Empowering women at the workplace

Recently, social media celebrated the #NationalGirlChildDay with a lot of enthusiasm and fanfare. It was wonderful to read all the inspirational quotes about education and empowerment of girls, and why it is a must do for India.

Yet, ironically, it is some of these very same people who turn hostile when girls do act in an empowered manner and speak up against harassment or injustice. As expected, this has led to a lot of women having second thoughts before saying anything, and this really is worrisome .

This fear, if not nipped in the bud, will hinder the already challenging journey towards making India — especially corporate India — an equal opportunity workplace. Also, such fear is not just bad for women, it will be disastrous for businesses, too, and have serious ramifications for the India growth story.

The 2019 predictions from Gartner state that by 2022, 75 per cent of organisations reflecting a diverse and inclusive culture will exceed their financial targets. The case for women (based on merit) to be an equal part of the workforce across levels is very strong, and similar studies continue to reinforce the belief.

According to McKinsey, India could add up to $770 billion — more than 18 per cent of its GDP by 2025 — simply by giving equal opportunities to women. Inclusion is a must-do for India and we cannot afford to blink in our efforts to make it happen.

The good news is that participation of women in the economy and workplace is slowly being recognised for what it is — sound business sense. The bad news is that despite all the data, we are still not making the right progress to change status quo — overall.

Guess this is why they say, ‘culture eats data’.

One industry that has taken a definitive lead in the journey to inclusion is IT. With over 35 per cent women in the workforce, the diversity journey of the industry has transcended from policies and awareness to specific interventions — to become a CEO agenda, for instance. The industry is making progress and the commitment is high.

At the heart of this journey is the strong focus of creating a safe work environment for employees. No individual will be able to do his/her best at work when he/she does not feel safe or respected. And this unfortunately continues to be a challenge, especially for women.

As technology rapidly changes job roles, there is a lot of focus on re-skilling employees on new tech. But what is equally needed, if not more, is the focus on soft skills, especially those needed for effective collaboration.

Teamwork starts with respect and, for this, all individuals must have at least a basic understanding of what constitutes appropriate behaviour and personal space. As we have realised, especially in the wake of the #MeToo movement, there is a definite gap here.

If we really want to not just include women in the workforce but enable them to give their best, organisations have to focus on building higher awareness and sensitisation to safe workplace etiquette.

Dealing with complaints

The other area where we need to urgently drive sensitisation is in dealing with complaints.

While the industry is doing a good job of following the recommendations of the POSH Act, which came into effect more than five years ago to protect employees from harassment and put in place the necessary processes for its adoption and implementation, there is a strong need for broader sensitisation of the process, including the need for confidentiality and empathy. It still is a huge challenge for women to speak up against harassment. There is a voice in our heads that is continually telling us to shut up, much more than all the trolls on social media. It takes tremendous courage for most of us to conquer our own fears and demons and speak up.

We cannot derail the little progress that has been made so far, by publically shaming and branding the complainants as guilty, no matter who the accused is or what the circumstances are.

We have to let the organisations complete the due investigation process without pressure and fear. And, continue to strengthen the process to ensure it is fair and minimises the risk of misuse.

It is encouraging that wherever we have seen a continual and focussed awareness drive, we have seen the same pay off well.

The best testament to the same is more and more women are slowly building the confidence to speak up against harassment at work. From paper to practice is actually a bigger leap than we can imagine. But it instils great confidence in employees when there is a fair redressal system in place which can look into violations without being jaundiced by unconscious biases.

The workplace of the future is about collaboration and co-creation and will require organisations to invest in defining the DNA of its culture, where differences and diversity are the pillars of innovation. It is most encouraging to see that most IT CEOs are committed to the change.

The journey as we have seen will not be easy or smooth. It doesn’t just need courage, but a lot of heart too. And, we do hope that the government will also join the efforts to make India an equal opportunity country for all.

The writer is President, Nasscom.

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