The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act 2017 brought in some sweeping changes to what companies are now liable to provide to their female employees. But are companies prepared to face and bear such changes?
FACT: a staggering 56 percent of women in India do not return to work post-maternity
FACT: India's ranking on the global gender gap index fell from 87 in 2016 to 108 in 2017
FACT: globally, national incomes are closely related to women’s workforce participation rates. however, this phenomenon does not apply to India because of its poor female workforce participation rate
FACT: India could potentially add 6.8 crore women to its workforce by raising the rate of female workforce participation under a best-effort scenario, with improved gender parity and that could, in turn, raise the proportion of women in India's workforce from 27 percent to 35 percent
FACT: Indian women’s workforce participation rate slumped by nearly 10 percent – from 36.9 percent to 26.96 percent between 2005 and 2013. since then, this statistic has remained flat and is even showing signs of dipping further
These statistics show where India is in terms of female workforce participation and gender parity. Discussed at length in the Teamlease’s report titled The Impact of Maternity Benefits on Business and Employment, the statistics present a grim reality of the progress that India has made when it comes to accepting women at the workplace despite some sweeping legislative changes, and the divided opinion of the India Inc. on The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act 2017.
In early March last year, India was able to ‘steer’ some of the most progressive amendments to the long untouched Maternity Benefits Act of 1961. The bill, titled the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on the 11th of August 2016, and having passed the house on the same day, went through the deliberations of Lok Sabha; it was finally ratified by the President in the early weeks of March 2017.
This story is from the People Matters - August 2018 edition of People Matters.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the People Matters - August 2018 edition of People Matters.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
How Digital Transformation Can Power The Great Reset
Technology has the potential to serve as the key enabler of change between digitalising administrative tasks and fostering human connections
The Crypto Meltdown Of 2022
FTX implosion: A setback, but not the end for the crypto market
Govern Pre-IPO Unicorns to Create Value; Not Valuation
Billion-dollar startups always make the headlines. But is there true value behind those eye-catching valuations? How can proper governance be implemented for these much-hyped companies?
On change and change management
The best way to end the year, especially such a disrupted one as 2022, is by laying the groundwork for the year to come. Michelle Yong, Head of Resourcing at Shell, offers some insights on change management to bring us forward into 2023
The Great Reconnection: A paradigmatic moment for employers and employees
This year has not been a good one for employee retention. The Great Resignation, originally thought to be a US phenomenon, has emerged in Asia now. But is there a way to turn it into the Great Reconnection?
Lessons Managing in leadership: a global hybrid team
What takeaways can we draw from the pandemic? Fatima Koning, Chief Commercial Officer at IWG, shares what the last five years have taught her about managing a global sales team across 120 markets in the hybrid model
Eight HR trends that we saw throughout 2022
As companies manage their workforces in a dynamic era, HR departments have continually adapted and adjusted, and never more than this year as digital acceleration and workplace evolutions came together
One way to turn the tide of employee retention
There's a surprising link between skill development opportunities and job satisfaction. Here are some ways of boosting skilling and thereby talent retention
A key focus for L&D going into 2023 should be business alignment
Venkat Subramaniam of Degreed believes that learning is core to business success and organisations need to invest in the right processes and technologies to adapt to continuous change
WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP CAN BE GAME GHANGER FOR INCLUSIVE FUTURE OF WORK
BREAKING FREE FROM THE STEREOTYPES IN THE INSURANCE SECTOR, PAMELA THOMSON-HALL SHARES HER JOURNEY OF BEING A CHAMPION FOR WOMEN AND BRINGING ABOUT A CHANGE IN A MALE-DOMINATED INDUSTRY
