A recent report suggests that corporates in India are aiming to boost gender diversity in their ranks in the coming year. Top companies like Cognizant, Larsen & Toubro, ITC, KPMG, Axis Bank, Schneider Electric, Cipla, Procter & Gamble and HDFC Bank are amping up efforts to hire more female employees by offering them flexible work hours and mentoring programmes.
These companies are also planning to hire women who are returning to work after a career break as well as rehire those who left in the last five years, an Economic Times report suggests.
ITC is offering flexibility in work schedules for expectant and young mothers. Amitav Mukherji, head of corporate human resources at ITC, also said that a diverse workforce helps unleash creativity, reinforcing the competitiveness of the enterprise. Meanwhile, Axis Bank is concentrating on alternative work formats to bring in diverse talent and L&T is offering to help women employees if they plan to move to a different city. “Many studies have shown how diverse teams tend to outperform others. As for gender diversity, from the talent market point of view, a progressive organisation like ours can’t miss out on this large talent pool,” said C Jayakumar head of corporate human resources reportedly told ET.