Women’s Equality Day: How are workplaces treating women as pandemic woes abate?

The pandemic has changed the direction of many flows in society and markets. Like many other groups, one to suffer is the working woman in India. According to estimates, women in the workforce might have reduced by over 20% between 2019 and 2021 in India.

Today is Women’s Equality Day, a day celebrated in the US every August 26th to commemorate the 1920 adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment to the US Constitution. The Amendment prohibits the states and the federal government from denying the right to vote to citizens of the US on the basis of sex.

On this occasion, The Tech Panda gathered quotes from industry leaders about women in the workplace, especially in technology. How are companies treating women in organisations today, now that the pandemic woes are slowly abating?

Ramesh Kalanje, Vice-President, COE, Commvault

“While the industry was making significant progress for women in technology, the quick transition to a remote workplace meant implementing new policies and procedures. This pivot came as an opportunity for businesses to generate innovative thinking and rely on intentional practices to stay connected and engaged. Beyond addressing logistics, the hybrid work scenario also demanded new levels of flexibility, especially for women. In a virtual setting, organisations can embark on holistic change programs for equitable access to opportunities in the workplace.

Beyond addressing logistics, the hybrid work scenario also demanded new levels of flexibility, especially for women. In a virtual setting, organisations can embark on holistic change programs for equitable access to opportunities in the workplace

At Commvault, we believe that diversity is more than a program, encouraging women to take a seat at the table in driving the next generation of innovation.  Our ‘Women in Technology’ (WIT) program continues to build momentum and impact within our communities, even in a hybrid scenario. Mentorship circles bring together women mentees across various levels in the organization and action learnings for a 360-degree growth. Opportunities like cross-cultural learning, mentoring, and relationship building doesn’t just restrict actionable learnings to engineering but guides women through various aspects of professional journey

Going forward, we continue to encourage our Women Vaulters for clear line of sight to career progression while investing in the development, creativity, and aspirational needs of all employees.”

Deepak Visweswaraiah, Vice President, Platform Engineering, and Site Managing Director, Pegasystems, India

“In recent years, technology companies have consciously focussed on hiring women talent to improve representation in senior roles. However, as we navigate in a hybrid scenario, organisations are searching for new ways to prioritize equitability and inclusion within communities. Leaders now have a unique role in caring for teams, especially women. They need to radically rethink and evaluate programs to create an environment where everyone can contribute as equals.

Leaders now have a unique role in caring for teams, especially women. They need to radically rethink and evaluate programs to create an environment where everyone can contribute as equals

At Pega, we believe it takes a combined effort of everyone in empowering women to grow, achieve, and exceed their personal and professional goals. We have taken significant steps like regularly reviewing compensation for gender parity, extending parental leave policy and actively fostering an inclusive workplace through Women @Pega ERG for networking, discussion, and development.

Pega is also committed to working outside the office walls to effect change through initiatives like Pega Cares and partnering with organizations that help reskill women who are re-entering the workforce. Lastly, along with policies and development practices, we also need to foster an Equality Mindset to promote equality while being physically distant.”

Divya Sathyan, Head – Human Resources, India, Thought Leader & Strategic Business Partner, Genesys

“The pandemic has made it apparent that the world needs more empathy and leaders cannot prioritise employee well-being only during a crisis. More than ever before, organisations are fostering inclusiveness, focusing on mental wellness of their employees, and designing people-centric experiences based on empathy.

The pandemic has made it apparent that the world needs more empathy and leaders cannot prioritise employee well-being only during a crisis

At Genesys, we rolled out a virtual wellness DE&I initiative that cuts across 14 APAC countries based on the overarching themes around physical, emotional, social, and environmental wellness. We supported the employees with relevant content and encouraged them to express themselves virtually and share their cross-cultural experiences of how they coped with some of the challenges. Wellness initiatives help build solidarity, inclusivity, and a culture of high performing workplace. In reality,  businesses that make employees feel valued and trusted have a strategic advantage. Empathy and a culture of inclusiveness drives innovation and productivity- resulting in an increased business competency and differentiation.”

Malou Toft, VP, APAC, Milestone Systems

“The age of digitization has opened doors to new possibilities in the technology, security, and innovation spaces. As the world moves towards a dispersed workforce, we must go beyond simply espousing diversity and inclusion. We must tangibly enable individuals to seize better opportunities despite their differences.

