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Women’s Day Special
Currently, in the 21st century, we are all rejoicing at the fact that due to technological advancements, we have reached not only the Moon but also explored space in ways unimaginable. But what is the use of such achievements when we struggle to create an environment which is free from prejudices and biases? Even at this point when women have made it into fields previously dominated by men such as within the Armed Forces as fighter pilots or in the corporate fields as CEOs, there are still a majority of people who consider a women’s prime focus to be a homemaker.
We need to understand that the business landscape is changing. The theme of this panel focuses on calling out Gender Bias and inequality while celebrating women’s achievements. Women are important in the corporate world because the number of potential professionals to cover vacancies has increased, from lower-skilled levels to executive positions, Improvements in productivity, and innovation. There is increasing evidence that the co-existence of men and women in the same environment accounts for more creative teams. Diversity is key to the organisations of the future. It strengthens team dynamics, Reduces staff turnover and long-term relations, and in contrast to men, the majority of women can multi-task and multi-focus. Companies can thus decide to support their training, instead of hiring new staff for opening vacancies or positions. A better work environment is anticipated as women’s greater willingness to communicate and receive feedback contributes to solving disputes. Although some are short-term benefits, such as reducing turnover and levels of absenteeism, others are long-term such as those relating to corporate image, earnings, attracting talent, and higher innovation levels. Hiring more women ensures that a company’s workforce is representative of its client base and provides better knowledge on consumer preference as women worldwide influence up to 80% of the purchase decisions. Increasing women’s workforce participation leads to better living standards for individuals and families hence improving the bottom line of businesses and is a significant driver in national economic growth.
Working women in India have been impacted more by the Covid-19 pandemic than their global counterparts and battle the strongest gender bias across the Asia Pacific countries, fighting for both equal pay and opportunity, according to the LinkedIn Opportunity Index 2021 69% of men and women in the Asia Pacific believe that gender equality is critical to building a fairer society, and 56% of people in the region recognise that gender equality has improved since their parents’ age. Yet, this year’s Opportunity Index reveals women still face significant inequalities in the workplace. In fact, amid the pandemic, the economic slowdown has affected women more than men. Women are prepared to work hard, but they also want a level playing field. 43% of women are seeking employers that treat them as equals to their male colleagues. Adding to the divide are the high percentages of women who feel they have missed out on a raise or promotion due to gender (60%), get fewer opportunities than men (41%), and get paid lower than their male counterparts (37%). Significantly more women than men in Asia Pacific experience barriers to success. Despite the added flexibility of working from home due to Covid-19, a lack of time is still cited as the top barrier for women across all countries. This is followed by a lack of skills and professional experience. Women also don’t feel supported enough by their professional networks, especially in China and India.
(Source; LinkedIn Opportunity Index 2021)
The group of Corporate Communication heads to address us comprises:
Bhavna Imran – Corteva Agriscience; Mansi Tiwari – Marico Limited; Megha Chaturvedi– Rio Tinto; Mitual Lall – Josh Talks, and Pooja Trehan – SugarBox. The panel will be moderated by Ameeta Vadhera – Promise Foundation
They will further discuss the Biases and the common prejudices faced by women in the Corporates and how can they be addressed effectively. The discussion will be packed with insightful learnings for freshers who want to join the Public Relations community as well as people within the fraternity. This conclave is focused on bringing in a positive change within the workplace for the improvement in the position of women employees in the Corporate Field, which will, in turn, lead to a scenario beneficial to not only the corporate sector but within the Country as a whole. Overall this conclave is focused on creating a space for the change-makers to come together and create the next line of leaders in the field of Public Relations and Corporate Communications,
