future Ideas three years ago, at the age of 25. Biyani belongs to a growing club of women who are in senior positions across India Inc, endorsing what companies are now figuring out: hire and retain women because it makes business sense. "Half the Indian population needs representation at the top of Indian business to make success more comprehensive," says Biyani. However, part of the challenge organisations face is to retain women employees at mid-and senior levels, as they get tied down to domestic responsibilities. Companies are now rolling out women-friendly initiatives from the option of working from home to relaxation rooms to arrest this trend. The Women in Leadership (WILL) forum, set up in 2007 by a 1,000 women professionals across 150 companies, found that homegrown companies had 5-6% more women in senior positions (over 15 years experience) in 2009 compared to 2008, while Indian MNCs such as PepsiCo, KPMG, Citigroup, GE, Pfizer saw an increase of 15-20%. All the same, while the entry-level inflow of women has been as high as 40-50% in many organisations like Wipro, the number has been steadily decreasing towards the middle and the top, driving organisations to do some ground-level work to figure out why women were leaving midway. With the pool having shrunk, there arent too many high performers left to manage the top levels. Wipro conducted a survey in 2008 which suggested most women who left and did not return were in the 5-10 years experience bracket. That was after they got married and relocated, had children and were deeply engaged in their personal lives. At least 70% of women are stuck in the middle bracket. This is where we need to work and remove the backlog, says Poonam Barua, convenor of the WILL forum. Companies have taken many measures to retain women. These include adoption leave, which enables employees to avail of three months paid leave when they adopt a child. They are also increasingly offering employees the opportunity to work part time or from home under special circumstances. Other options are telecommuting, which allows staffers to work for one or two days a week from home, a special relaxation room, lactation room and car parking for moms-to-be. At Zensar, such initiatives saw a marked increase in the percentage of women who returned after maternity leave the number went up to 89% from 15% in the past three years. TCS does not break the service record of women who discontinue work due to family commitments and return at a later stage. The company also allows flexibility of roles through job rotations across businesses, practices and functions. TCS encourages women to be part of its global workforce. From 24% women in FY06, we have scaled up to 30% women today on an increasing employee base.

Altogether 11% of our senior management comprises women, says TCS global HR head Ajoy Mukherjee. The company has launched DAWN (Diversity and Womens Network), which offers a framework for the professional growth of women associates, focused on encouraging diversity and inclusion in the workforce. PepsiCo, which has 15% women in 5,000 of its Indian workforce, has 30% women in its core senior leadership of 15 members. Says PepsiCo Indias ED, HR, Pavan Bhatia: Inclusive growth is necessary for the growth and development of an organisation and its people. The company set up a Female Talent Council, an initiative that helps women come together, share experiences, problems and solutions. But all these efforts have come over a good deal of time, and not everyones been so fortunate. Sangita Singh, senior vice president of Enterprise Application Services, had to leave her two-and-a half month old son in 1996 with her parents in-law as it was getting difficult to manage both work and family. She and her husband visited the child as often as they could, but it was a difficult choice. It was tough, but I looked at it from a long-term perspective. Things are relatively better in the IT industry, of which I am a part. A few years ago, companies set up crches to attract women employees. That became a big draw, she says. The dynamics have changed now, with companies not willing to lose good talent, she adds. Hoping, in time, the balance is set right. Shreya Biswas and Mahima Puri, ET Bureau

Women Friendly Management Practices by Vidusha Nathavitharana

Posted on March 31, 2011by High5 Perspectives

Women are slowly but surely coming into key positions within an organization. Though many argue that there is STILL not enough women in top positions within an organization, it is obvious that the trend is reversing, and that more

and more women enter mainstream organizational dynamics, and that they have proved, beyond any vestige of doubt, that they can hold their own in the top jobs. However, it is never quite an equal, level playing field for a woman. Society still demands of her to multi task much more than a man and though both the husband and wife work, much of the home front is still considered a womans prerogative. The gender divide I have never been a proponent of the archetypical womens liberation movement : nor have I agreed that a womans role is in the home. I have always held that a woman is, first and foremost, a person, everything else second. As such, she has the right, and the mandate to decide her own destiny, and that society needs to accept that she has a right to her own path. The challenge