As the world moves towards a dispersed workforce, we must go beyond simply espousing diversity and inclusion. We must tangibly enable individuals to seize better opportunities despite their differences

Synergizing concerted and creative new virtual solutions will add diversified perspectives and proficiencies, leading to greater innovation, creativity, and economic growth of organizations.”

Annie Brown, Global Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, GoTo

“We need to recognize that it is our individuality that makes us more adaptive and creative as an organization, especially when team members feel comfortable and encouraged to bring ourselves and our ideas to our work. Our unique experiences allow us to each bring valuable perspectives to discover opportunities, improve the business, and solve challenges in ways others cannot.

Superficial measures like simply posting pictures of diverse faces on your website might look good to an onlooker, but don’t provide real progress. Employees will recognize this as a failure to recognize diversity, resulting in a stifling of opinions outside the status quo and higher turnover among staff

To fully realize these benefits, organizations must invest in diversity and inclusion initiatives from the top-down and throughout the organization. Setting goals to ensure gender, ethnicity, and professional diversity in the leadership team and creating internal meeting groups for employees to share their experiences and ideas are powerful strategies to encourage a more adaptable and creative organization, and demonstrates to employees that they are valued.

On the other hand, superficial measures like simply posting pictures of diverse faces on your website might look good to an onlooker, but don’t provide real progress. Employees will recognize this as a failure to recognize diversity, resulting in a stifling of opinions outside the status quo and higher turnover among staff.”

Sukanya Kuppuswamy, Senior Director, Global Implementations at Chargebee

“Being a woman at Chargebee has its perks. Chargebee is committed to high gender parity through baby steps that make a big impact. We have affinity groups that curate programs aimed primarily at women working with us that help them achieve their professional goals and provide valuable networking and learning opportunities that enrich our experience at Chargebee both professionally and personally. We have a dedicated slack channel for all women at Chargebee that provides a safe space to be our best and authentic selves. Our policies for parental leave paid time off, flexible working hours, and remote work is gender agnostic which keeps us all at par.

We have been actively adapting to the industry’s seismic shifts in how we fundamentally operate and over the last couple of years, we have constantly kept our focus on a culture of diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging

Chargebee also has an annual summit EmpowHER where we feature women in technology, to come forward to support and inspire other women to think beyond capabilities, build connections through networking and provide women like us with skills & tools to navigate the workplace. We have been actively adapting to the industry’s seismic shifts in how we fundamentally operate and over the last couple of years, we have constantly kept our focus on a culture of diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging.

At Chargebee, I feel enabled, empowered, and really equal.”

Nisha Popli, CHRO at Cuemath

“It is estimated that in a country like India, women in the workforce might have reduced by over 20% between 2019 and 2021. While employers have a lot to do to make up for this, progress can only happen when we hold ourselves accountable by setting measurable and tangible goals to improve our workplace for women. Providing flexibility, training, resources, and tools and recognizing the challenges on account of the pandemic will help improve the overall retention of women in the workforce and encourage them to return. In the long term, companies should consciously evaluate increasing childcare and caregiving support, increasing access to remote work, reducing the widening gender pay gap, increasing sponsorship, and having access to mental health support and counseling.

In a country like India, women in the workforce might have reduced by over 20% between 2019 and 2021. While employers have a lot to do to make up for this, progress can only happen when we hold ourselves accountable by setting measurable and tangible goals to improve our workplace for women

Technology today is rapidly transforming older ways of working, and the labour markets have evolved rapidly owing to the pandemic-enforced changes. The changes have loosened previously structured and often regulated access to formal work opportunities and resulted in the rise of the gig economy, especially in technology and content creation. In line with the industry changes, Cuemath has been creating numerous gig projects for individuals, going out of the way to help enable employment, especially in the wake of the numerous job losses.

As an organisation, we are very determined to help women blossom, succeed and grow. Having seen many women leaving the corporate workforce to opt for a more flexible environment, It is critical that we provide a safe, secure, comforting, and even more importantly, learning environment for them. Cuemath is committed to maintaining an empowering and enabling workplace where women have the freedom to choose and learn. We will continue to give them flexibility and encourage them to use the platform to learn and upskill/reskill through free/paid training courses and multi-dimensional work opportunities.

Cuemath will continue to invest in this for the greater good and create win-win opportunities for talent and the company in the coming times.”