Help on hand for Supermom

By admin on Friday, March 12, 2010 - 15:15

Savitha V takes a look at what corporates are doing in support of the working mothers within their talent pools.

A 9-to-5 job, just a weekend to finish all the household chores, a family to take care of, children to be brought up. The working mother has always had her work cut out for her. But through the last decade, the very definition of a working mother has taken a drastic change. The IT sector for instance has long working hours, tight deadlines, the truckload of stress that it brings along, and family to be managed. Life is on the fast track, and the super mom has shifted to top gear. To ensure she stays in the driver's seat, the new age corporate world is offering as much help as it can, putting in place several policies for the mothers among the work force - from community activities and public forums to visiting doctors and day-care centers.

The idea is to build a work-life balance and to help the women build their careers, to prevent them from giving up their jobs in favour of families and to help the company retain its talent pool. Another aspect that companies have been finding important is to maintain the gender diversity within its employee groups. As "equal opportunity employers", this becomes imperative.

Most IT companies now have specific policies for their women employees, like Tesco, which offers its women employees an extended maternity leave of six months, adoption leave and the option of working from home. Companies also hold gender sensitising programmes for senior management staff, workshops on better communication and leadership skills, programmes on work-life balance, managing finance and career growth path.

"The industry does not have enough women in leadership positions. The role of women is very valuable and there needs to be specific action to help women grow and improve, to help them handle their multiple roles with efficiency," says an HR professional.

The first few years of her career are very crucial to a woman, especially in the Indian context, because this is also the time she will get married and probably have children too. Corporates are waking up to the fact that this may also be the time that they need a proper support system not just at the family level, but also at the professional level.

"We are not asking for much. Just that there maybe times when the family demands our time, when we have to take a break for reasons, like to have a baby. Don't grudge us that time. And give me the security of knowing that I have a job waiting," says Shweta, an IT professional and a mother of one. Job security is a major concern here, and companies claim they do their best to keep the employee within the loop even while she is on a break. Regular newsletters to keep her updated and other such HR initiatives are put into use.

Communities are being built within office spaces, to offer the much needed support system. Flexi-timing and work from home options are offered. Day care centers or crèches in office campuses are being set up. The super mom is being offered a helping hand.