Best Companies For Women Yearbook 2019

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BEST COMPANIES FOR

Women in India
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Best of the Best Conference 2019

Working together, we see the potential in the world to create


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© 2019 The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Goldman Sachs is an equal opportunity employment/affirmative action employer Female/Minority/Disability/Vet.
ABOUT US 01

Working Mother Media, a division of Bonnier Corporation, serves as a cutting-edge thought


leader and champion of diversity and culture change for our corporate, not for profit and
government clients. We strive to create agile, inclusive, talent-intelligent institutions that work better

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
for everyone. We utilize best-in-class and innovative techniques to deliver our targeted research and
benchmarking capabilities, strategic advisory services, engaging forums and events, membership
organization and unique editorial content to our customers. Working Mother’s annual list of the 100
Best Companies is one of the most prestigious lists in the U.S. and sets the standards for work life
integrative practices for U.S. companies for the last 33 years.

Avtar set up in 2000, is India’s first diversity advocate & workplace inclusion expert. Renowned for its
extensive work in the space of Diversity & Inclusion and more specifically, women’s workforce
participation, it is the country’s largest provider of second career opportunities for women and is also
the earliest to begin working on diversity audits and measurement. Lead by the visionary
Dr. Saundarya Rajesh, Avtar has ventured into areas of women’s empowerment and career creation,
which are firsts to India, such as – (i) Creating a marketplace for second career women to meet
potential employers, (ii) Developing a comprehensive set of career enablers which companies can
implement in their workspaces, (iii) Spearheading original research that has provided cutting edge
insights to organizations (iv) Re-Skilling, Up-skilling and Counselling of women to pursue
sustainable career paths and (v) Building career intentionality amongst under privileged girl
children. Over its 18 years of existence, Avtar has helped charter Diversity & Inclusion plans for several
organisations in the IT, FMCG, Manufacturing and Financial sectors in the country.

3
02 FOREWORD
Dear Colleagues and Friends,

I’m proud to present the results of the 2019


Working Mother and AVTAR 100 Best Companies
for Women in India initiative. The number of
applications we receive year over year continues
to rise. Now in its fourth year, we received 357
applications from organizations spanning every
major industry, geographical location and line of
business. This truly exemplifies India's and (its
business community's) commitment to helping
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

women succeed in the workplace.

The 100 Best Companies for Women in India list


represent the most progressive and forward
thinking companies for women and we honor
their efforts, leadership teams and employees
who are creating a work environment where
women can advance and thrive.

For 34 years, Working Mother has honored the


U.S. Working Mother 100 Best Companies for
offering programs and policies that allow all
employees to succeed at work and beyond. We
are pleased to again partner with AVTAR, led by
Dr. Saundarya Rajesh, to name the 2019 Working
Mother and AVTAR 100 Best Companies for
Women in India. Subha V. Barry
President
Three years ago, we launched the (DBP) Working Mother Media
Inclusion Index in the U.S., which was created to
drive change and help organizations accelerate
progress in diversity and inclusion. It is an Index,
women in India’s workforce—where there’s
that with Avtar’s partnership, we also hoped to
been progress and where there’s still work to be
bring to India. This year, we launched this in the
done! Congratulations to all of the 100 Best and
form of the Most Inclusive Companies Index,
the Champions and Exemplars. Let's celebrate
which helps companies target their efforts to
the workplace cultures these organizations have
understand gaps and provide specific strategies
implemented in India and globally.
and programs, tools and resources to help raise
the bar on D&I strategies and under-represented
Best Regards,
sectors including gender, LGBTQ, PWD and
Subha V. Barry
generations.
President
Working Mother Media
We invite you to review this Working Mother and
Avtar 100 Best Companies for Women in India
and the Most Inclusive Companies Index report
for critical insights into the current status of
4
FOREWORD
What is the measure of success in an ongoing
journey? It is in how far we have come since we
started and where do we stand in comparison to the
goal. Well, that is a simple way of looking at a journey,
we would say. A real journey, one of transformation,
begins from different places depending on our
individual starting points. Neither are the routes
pre-defined. They are not simple two lane streets
with sign boards that take you to the goal. They are
filled with new discoveries, up-hills, detours, valleys,
bridges, what not. You only discover when you travel
the path. It challenges you, questions your beliefs,
nudges you from your comfort zone, brings you to

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
crossroads which change you forever. That is when
growth happens.

All these companies that have travelled the path of


the Best Companies for Women in India Study ever
since its launch in 2016, will have such experiences to
share already. The path they have taken up is not an
easy one. The goal they have set out for is one that no
one has really been to. The fact is – they have, each of
them, set out to change the world. The rigor of the
exercise, the painful truths that the numbers speak,
the difficult barriers of age-old practices are only
overthrown by the strong will to change. These four
years have shown, as you will find here, that focus
and intention open up the way forward. As this study
progresses, we see the determination of these
companies growing stronger.

We ourselves have been on the journey along with Dr. Saundarya Rajesh
these companies. It has been a path of discovery for Founder - President
us too as we take the study to newer heights, set the AVTAR group
goals loftier. This year, we have gone higher than ever
before with the introduction of the Most Inclusive
Companies Index – an effort to be truly inclusive with
the broader dimensions of diversity coming into the see the positive ripples of change, be it in the way
picture, namely LGBTQ, PWD and Generation. Hearty these companies are hiring, investing in L&D to
Congratulations to all the companies that have made advance their people, strongly communicating
it to the prestigious lists! You deserve to be there. about Inclusion – both to their internal teams and
the external world through corporate ads, blending
Data has not lost its glory. In this age of technology purpose and passion with work in an effort to retain
and Artificial Intelligence, it has only become the people. This exercise will determine the course of
focal point. It is in this that the path of the these giant corporates in the years to come. A course
Best Companies, and now also the Most Inclusive that will change the way the world works - for good.
Companies, will stay relevant. In fact, for those
companies that started early, the treasure of data tilts Dr. Saundarya Rajesh
the scales in their favour. Even as they capture the Founder - President
data through the Study, over a period of time, it AVTAR group
speaks of crucial patterns, anomalies, tools they need
to adapt, what is working and what is not. We already
5
Congratulations!
BEST COMPANIES
FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
Working Mother’s mission is to serve as a cutting-edge
thought leader and champion of diversity and culture
change. We strive to create agile, inclusive, talent-intelligent
institutions that work better for everyone through our
targeted research, strategic advisory services, engaging
forums and events, membership and unique editorial content.

