REDEFINING THE ROLE OF WOMEN

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ABOUT WORKING WOMEN

PROBLEM FACED BY THEM

INITIATIVES TAKEN

BREAKING OF GLASS CEILING

The glass ceiling does not exist anymore. The very fact that women are at the top helm of organizations indicates that glass ceiling are a thing of the past. If the women have the right sets of skills and the ability to deliver, she can perform well in any area.

EMERGENCE OF WOMEN LEADER Companies are increasingly more women into

leadership roles because diversity needs to exist at all

levels of the organization in order to make a serious impact.

Research has found a correlation between the presence of

women in higher management roles and financial of the

organization, as measured to total return to the shareholders and return on equity.

WORK LIFE BALANCE

GENDER DISCRIMINATION

WORK LIFE BALANCE• Balancing home and work effectively is a problem

which is generally faced by a woman in her career graph.

The triple pressure on women, of being a wife, a mother and a worker experienced all over the world.

Sometimes women have to compromise her family life for work. Sometimes, work get more demanding

GENDER DISCRIMINATION• Even though more women hold higher

degrees than men, they are still passed over jobs that go to less-educated and less-qualified males, and they also receive less compensation than men for the same job.

Women do face many challenges including discrimination and are often paid less than men for doing the same job

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Another common perception in the Indian corporate context that hard work equates with long hours and continuous avability to the firm also became a constraint for women, who inherently have more need and preferences for personal time and family

Companies are now rolling out women friendly initiatives. With

the rise in the need for dual income and growing nuclear families,

organizations are gearing up to allow flexibility like taking

sabbaticals that will help women in

continuing their association with organizations...

DAY CARE CENTERS Working parents gain a lot from on-site day

care programs. There is no better place to get reliable, safe and convenient care for their children. This is why most organizations like Accenture, Wipro Technologies and Godrej Group are now opening up some great onsite day care centers for their employee children.

DIVERSITY MANAGEMENT With organizations going global, diversity is

increasingly becoming an integral part of every organization. Diversity management is all about providing a work environment wherein all employees feel valued and empowered. And organizations that understand this need like Infosys, Hewitt Associates and more practice diversity management at their workplace.

 

EXTENDED MATERNITY LEAVESGiving birth to a child is the proudest moment in a

women’s life, they say, but motherhood comes with a bag of responsibilities, priorities and compromises. Understanding this very need of a new mother to take care of her new born, many organizations like Symphony Services, 24/7 Customers and more are now giving the options of taking extended maternity leaves to their women employee.

WORK FROM HOME Many organizations like Cisco, IBM and CSC India

have now introduced work from home policies for their employee, giving them enough time to create perfect work – life balance. Other options are telecommunicating, which allows staffers to work for one or two days a week from home. They give this facility other especially to their female employee in case of pregnancy or any other personal problem

TRAINING PROGRAMSNow days many organizations provide special training

programs for their female employee. They provide them required knowledge about their job or any other task they are going to do.

IBM provides its women employee with necessary knowledge, resources, tools and oppurnuties. This enables and empowers them to successfully play active roles in the growth and development of the organisazation

.IBM also have an annual women leadership conference (IWLC) called as WINSPIRATION .This is for selected to women leaders which is widely regarded opportunity to build enhance networking and build leadership skills. Because they want women at the top levels of their organization. Like IBM there are many organizations which are doing work in this direction.

.ICICI Lombard is sensitive towards this problem

and thus, has a lot up to initiatives for female employee to tackle this –if any female employee planning to adopt a child can claim up to a maximum of 30 days of adoption leave. Also, women are entitled to work part-time or work from home they can also avail maternity leave and have constant support from the organization at various life stage events.

Specific need analysisIn many organizations now days there is a trend of

need analysis of needs of women in various stages of work life like early career, mid management, senior leadership, etc .and focused initiatives have been planned and executed to meet not just their needs , but also organizational goals. This is one of the initiatives that are taken by many organizations.

.Beside, these regular programs, special

training programs are designed and organized for women in managerial position to help them build confidence and take the stage in the corporate world.

IBM also conduct a two day workshop call

(WOMEN LEADERSHIP DEVLOPMENT)

targeted to women at the top position.

.A special relaxation room, lactation room and

car parking moms-to-be are also provided. Organizations are not willing to lose good talent, so whatever be the route; the dynamics are changed now and with companies not willing to their female employee

TRENDS AND STATICS FOR WOMEN IN BUSINESS RAPID GROWTH IN THE WOMEN

OWNED BUSINESS

Between 2001 and 2009, businesses fully women-owned, or majority-owned by women, grew at nearly twice the rate of all U.S. firms (42.3% vs. 23.3%). During this same time period, employment among women-owned firms grew 0.4%, and annual sales grew 4.4%.

.In 2009, reports on women-owned (or majority owned by women) in the United States returned the following impressive statistics:--

There were an estimated 10.4 million privately-held firms;

This accounted for two in five (40.2%) of all businesses in the country; and

These firms generated $1.9 trillion in annual sales and employed 12.8 million people nationwide.

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