Here is Why I Think the New Law About In-Office Crèche is a Boom for Working Mothers
Over the last few years, a large number of companies across the globe have recognised that they are losing out their skilled and trained workforce to motherhood. Yes, motherhood is one of the main reasons for untimely exits of a skilled and capable women employees and companies across the globe seem to finally understand the negative way in which this is impacting their diversity quotient. Corporations such as IBM, G.E, Philips, Axis bank, Intel etc. have launched initiatives that aim to bring back the women workforce post a mid-career break. The recently passed Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016 is also a step in the direction of nurturing women in the workplace and giving them an opportunity to have children without compromising on their career.
The past few years have shown us that when enabled, the sky is the limit for women…literally. Take ISRO’s Mangalyaan’s Mars landing…it was a project that was helmed by women. We’ve got women fighter pilots and CEO’s of some of the leading banks in the country are women. Globally, you have the Indira Nooyi of PepsiCo, Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook, Ginny Rometty of IBM as some of the names who have managed to crack the glass ceiling and make a comfortable place for themselves in the C-suite. But one of the main reasons why women’s participation is the boardroom remains limited is because, more often than not, the timing to have children often coincides with the time when their career trajectory is heading northward. Now, this can be looked at as a minor speed breaker. However, for years, women have struggled to come back and join the workforce owing to poor maternity policies and lack of adequate support in child care.
According to a research conducted by Mckinsey Global Institute “Achieving gender equality in India would have a larger economic impact there than in any other region in the world… $700 billion of added GDP in 2025…” A survey by ASSOCHAM in 2015 revealed that almost 30% of working women quit their jobs after giving birth. This survey further revealed that 48% of women in India holding white collar jobs had to leave their jobs midway. According to a report by The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific states that a 10% increase in the women workforce can increase the GDP of the country by 0.3%.
The Maternity Benefit Bill of 2016 is an encouraging step to increase women’s participation in the workforce. Extended maternity leave was something that we needed badly considering women are still largely considered to be the primary caregivers of the child/children. Countries such as Sweden have 420 days of maternity leave and as a result of this have over 72% women employment. However, one of the greatest plus points of this bill, I feel, is the arrangement of crèche facilities in all establishments with 50 or more women employees. While this idea is still relatively new in India, companies such as Sandvik Asia, SKF, Godrej, Pepsi Co., amongst other multinationals, already have a crèche facility for their women employees. According to the HR departments of these companies, the costs of running a crèche are completely worth it when it helps to retain talent.
While there is a certain cost involved in setting up a crèche in the workplace, there are substantial savings that justify the ROI. The savings are in terms of employee retentions and saving on rehiring costs and recruitment drives. Additionally, there is lower absenteeism as well. Companies such as HCL feel that having a crèche facility ensures better employee retention, attracts better talent and promotes employee engagement at work. Having a crèche facility also helps companies in developing a company culture that enables women to build their careers, promotes gender diversity and employee engagement…and all of these factors contribute positively to an organisation’s bottom line.
Having on-site crèches also helps in getting the fathers more engaged with the well-being and caregiving of their children. Today, it is heartening to see an increasing number of men breaking the traditional gender barrier and becoming willing partners in activities that had been deemed as a ‘woman’s job’. We have fathers who are as skilled at changing a diaper and soothing a crying child as they are at their high-flying jobs. Crèche facilities for fathers also ensure that when a mother has to travel for work, the father can ably look after the child without compromising on work.
However, one major thing that companies planning to set up these centres in premise have to ensure is that they take into account the welfare of the children. It is here, that the need of a good caregiving facility arises…one that looks out for the interests, well-being and emotional development of the children. Just having a small designated space with one or two maids to oversee children hardly serves the purpose of the child’s and consequently the employees well-being. Then there is the issue of overcrowded facilities, lack of structure and proper grooming of crèche staff which are some challenges that need to be navigated soon. In our experience of managing many in-office crèches that had the right child to caregiver ratio, age appropriate activities for children and highly trained staff, we noticed that such facilities improve productivity and help in increasing the happiness quotient of the employees which translates to greater engagement and better profitability.
Referring back to the latest Maternity Benefit Bill, the government’s press information bureau stated, “…These changes…will have [a] positive impact on women’s participation in the labour force and will improve the work-life balance of women workers”. It can be said that this bill is a huge career booster for women, and especially those women who felt that having a baby was the end of their career.
