Rituparna Chakraborty, executive vice-president, Teamlease Services had meanwhile said that the shift in work culture as a result of COVID-19 had created opportunities for many women to enter the workforce as it offered the flexibility to work from anywhere. This also meant attrition rates were lower.

“For decades, organizations have been struggling to tackle issues of gender diversity and the inclusion of women in the workplace. There are a lot of initiatives and options that are driving this change, slowly and surely. One of them is the diversity, equity, and inclusion policy,” Chakraborty told the news daily.

Wipro chief culture officer and senior vice-president, Sunita Cherian said that HR, gender diversity in leadership roles has almost doubled in the last 18 months. Besides, women now constitute more than 36 percent of the IT giant’s workforce. The company has also offered flexible working options.

Amid the reopening of offices, remote and hybrid workplace model will continue to help more women, as per experts. “We saw many women opting out of careers voluntarily to reduce the anxiety and stress caused outside of work especially when the times were challenging in all aspects — physical, mental, psychological,” said Avtar’s Rajesh.

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Chakraborty said that women are looking to break free from the routine of working from home and returning to office, hence a hybrid work model is the way forward “for a win-win scenario.” She further added that “companies are placing emphasis on mental health in their return-to-office initiatives and cultivating an inclusive and flexible workplace will have a positive influence on the overall growth story.”

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