For 34 years, Working Mother has honored the U.S. 100


Best Companies. We are proud to partner with AVTAR and
congratulate the 2019 Best Companies for Women in India!
INDEX
Best Companies for Women in India (BCWI) 09
BCWI: A 4 year snapshot 11
2019 BCWI Contour 15
The Expanse: 2019 Best Companies’ Profile 17
BCWI: Winners Segment 21
The frontrunners: 2019 Top 10 Best Companies for Women in India 27
The role-models: 2019-100 Best Companies for Women in India 49
Highlights from 2019 Best Companies 85
Introducing MICI – Most Inclusive Companies Index 105
About MICI – Most Inclusive Companies Index 106
MICI: Study Contour 106
MICI: Winners segment 107
Champions of Inclusion: 2019 Most Inclusive Companies Index 111
Exemplars of Inclusion: 2019 Most Inclusive Companies Index 121
Highlights from 2019 Most Inclusive Companies 129
2019 Male Ally Legacy Award 134
2019 PUTHRI Award for Excellence in CSR 139
BOB: Best Practices of the 100 Best Conference 143
Benchmarking: Leveraging the power of data 146
2020: Study Timelines 148
03
The Best Companies
for Women in India
(BCWI)
03
Best Companies for Women
in India (BCWI)
What is the measure of success in an ongoing journey? It is in how far we have come since we started and where
do we stand in comparison to the goal. Well, that is a simple way of looking at a journey, we would say. A real
journey, one of transformation, begins from different places depending on our individual starting points. Neither
are the routes pre-defined. They are not simple two lane streets with sign boards that take you to the goal. They
are filled with new discoveries, up-hills, detours, valleys, bridges, what not. You only discover when you travel the
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

path. It challenges you, questions your beliefs, nudges you from your comfort zone, brings you to crossroads
which change you forever. That is when growth happens.

All these companies that have travelled the path of the Best Companies for Women in India Study ever since its
launch in 2016, will have such experiences to share already. The path they have taken up is not an easy one. The
goal they have set out for is one that no one has really been to. The fact is – they have, each of them, set out to
change the world. The rigor of the exercise, the painful truths that the numbers speak, the difficult barriers of
age-old practices are only overthrown by the strong will to change. These four years have shown, as you will find
here, that focus and intention open up the way forward. As this study progresses, we see the determination of
these companies growing stronger.

We ourselves have been on the journey along with these companies. It has been a path of discovery for us too as
we take the study to newer heights, set the goals loftier. This year, we have gone higher than ever before with the
introduction of the Most Inclusive Companies Index – an effort to be truly inclusive with the broader dimensions
of diversity coming into the picture, namely LGBTQ, PWD and Generation. Hearty Congratulations to all the
companies that have made it to the prestigious lists! You deserve to be there.

Data has not lost its glory. In this age of technology and Artificial Intelligence, it has only become the focal point.
It is in this that the path of the Best Companies, and now also the Most Inclusive Companies, will stay relevant. In
fact, for those companies that started early, the treasure of data tilts the scales in their favour. Even as they capture
the data through the Study, over a period of time, it speaks of crucial patterns, anomalies, tools they need to adapt,
what is working and what is not. We already see the positive ripples of change, be it in the way these companies
are hiring, investing in L&D to advance their people, strongly communicating about Inclusion – both to their
internal teams and the external world through corporate ads, blending purpose and passion with work in an effort
to retain people. This exercise will determine the course of these giant corporates in the years to come. A course
that will change the way the world works - for good.

10
04
BCWI - A 4 year
Snapshot
The Best Companies for Women in India successfully completed its fourth edition this year. Between 2016-2019,
much has changed, much has grown in terms of the corporate landscape rendering itself to women’s
employment. In 2017, the country witnessed the amendment of the Maternity Benefit Act that extended the paid
maternity mandate to 26 weeks, making India a country with one of the most generous parental leaves. In 2018,
India closed the gender gap in tertiary education enrolment gap for the very time.

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
When it comes to the 100 Best companies, they constantly innovated, raised the bars, created new benchmarks
for gender inclusion – and the results are here to see. Women’s representation at the 100 Best stands at 33 percent
(8 percentage points higher than 25% in 2016), a trend if effectively enabled can help these companies achieve
the goal of gender balance as early as 2027! Today, over 53% of the 100 Best Companies have formal second career
hiring programmes (programmes to hire women on career breaks) and going by the pattern of best practices
adoption, by 2025, this will become a norm in almost all the 100 Best Companies. 16% of business leadership in
the 100 Best is currently women – this is poised to go up to 25% by 2025.

There are close to 5 lakh women employed in the 2019-100 Best Companies who work with these employers who
have the best of enablers – from formal/structured mentoring (92% companies offer this) to Leadership Training
(99% companies offer this) to child care support (72% companies offer this) to formal phase-back programmes for
women returning after maternity leaves (74% companies offer this). The career enablement at the 100 Best is not
exclusive for women – programmes like mentoring, career sponsorship, hi-potential talent programmes and
flexible working are open to all employees. Measures to ensure zero tolerance to workplace sexual harassment,
apart from being legally compliant include organization wide sensitization and awareness programmes. To help
build employee conviction in Diversity and Inclusion, there are specific D&I training programmes for the vast
cross-section of employees – across levels and roles. Senior male leaders help promote a culture of allyship,
helping create inclusive cultures that champion the cause of diversity and that of parity. While the inclusion intent
is top driven, there are conscious efforts to hold employees accountable for pursuing the D&I agenda, right up
from the managerial level.

This is what BCWI set out to achieve – help companies share, learn and grow from the most impactful of best
practices. What the study canvas has also helped establish over the years, is the rigour in applicant companies to
track, monitor and report diversity metrics, building their own repositories of diversity intelligence. This is only set
to grow in expanse in the coming years, boosting D&I conviction with data-backed strategy.

The path less taken once, has now become a more visible one, one that more and more companies are aspiring
to journey in – pan industry, pan sector. Working Mother & Avtar take pride in being an enabler of this journey,
helping companies calibrate their pace, reach their milestones!