The challenge for a woman who vies to become a Senior Manager within an organization is in the choices she has to make. She is EXPECTED to run home, AND do a job as good as her male counterparts : and it is obvious that the playing field is not exactly leveled for her ! Having to take care of the kids (including her husband !) and still being required to put in the hours and the effort is never

quite fair though it is almost certainly the case and being a man, I am never quite sure how I would adapt if the tables were turned. What is great to see though, is that many organizations have realized that there needs to be certain initiatives if one is serious in their commitment to attract more women to mainstream management roles. There is always a fine line. The debate of gender is an extremely sensitive one, and both sides of the divide will argue their point of view with passion. Rather than taking any side, we want to explore the possibility for organizations to enable women to be employed meaningfully, and also enable them to overcome inhibitions and barriers that may disallow them to reach their fullest potential within the organization. This article is an exploration of some of the best practices we have observed.

Creche facilities One of the biggest challenges for a woman is to come to work and still ensure their infant is well looked after. Creche facilities is not a new concept it was quite common in the plantation sector where the vast majority were female employees. However, other industries were quite slow in adopting this. It is great to see that more and more companies, including the much talked about best run companies such as Google are providing creche facilities and day care centers to ensure their female employees can balance their work and home commitments. Paid Maternity Leave Even by law, a woman is offered paid maternity leave, but many organizations now have offered a lot more flexibility than what is strictly the law. Many organizations offer three four months time off for child birth, and reduced working hours for

a further 4-6 months, so as to ensure a mother is free to tend for her new born. Such incentives enable a woman to be able to be a mother, and a productive employee without having to make a decision either way. Anti Discriminatory frameworks For many many years (and in fact still, in some countries) women were paid less than men for the same work done. Most organizations today have regulatory frameworks disallowing this practice, and in fact, organizations such as IBM led the way to ensure that there was equal pay for equal work irrespective of the gender. Extremely strong anti harassment and abuse policies are also greatly welcome as it is quite common to have sexual harassment in the work place. Ensuring a woman has dignity in the workplace is important, and unless there is a robust policy framework protecting the dignity of a woman, harassment and abuse becomes commonplace. Ready Reemployment There are many organizations that are now offering women to rejoin the organization after taking some time off because of child birth without considering it a disqualification. There are many organizations that have taken this one step further by considering incentives to get female employees who may have left the organization due to childbirth. Womens empowerment programs There are many organizations who employ a predominantly female workforce who have embarked upon empowerment programs targeted at women. These programs include life skills, womens issues, as well as a lot of work in offering soft skills, confidence and motivation required for a woman to truly discover herself.

These programs have enabled women to gain a lot of confidence, and also develop essential skills that enable them to be successful in their careers as well as in their personal life. Since the programs are designed and delivered (most of the time) by women themselves, the levels of interaction are extremely high with a great focus on being able to empathize with many of the issues common to most women. Training for men

Many organizations have taken steps to train men on gender sensitivity and gender equality. This initiative is an important one, since organizations as a whole cannot go too far in the gender equation without involving men at some point. Training on the rights of a woman, as well as the importance of understanding WHY the role of a woman is different to that of a man is an important step in ensuring that organizations view both males and females as employees rather than through the lens of gender. There is still a long way to go It is not an exaggeration that there is still much to be done in order to ensure that women are seen as, and treated as equals to men. Even though there is no denying that a woman is a woman, and a man is a man, unless there is true meritocracy within an organization, rather than bringing bias of gender, we could never really have women having the same opportunities as men. It is no lie that there are still organizations, and HR Managers who prefer to employ men because they are less likely to have issues like pregnancy and childbirth and more likely to work late. With such attitudes, it is difficult to expect equal opportunity and equal

treatment for a woman at work. Sadly, there are many women managers and HR personnel who prefer to employ males for the same reasons !

It is important that organizations take a more modern and equity based approach to the issue of gender, which enables women to work without feeling guilty about neglecting home. Women are as competent as men the added burdens on them, often disallow them to fulfill their potential. It is almost a moral obligation to ensure that if women are to work, they are allowed to do so not at the cost of their families.