11
Let us take a look at their growth story!

Initiative
2016 25%
Women’s representation

100 BEST
(This denotes the 2017 30%
representation of women as a
part of the overall workforce) 2018 31%

2019 33%

Mentoring 2016 75%


(These are structured programs
100 BEST
that connect junior employees 2017 82%
with more senior employees, for
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

the purpose of sharing advice 2018 85%


and encouragement to make
professional progress) 2019 92%

Career Sponsorship 2016 45%


(a sponsorship program is similar
100 BEST

to mentoring, although in this 2017 51%


case the sponsor is held
accountable for the development 2018 52%
and success of the sponsee)
2019 62%

2016 56%
Leadership training
100 BEST

(These are specific training 2017 98%


programmes to prepare
employees for 2018 99%
leadership roles)
2019 99%

2016 66%
Hi-potential women
Programmes
100 BEST

2017 80%
(These are programmes to
identify hi-potential talent, 2018 88%
specifically women)
2019 85%

2016 56%
E-learning for POSH
(These are e-learning modules 2017 58%
100 BEST

to raise employee awareness on


Prevention of Sexual 2018 59%
Harassment (POSH))
2019 89%

12
2016 100%
Structured process for

100 BEST
flexible working 2017 100%
(This refers to a structured
process to address flexible 2018 100%
working request)
2019 100%

100 BEST 2016 60%

2017 66%
Remote work
(This refers to work from home)

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
2018 77%

2019 77%

2016 26%
On site Child care support
100 BEST

2017 33%
(This refers to child care
facilities/creches within
2018 45%
company premises)
2019 44%

2016 16%
Near site child care
100 BEST

(This refers to child care facilities 2017 31%


near company premises with
which the company 2018 45%
has tie-ups)
2019 72%

2016 30%
Second career programmes
100 BEST

2017 40%
(This refers to the formal hiring
programmes to identify and recruit
2018 51%
women on career breaks)
2019 53%

2016 0
Maternity Retention Rate
100 BEST

(this refers to the rate at which 2017 90%


companies retain women
after company provided 2018 88%
maternity leave)
2019 91%

13
2016 52%
Phase-back programmes

100 BEST
(This refers to formal 2017 66%
re-integration programmes
companies have to help women 2018 71%
returning after maternity leave)
2019 74%

2016 86%
Paternity leave
100 BEST
2017 94%
(This refers to fully paid leave
offered to male employees in the
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

2018 93%
event of child-birth)
2019 97%

Tuition reimbursement 2016 42%


(This refers to reimbursement/
100 BEST

2017 62%
sponsorship that companies
provide to employees for taking
2018 69%
courses that aid and enhance
their professional pursuits)
2019 77%

2016 37%
Surveys on
gender pay equity
100 BEST

2017 59%
(This refers to organization wide
surveys companies conduct to 2018 80%
detect pay inequities)
2019 86%

14
05
2019 BCWI Contour

2019 BCWI was launched in February this year, and over 357 companies spanning every major industry,
geographical location and line of business submitted their applications. The application form with over 300
questions, required applicant companies to provide data of high-order granularity on their practices, programmes
and policies to ensure gender inclusion at their workplaces. Companies across the industry spectrum and
geographically diverse, submitted their applications between February 2019, and May 31, 2019. The companies

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
were evaluated based on their application data. From all the applications that we received this year,
the 100 Best Companies for Women in India were chosen based on their policy framework towards women’s
career enablement.

Recruitment,
Retention,
Advancement
Policies that companies have
to recruit, retain and
develop high potential
women nurturing the
female talent pipeline such
as mentoring,
Company Culture networking etc.
and Management Safety & Security
Accountability The legislative provisions as
The senior leadership’s mandated by law and
commitment to the additional measures that
philosophy of women’s
career enablement and
Workforce Profile companies take to ensure
safety of women
work-life integration The central piece that accounts for employees
initiatives
the men and women at different
levels in a company’s workforce,
their hiring, promotion and attrition
rates. The 5 levels in the corporate
hierarchy bottom up are –
non-managers, managers, senior Flexible Work
Benefits and managers, corporate executives Policies such as flexi-time,
Work Life Programs remote-work, compressed
and Board of Directors. work schedule, partial
Policies for career enabling
work-partial pay (amongst
services such as day care
others) that allow
and elder care services,
employees flexibility in
tuition re-imbursement
determining their work
schedule
Parental Leave &
Parental Benefits
Policies for maternity,
paternity and adoption
leave and phase-back and
re-integration
programmes

15
This is the age
when our diverse
teams deliver
world-changing
innovations.
06
The Expanse:
2019 Best
Companies’ Profile
100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Industry
Distribution IT/ITES
40%
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Financial
Services Pharmaceutical
Services
11% 8%

Science,
Engineering, Manufacturing
Aerospace, 5%
Consumer
Products
Medical Devices
(Including
8%
Cosmetics,
Food &
Education
1%
Beverage)
7%

Media,
Internet &
Advertising Tele-
Utilities Chemical Professional
1% (Including
1% Communications
1% Petrol) Services,
2% Management
Infrastructure
Consulting,
Development Accounting
2%
8%
E- Commerce
1%

Transportation
Services Retail &
1%
Apparel
3%

18
100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

7%
Employee 501 - 1000
Employees
Strength - Wise
Distribution 47%
1001 - 5000
Employees

28%
5001 - 15000
Employees

15001 - 30000 9%
Employees

>30000
Employees 9%

Indian Origin MNCs’

35% 65%

Distribution
Based on
Country
Origin
100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

10,00,266 14,92,033 4,91,767

Employee Base/Women
Distribution

2% 8% 39% 5%
Before 1900 1951 - 1980 1991 - 2000 After 2010

6% 13% 27%
1901 - 1950 1981 - 1990 2001 - 2010

Year of Incorporation - Wise


Distribution

20
07 BCWI:
Winners Segment
TOP 10 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

2019 Working Mother & Avtar


Top 10 Best Companies for Women in India

Accenture Solutions Pvt. Ltd. Barclays in India Credit Suisse

Deloitte in India EY IBM India Pvt. Ltd.

KPMG PepsiCo India Holdings Ltd. Shell India Markets Pvt. Ltd.

Tech Mahindra

22
100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
2019 Working Mother & Avtar 100 Best
Companies for Women in India

3M India Ltd. ABB India Ltd. Accenture Solutions Pvt. Ltd. Adobe Systems Inc.

ADP Pvt. Ltd. AGS Health Pvt. Ltd. ANZ Support Services India Pvt. Ltd. Aspire Systems (India) Pvt. Ltd.

AXA XL
AstraZeneca India Pvt. Ltd. AstraZeneca Pharma India Ltd. Atkins, member of the SNC-Lavalin Group
(XL India Business Services Pvt. Ltd.)

Barclays in India Biocon Ltd. Boehringer Ingelheim India Pvt. Ltd. Cisco Systems

Cognizant Technology Solutions


Citibank Corporation Collins Aerospace Credit Suisse

CYPRESS Semiconductor Technology


CRISIL Ltd. Cushman & Wakefield India Pvt. Ltd. Cyient Ltd. India Pvt. Ltd.

DBS Bank India Deloitte in India Deutsche Bank Group Dow Chemical International Pvt. Ltd.

23
100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Eli Lilly and Company India Pvt. Ltd. Elico Healthcare Services Ltd. Encore Capital Group EY

Flipkart Internet Pvt. Ltd. GE India Industrial Pvt. Ltd. GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Goldman Sachs Services Pvt. Ltd.
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Harman Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd. HP Inc. IBM India Pvt. Ltd.

IBS Software Pvt. Ltd. Indegene Pvt. Ltd. Infosys Ltd. Integra Software Services Pvt. Ltd.

Invesco India Pvt. Ltd. JSW Steel Ltd. K Raheja Corp. Kellogg India Pvt. Ltd.

KONE Elevator India Pvt. Ltd. KPMG Macquarie Global Services Pvt. Ltd. Maersk India

Mahindra Susten Pvt. Ltd. MakeMyTrip (India) Pvt. Ltd. Mastercard Inc. MetLife Global Operations Support Center

Mindtree Ltd. Mondelez India Pvt. Ltd. Morgan Stanley Mphasis Ltd.

MSD Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd. Myntra Jabong India Pvt. Ltd. Nestlé India Ltd. Netmagic IT Services Pvt. Ltd.

24
100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Omega Healthcare
Nielsen India Pvt. Ltd. Novartis Healthcare Pvt. Ltd. Management Services Pvt. Ltd. Optum Global Solutions

People Combine -
PayPal India Pvt. Ltd. PepsiCo India Holdings Ltd. Procter & Gamble

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
Nord Anglia Education - India

PTC Software (India) Pvt. Ltd. Publicis Sapient PwC India Qualcomm India Pvt. Ltd.

Renault Nissan Technology & Societe Generale


Raychem RPG Pvt. Ltd. Shell India Markets Pvt. Ltd.
Business Centre India Pvt. Ltd. Global Solutions Center

Sodexo On-site services Sony Pictures Networks India Pvt. Ltd. Standard Charterd Bank PLC Standard Chartered
Global Business Services Pvt. Ltd.

Target Corporation India Pvt. Ltd. Tata Communications Ltd. Tata Starbucks Pvt. Ltd. Tech Mahindra

ThoughtWorks
Thales India Pvt. Ltd. Technologies India Pvt. Ltd. US Technology International Pvt. Ltd. ValueLabs LLP

Verizon India
(Verizon Data Services India Pvt. Ltd.) Walmart India Pvt. Ltd. Wells Fargo EGS (India) Pvt. Ltd. Western Digital

Wipro Ltd. WM Global Technology Services Pvt. Ltd. Zensar Technologies ZS Associates India Pvt. Ltd.

25
Image Placeholder

Always inclusive.
Across the world.
At Credit Suisse, each person plays a vital role in our success.
As a global and inclusive employer, a wide range of perspectives
creates value – for our clients, shareholders and communities.

credit-suisse.com/diversity

How can more women


become architects of
a digital world?
Our EY STEM Tribe is a unique global initiative to
enable STEM learning for girls in the age group of
© 2019 Ernst & Young LLP. All Rights Reserved. ED None.

13-18 years and was launched across 45 Indian


schools in October 2019.
To know more, visit ey.com/in_ey
ey.com/betterworkingworld #BetterQuestions
The frontrunners:

08 2019 - Top 10
Best Companies
for Women in India
TOP 10 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Accenture Solutions Pvt. Ltd.


THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Accenture believes the future workforce is an equal one, and has set bold goals to accelerate gender equality. The
organization had made a public commitment in June 2017 to achieve a gender-balanced workforce, by 2025. Of
more than 1,70,000 employees at Accenture, approximately 40% comprise women workforce.

Accenture stays ahead of the curve in its inclusion and diversity efforts by attracting, retaining and developing the
best talent available. Vaahini, a platform that enables women to network, ensures periodic engagement activities,
including Vaahini Virtual Connect sessions and on-ground events, aimed at empowering and enabling women on
a sustained basis so that they can find inspiration to be an integral part of India Inc. Vaahini – ‘Unconditioning for
Innovation’ Workshop is an example of an activity that was conceptualized to specifically help women overcome
prevailing biases, personal as well as professional, to fearlessly work towards individual success.

Accenture has a successful ‘Returning Mothers Program,’ which aids new mothers seamlessly transition back to
work after maternity. A coach assigned to each woman attempting to return, ensures personalized and focused
strategies and support in finding their rhythm back at work. More than 1100 coaches support over 95% of new
mothers who returned to the workplace.

Further, Accenture’s ‘Career Reboot Program,’ facilitates women returning to work after a break. The program
provides career guidance sessions, technology skills workshops with experts and a six-month orientation to enable
an effective return to continue their career journeys.

Accenture prioritizes career development for women at all levels with a focus on having access to an enhanced
network of senior leaders, alongside the opportunity to acquire new skills. A key program is ‘Insight,’ which is
specifically for senior managers, combining experience and knowledge with practical resources for advancing
careers. The ‘Intentionality of Careers’ program enables women to consciously invest in meaningful career goals
while navigating planned and unplanned changes in life with structured action plans.

To help women build long term careers in the tech industry, Accenture’s Advanced Technology Centers in India
introduced the High-Tech Women Program to fast-track the careers of women into the role of Technical Architects.
High-performing women at mid-career levels are identified, trained and mentored to be certified as Technical
Architects. In 2018, the company introduced the High-Tech Women Rise program with renewed focus on new
technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Automation, Blockchain amongst others.

Alongside these programs, Accenture’s commitment to a gender-balanced workforce, strong advocacy for gender
diversity by its leadership and ensuring men play a key role in embedding a culture of inclusion contributes to the
success of Accenture India’s market leadership standing in Inclusion & Diversity (I&D).

28
In the future, Accenture plans to continue pushing the needle in inclusion & diversity, integrating it with a truly
human approach so that Accenture employees bring their true self to work every day, and fuel innovation in I&D
to continue as an ‘employer of choice’.

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
Enabling a culture of equality is critical to our progress and
growth as an organization. At Accenture, we are committed to
accelerating equality for all and creating a work environment
where all our people feel valued and empowered to innovate and
achieve their best. Our latest ranking by Working Mother Media &
Avtar, as the ‘Top 10 Best Company for Women in India’ fourth
time in a row and being recognised as a ‘Champion of Inclusion’
in the very first edition of Most Inclusive Companies in India (MICI)
Index is a testament to our continuous efforts to push the
inclusion and diversity agenda further.

Rekha M Menon
Chairman and Senior Managing Director – India
Accenture Solutions Private Limited

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TOP 10 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Barclays in India
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Barclays is committed to attracting, developing and retaining the best female talent. The organisation provides
suitable development opportunities and enables work life balance which is seamlessly integrated into the ways of
working. Some of Barclays’ policies, processes or programmes that are supportive of gender inclusion agenda are
as follows:

Talent attraction and retention


Prefer-a-refer: The flagship employee referral programme is with enhanced referral bonus to help increase the
number of women hires.

Campus hiring
To increase diversity hiring in campus programmes, Barclays hires only from campuses that have more than 30%
women in their programmes.

Diverse panel
Presence of at least one female Director/Managing Director interviewer in the recruitment panel, and close
monitoring of women shortlisted at the pre-interview stage.

Barclays’ Encore! Programme


This is a programme designed for individuals who have taken a career break and now wish to resume career. The
programme provides development training and a paid 12-week fellowship. After successful completion of the
programme, participants can apply for a permanent position within Barclays.

Dynamic working
Dynamic Working is helping Barclays colleagues to integrate work and life more effectively. Every colleague has the
opportunity to define how they work their life.

Development opportunities
Mentoring: All permanent Barclays colleagues are given the opportunity to be matched with a mentor or mentee
globally. The relationship is kept completely separate from the normal line management structure and works to
the benefit of both individuals and the organisation.

Reverse Mentoring
Early career colleagues have the opportunity to mentor senior leaders. Employees of different teams are matched
up and then encouraged to meet regularly to exchange ideas and challenge each other.

Sponsorship programme

High potential women leaders are provided an internal sponsor who actively promotes, advocates and supports
the career aspiration of the person being sponsored.

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THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
We have come a long way in making Barclays in India more
inclusive not only in terms of gender diversity but also welcoming
multiple perspectives and making them a part of the mainstream
dialogue. This accomplishment validates our efforts and instils
confidence in us to continue strengthening gender diversity at all
levels in the organisation.

Uma Ratnam Krishnan


Co-CEO, BGSC India

The catalyst for any change is when each one of us takes the
ownership to make it happen. We all believe a diverse Barclays
will be a better organisation for our clients and customers, and
for our people.

Praveen Kumar
Co-CEO, BGSC India

I am extremely happy with the progress we have made on our


diversity agenda. Creating an environment that makes our
colleagues feel confident in bringing their whole selves to work
and are empowered to contribute fully to Barclays’ vision and
goals is one of our top priorities. We will continue to work
towards this mission and create opportunities to rise for our
colleagues, clients and communities.

Ram Gopal
CEO Barclays Bank Plc. India

31
TOP 10 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Credit Suisse
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Credit Suisse has around 46,360 employees from over 150 different nations in more than 50 countries. As a
responsible employer, the bank promotes equal opportunities, regardless of ethnicity, nationality, gender, sexual
orientation, gender identity, religion, age, civil and marital status, pregnancy, disability, or any other qualities
protected under local law.

The bank’s India Gender Diversity Strategy has driven a material increase in women talent, especially at middle
management levels. Sustainable programs are in place for continuing the journey towards a diverse and inclusive
organization. Credit Suisse has a three-pronged strategy: Hiring, Leadership Development and Inclusion.

Hiring
REAL Returns Program
This signature annual program established in 2016 supports the re-entry of women back into the workforce after
an extended absence. The 14-week structured program pays a meaningful monthly stipend to participants and
provides them with extensive support, including a week of orientation and classroom training, as well as
mentoring and access to a buddy throughout the program.
India Campus Recruitment Branding and Engagement
Focused on hiring diverse talent based on merit, through procedures free from biases related to a candidate’s age,
race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, and other personal characteristics that are unrelated to their job
performance. This includes gender-neutral job descriptions created through the analytics tool Textio, gender
balance in candidate shortlisting and structured interview practices.

Leadership Development
RISE Program
The 60-day long program cultivates female leaders via a comprehensive assessment of development needs based
on cutting-edge behavior analytics, psychometric tests and manager feedback. The program, aimed at junior
female talent, has made a measurable impact.
Project Greenlight
Launched in 2018 for progressing high potential female employees from Assistant Vice President to the next level
in their career by providing them visibility and support. Participants work on specific challenges through
1:1 coaching, mentoring and focused workshops.

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Inclusion
GEM (Guidance for Expecting Mothers)
An exclusive program for expectant mothers and those resuming work after maternity leave to help them better
balance their new phase in life with work. This includes a buddy system and crèche facilities located near the bank’s
offices in Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore, as well as comfortable, private nursing rooms on office premises.

Gender Sensitization Training for Managers


As part of gender sensitization training, line managers become aware about gender agnostic questions,
"Unconscious Bias" and "Bias during Interviews". There are also sessions on "Prevention of Sexual Harassment" and
campaigns like "Draw the Line" to ensure a safe workplace.

Women Safety Initiatives


Buddy Cop: An initiative in collaboration with Pune Police providing female employees with a point of contact to
help them promptly if needed.
Women Safety and Self Defense Workshop: This workshop imparts intuitive training on key issues relating to
safety at work, home and travel as well as hands-on practical training in self-defense KRAV MAGA techniques.

International Women’s Day


Credit Suisse celebrated the global theme “Balance for Better” with many insightful sessions organized as part of

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
the weeklong program.

We are proud to be recognized among the top 10 “Best


Companies for Women in India”. This is a strong testament to the
continuous focus, investment and hard work that we put in to
nurturing, fostering and preserving D&I within our organization
– it’s a core part of our DNA.

Meenakshi KS
Head of Global Business Integrated Services &
Senior Franchise Officer (SFO)
Credit Suisse, Powai

33
TOP 10 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Deloitte in India
At Deloitte, the priority is not only to attract top talent but also to retain them across career levels by offering
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

opportunities to explore, experiment, and thrive in an environment that respects diversity. The Distinctively
Deloitte experience provides women professionals the opportunities to develop, hone, and push their boundaries
to deliver outstanding value to markets and clients.

Professionals, especially women, actively seek mentoring from senior and experienced colleagues, who can help
create an effective and a future-focused career path. As part of Reinventing Performance Management at Deloitte,
leaders are encouraged to have regular conversations with team members, review priorities, and provide coaching
and feedback to help improve performance. Leaders are trained through formal mentoring programs that can
help them harness the power of coaching and mentoring in the workplace.

Deloitte strives to imbibe lifelong learning and reskilling into its fabric and enhance skills of professionals to meet
evolving roles. One-on-one executive coaching, executive leadership development programs and programs
aimed at maximizing potential address the needs of our leadership cohort. Specially curated skill development
programs for high-potential women professionals aim to acquaint them with strategies to expand client service
and leadership competencies and influence Deloitte's strategy through participation in special projects. This helps
build a stronger and inclusive leadership pipeline.

The organization believes that learning is a 2-way path and through the Reverse Mentoring initiative, a culture of
learning by sharing is inculcated. While millennials coach the leaders on trending topics such as AI and block chain,
an informal coaching from the leaders helps the millennials learn the tricks of the trade.

Empowered Well-being is the organization’s response to help its workforce manage competing demands of
professional and personal lives and Deloitte gives its people the support and flexibility to make daily choices that
enable them to be energized, confident, and aware. A personalized well-being dashboard displays the number of
leaves left, applicable flexibility options, planning for motherhood, and special needs such as apprenticeship/
mentorship. Additionally, the financial well-being program offers guidance around making sound financial
decisions.

A critical milestone in the well-being journey is that of parenthood. Deloitte recognizes this and supports women
professionals in their motherhood journey by offering comprehensive maternity, adoption, and commissioning
mother leaves. Confidential one-on-one counselling on health, nutrition, anxiety and other topics are offered to an
expectant mother, while counselling and sensitization sessions are extended to the spouse and the reporting
manager. Benefits also include transport reimbursement, flexi work arrangements, day care centres, reserved
seating in cafeterias, and access to nursing rooms. The Encore program acts as a career springboard for women
who have taken a break in their careers, with an option to return to full-time employment in a seamless manner.

Deloitte’s mantra for inclusion is ALL IN. It is Deloitte’s integrated efforts in this direction that act as anchors to make
a positive impact and position the organization as one that cares.

01
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THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
Growth is incomplete unless all our people are offered a level
playing field. We specifically focus on the learning, wellbeing,
and coaching needs of our women professionals, so they are
empowered to contribute at every career level. For us, it is a
business imperative and a collective responsibility.

Bhavani Balasubramanian
Deloitte

Strengthening the diversity of our workforce is not a matter of


optics, but a key construct of our competitive strengths. When
women are empowered to determine their path, realize their
full potential, and succeed, it signifies that a larger
ecosystem of support is at play – ensuring an environment that
helps everyone thrive.

Amita Kasbekar
Deloitte

35
TOP 10 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

EY
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

#HereIBelong

The more EY matures as an organization, the deeper runs its perspectives on inclusion and stronger gets the will
to open it to every dimension. The firm has challenged itself to create an ecosystem where every employee feels
enabled to be and bring their authentic selves to work.

Rewriting the workforce make up: It’s not just about adding more women in the workforce. It is about making them
count. EY strengthened its focus and effort on on-boarding more women and growing them across the
leadership spectrum.

The marquee program on building the leadership pipeline – Career Watch and Power Presence Purpose scripted
its own success, 50% of Career Watchees have transitioned to leadership roles, and 26% of participants from the
first batch got promoted to take on leadership roles. Through the sponsorship program ‘Career Watch’, a Senior
Partner of the firm (Career Watcher) is allocated to each ‘Watchee’. Career Watchers sponsor their career and work
towards understanding the Watchee’s aspirations, help her define career goals, design an action plan and sponsor
her career growth.

EY has added a few bold measures like pay parity exercise, to commit to eliminate inequities driven by unconscious
biases – this measure not just covers the employees but also those who join EY, thereby correcting inequities set
in the market. The firm’s focused intervention around women’s hiring through ‘recruitHER’ has enabled a very
strong pipe of women talent across levels.

Learning to unlearn: The firm has made conscious efforts to fight bias by educating employees especially those in
decision making roles through unique and effective interventions like ‘Theatre style gender sensitization’ which is
designed and driven in-house. Yet another flagship program on digital certification – EY Badges has an exclusive
module on Inclusive Intelligence. This is further reiterated though various workshops, self-learning programs,
coaching sessions and even through employee advocacy groups.

The I in diversity: While learning initiatives looked at influencing behaviors, the organization looked at
strengthening the fundamentals that prop up at the workplace – policies and processes. EY reinforced a flexible
working culture through ‘My Life’ – flexible working arrangements enabling its people to balance their personal
and professional priorities. This complements the EY@work program introduced last year, which did away with
designated seating, allowing people to work as needed. EY introduced inclusive measures giving adoption and
commissioning leave of 26 weeks to match maternity leave, for women adopting babies under the age of 3
months, and 12 weeks for men who are primary care-givers. The commissioning leave is now available for men and
women alike to extend the benefit to same-sex couples.

EY continues to customize its policies to meet vibrant and diverse needs of its people. EY has now extended

36
spousal benefits like same-sex partner insurance, relocation/transfer policies and bereavement to domestic
partners of its employees. The firm’s medical coverage now includes gender affirmation surgery.

EY is also integrating mechanisms to frequently hear from its people to ensure that the organization is on the right
course. EY has also integrated dashboards to systematically measure the impact of all the programs. But more than
anything, the organization is driven by commitment to build a workplace where the people feel they belong.

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
Our people need to feel that they belong. This is important not
only for the cultural fabric of our organization but because
organizations where people feel empowered to be their
authentic selves are shown to have performed better – on
parameters of business, emotional and cultural indicators.

Sreekanth Arimanithaya
Global Talent Leader, Global Delivery Services
EY

We at EY are constantly looking at augmenting the exceptional


EY experience for our people and empowering them with equal
opportunities to achieve their potential. Our focus on embracing
diversity & promoting inclusion stems from our purpose of
building a better working world for our people, clients and
community.

Sandeep Kohli
Partner and Talent Leader,
EY INDIA

37
TOP 10 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

IBM India Pvt. Ltd.


THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Attracting, retaining and developing female talent across the world is not only essential to IBM’s company culture,
it’s a business imperative. From 1899, when IBM hired it’s first woman employee and till date, with its first woman
CEO, IBM’s commitment to celebrating the talent of women has been at the forefront of its business and a key
driver of success. Research has shown a clear positive link between increased gender diversity and financial results,
across different industries and countries. IBM recognizes that women play a critical role in the global economy and
that they must be present in the industry that drives innovation in all sectors. Thus, IBM places the advancement
and retention of women with leadership potential as a key business priority. The participation of women at
executive level has been found to be positively associated with company performance. Fostering an inclusive
ecosystem along with focused career development programs for women in early, mid and senior levels, women
aspiring managers, technical women, women with executive potential, contribute to accelerate growth of women
in IBM.

Create an inclusive ecosystem


Commitment & actions by senior leadership team, engagement & enablement initiatives by Business Resource
Groups, education & sensitization on impact of bias on decision making, recognizing inclusive behavior in the
workplace contribute to creating an inclusive ecosystem which fosters growth of diverse talent.

CharisMa - This is an exhaustive maternity phase back program to enable smooth transition of women returning
to work post maternity. There are plethora of resources under CharisMa to support new and expectant mothers.
This includes Webinars for mothers, webinars to sensitize managers, exclusive Facebook community, coach on call,
upskilling and travel policy for primary caregiver, parenting portal etc. The program helped in reducing attrition of
new/expectant mothers by 9%.

Focus on career development


Disha - one of a kind intervention targeted at emerging top talent women was piloted in 2017 with 75 women
professionals. In 2018 the program covered 500+ women professionals and received excellent feedback with NPS
(net promoter score) 92%. The initiative was customized to empower young women with high potential before
they “leak” from the workforce on account of a variety of reasons.

Shakti - Targeted development program for women aspiring managers with an objective to identify, enable and
increase representation of women in management roles. Women manager representation improved significantly
in 2018 with this focused approach.

Leading With Digital – This is a 12-month leadership development program for high potential women employees
at leadership level to further hone their skills and get equipped to make an impact in every field. It also supports
the participants in developing their internal and external eminence.

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The “Trailblazers” program aligns mid-career technical women with a coach and mentor, offers education,
experience-based learning and creates a development roadmap to track progress and readiness for the next
milestone in their career path. Tech Re-Entry Program is a 12-week internship program, which also provides full
time job opportunity for women on career break upon successful completion of internship.

The very first step towards inclusion is to include everything inside THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
oneself, good or bad, ugly or beautiful, small or big. Only then,
instead of suppressing, can we start to find constructive ways of
expressing ourselves. This requires continual self-awareness. To
be inclusive of the other comes as a natural next step after we are
inclusive of ourselves. It starts from self – being aware of ourselves

Chaitanya N Sreenivas
Vice President HR & HR Head
IBM India South Asia

39
TOP 10 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

KPMG
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Inclusion & Diversity, with a specific emphasis on gender, has been a key focus area for KPMG in India. Particularly
on enhancing and building the gender diversity, over the last few years, KPMG has focused on -- Attract and Retain
women; Develop and Grow women; Enable and Engage women.

Attract and Retain women


What gets measured gets done: Joiners: All the AM and above roles being hired are monitored to ensure at least
30% are that of women. Similarly, ensuring at least 30% joiners are women. A monthly report is published to
business leaders and diversity council members to ensure accountability and progress.

Promotions: All AM and above promotions are looked at closely by to identify and address gender bias/variation
with respect to talent development. Hiring returning mothers with focused approach to employing those who’ve
been on a career break.

Vendor meets where hiring vendors are upskilled on meaningful careers for women at KPMG. The organization
also collaborate with specialist diversity hiring partners.

More particularly on Maternity: KPMG have, over the years observed an improving trend in the pattern of women
returning to work. This is also due to some initiatives introduced in the last 12 – 36 months such as Nursing rooms;
New mother Buddies; Parents –to –be portal that serves as a one stop shop for all parents; Coaching for maternity
leavers; returners; new fathers; and the managers of new parents; Subsidized day care centres; Alumni forums
engaging new and working mothers; Career break / Sabbatical policy; and Comprehensive Maternity/
Adoption leave.

Agile work options: This is in addition to the maternity leave and enables women colleagues to integrate personal
and professional choices when they choose to return to work. Seminars / forums with experts for new mothers and
on pre/postnatal experiences.

Develop and Grow women


Particularly on promoting inclusive leadership, KPMG continues to have - Unconscious bias awareness programs;
Leadership led speaker forums by internal and external leaders; Women leader led speaker forums to inspire
aspiring leaders; Video messages and communications across channels from leaders; and Stories from women
colleagues on their career journeys.

Social Inclusion: Development and growth of women is not just an internal focus.
For the 2018 Women’s day memento, KPMG India partnered with Aahan Foundation. With their citizenship team,
KPMG conducted awareness workshops on breaking gender stereotypes in nine cities covering over 1100 students
between IV – IXth grade.

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Enable and Engage women
Engagement has long been a strength at KPMG and building on that, they have laid foundations on: ‘Men as Allies’
where men took the opportunity of sharing their journeys of how they are committed to the inclusion and
women’s advancement agenda. These included panel events, communications from the CEO, business heads and
diversity network leaders, organized speed network events and circle mentoring discussions for women
colleagues.

Some of the external partner led engagements also include Self Defense, health and safety awareness,
financial independence for women.

KPMG’s journey of building a more inclusive workplace for women, has taken a dynamic approach and continues
to evolve.

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

At KPMG, we have evolved to become more assertive about


gender diversity and treat it as an integral part of our business
strategies. Through our programs and policies at work, we are
reminded that only active and intentional actions to engage
women in the workforce, at all levels, will increase inclusion,
enhance employee experience & engagement and will help
towards narrowing the gender gap

Unmesh Pawar
Partner – CHRO, KPMG India

41
TOP 10 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

PepsiCo India Holdings Ltd.


THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

At PepsiCo, the focus is ‘Inclusion’, in line with the ‘One Team’ culture and therefore the emphasis on ‘I’ for everyone
to come together and own this agenda. Winning with Diversity and Inclusion is a key focus area at
PepsiCo India Region.

PepsiCo’s efforts in promoting Diversity & Inclusion include:


• All Infrastructure & policies to support Women/Men working in the field and plants
• Talent Acquisition & Retention to build a robust talent pipeline
• Culture to embed Inclusive behaviors through capability building programs
• Communication to ensure internal and external communication about relevant policies and programs
• Curated learning and development initiatives to support Women

Mentioned below are details of some of the key initiatives implemented last year.

Returning Mothers & Maternity support: PepsiCo has onsite and near-site day-care options, where in all women
employees can reimburse 100% amount in lieu of the day care facility until the age of three years. The process of
staying connected and enabling manager to support is also automated via a platform that gives relevant updates
each trimester. Also a pioneer of Adoption and surrogacy leave (commissioning mothers) at par with maternity
leave which is ahead of policy (12 weeks) and best-in-class amongst most organizations. Working parents are
supported through day-care facilities as well as “Bring your child to work” policy to help when support system fails
and summer camp programs to engage employees’ children.

Paternity Policy: PepsiCo launched Paternity Policy in 2018 that allows greater involvement of men in the early
stages of an infant’s development. Fully paid Paternity leave is applicable across all grades (L00+) from the date of
joining for all male employees. An employee can avail paternity leave up 12 weeks for a maximum of two deliveries
during his tenure of service. These leaves would also be applicable during adoption (for a baby up to 3 years of
age)/surrogacy. An employee will have the flexibility to take these leaves in tranches of minimum seven days
within the first year of child birth/adoption/surrogacy.

Work Flexibility: At middle management levels, supporting women employees during their life stage changes
was prioritized through: Work flexibility policy - Flexible timing and Flexible work location or remote working
wherever possible; and Location Free roles - Expansion of talent pool via global roles that can be taken on from
location of your choice.

Function Specific Interventions: There are leadership programs across India Region, specific functions have
unique challenges with different solutions required – some of the key programs implemented are:
Wings of Dreams – A program focused on women in sales especially at frontline who tend to feel isolated at their
respective locations. The program aims to retain women talent in Sales by providing an anchor who can enable
them to navigate the sales ecosystem; Athena 3.0 program for Finance women employees - Objective of the

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program is to give women in Finance team an opportunity to be mentored to remove career roadblocks by senior
leaders in Finance team; WIN (BIS women in IT): Objective of the program is to provide Women in IT with a set of
skills that come under the bracket of Women Leadership Program covering six modules namely, building
self-awareness, Power & Influence, Executive Presence, Building Strategy and Business Acumen and
Negotiation Skills.

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
At PepsiCo, diversity of thought is critical for our business to grow
and ensuring inclusive intelligence across our employees is a key
focus area for us. We are proud of the best-in-class diversity
practices at PepsiCo India which enable our people bring their
best selves to work

Ahmed ElSheikh
President, PepsiCo India Region

PepsiCo has always been an organization with a heart and we


are proud of being the path breakers in this space. People are our
greatest asset and it is important that they bring their unique self
to work each day.
Through relentless focus on D&I practices, we have made signifi-
cant strides in being thought leaders in this space. This award is a
great validation of our extraordinary commitment and fuels us
to do greater things in the future.
Pavitra Singh
CHRO, PepsiCo, India Region

43
TOP 10 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Shell India Markets Pvt. Ltd.


THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Shell is a global energy and petrochemical conglomerate with around 81,000 employees working in over
70 countries. The company believes that their “people” play a central role in delivering its commitment on building
a sustainable future through constant innovation and use of advanced technologies.

Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) is key to the organization’s people strategy. Diversity in talent base and leadership,
along with an inclusive work environment, is a vital ingredient in driving greater innovation and better solutions.
The key belief being, the workforce and workplace must reflect the diversity of the country, the partners
and customers.

Diverse population groups within Shell contribute to different ways of thinking, promote innovation and ensure
their portfolio is both attractive and resilient. Inclusion and inclusive behaviours are at the heart of effective
collaboration, be it with team members, colleagues in other parts of the company, partners in joint ventures, or,
most importantly, the customers.

Shell India is proud to represent a diverse, young and vibrant community of professionals from 25 nationalities with
an average age of 32 years. The approach to D&I is largely through three lenses: Enabling the community around
us, tapping into India’s diverse talent pool and creating an inclusive working environment.

Shell’s vision of providing cleaner and greener energy solutions and the transition to sustainable energy sources
requires new ways of thinking. Promoting new thinking, especially among the youth, is Shell NXplorers. It is a
proven, innovative education programme aimed at youth aged 14 to 19 years. The programme aims to close the
gender gap in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) by creating opportunities for
female engineers.

To effectively cater to the diverse customer base and partners, the organization has made significant efforts over
the last few years to hire people from different walks of life, especially women. Programs like Project
Re-energise – a re-entry programme for women on career break, the Shell Campus Programme – sharply focused
on bringing 50:50 gender balance at the hiring stage, the Employee Referral Program (ERP) for women hires acts as
a key catalyst in the journey.

Policy and benefits are key enablers for Shell to create the right Employee Value Proposition (EVP) to attract and
retain talent and be a significant differentiator for their female staff.

Shell provides a range of flexi-benefits and gender-neutral policies that include part-time working,
work-from-home, flexi working hours, job share, sabbatical policy, childcare support and an Employee Wellness
Programme. These policies specially benefit Shell’s women employees in India where women are expected to be
primary caregivers at home.

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For Shell “Balance means Business” - achieving a balance in team composition coupled with a conducive
environment to foster diversity of thought and action and inclusive leadership is the key to the effectiveness of
policies and programmes. Targeted leadership programmes for women in middle and senior level roles that
address gender-specific leadership challenges have been implemented.

The vibrant Shell India Women’s Network, affiliated to a number of women’s networks in the wider Shell & the
world beyond, enables continuous learning at the workplace for women through mentoring circles, its marquee
‘Stairway to Success’ program, senior women engagements & community building.

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

It is an honour to be recognised as a top 10 employer for the third


year in a row for our achievements and a testament to the
commitment from our leadership and D&I champions. We firmly
believe Balance Means Business and look forward to continually
challenge ourselves to achieve the highest standards of inclusion.

Nitin Prasad
Country Head,
Shell India

45
TOP 10 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Tech Mahindra
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Tech Mahindra is renowned for pioneering initiatives that help its diverse workforce build a successful career and
offers them a chalked out growth path. Helping and guiding the company’s associates hailing from different
backgrounds is not confined to their work, TechM organizes various Work-Life Balance programs. TechM, believes
that everyone can rise to the top, regardless of ethnicity, cultural background, religion and geographical
backgrounds, or even with special abilities and disabilities. Everyone wins when one plays fair.

The culture developed by shared experiences, values and beliefs, is the unique character of Tech Mahindra. This
distinctive character is what the company stands for and continuously strives to achieve. It is what makes TechM
different and helps to carve a niche in the industry. It is the most important factor to performance, relevance and
wellness. Culture is the ‘present’ that determines an organization’s ‘future’.

Tech Mahindra firmly believes that increased diversity can lead to increased innovation and diversity & inclusion is
connected to overall Associate satisfaction and engagement. The company’s D&I vision statement reads
as follows:

“We shall value and celebrate the uniqueness of every individual by fostering an environment of inclusion and
empowerment. This will enable us to meet the needs of our stakeholders through active participation of diverse
talented individuals, committed to enable people and communities to Rise”.

The cumulative impact of various efforts was reflected in the annual Employee Engagement Survey score which
saw an increase by 4.5% last year. The initiatives have also resulted in improvement of the Glassdoor rating from 3.1
in Sept 2018 to 3.9 in October 2019.

As an organization, Tech Mahindra believes that the power of diversity brings in a lot of potential and strengths
into organizations, relationships. Optimizing the capabilities and leveraging the strengths of associates will serve
as a strategic differentiator for the company. Hence, building leaders by enabling them with opportunities to
unleash their potential and contribute to business success is a key focus area at Tech Mahindra. The company was
able to significantly improve the gender diversity ratio to 31%. Through focused hiring initiatives, Tech Mahindra
has seen a considerable increase in the number of employees from different backgrounds.
Additionally, through various campaigns and internal buzz Tech Mahindra has inculcated a feeling of oneness
amongst all its Associates. Today, associates at Tech Mahindra are more alert and extremely sensitive about matters
concerning equality at workplace. Associates are aware of the Prevention of Sexual Harassment policy and respect
each other’s space. The cross-cultural workshops have helped resolve cultural differences. Employees actively
engage in various cross cultural activities and celebrations within the organization.

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THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
Diversity is at the heart of every successful & connected
organization. At Tech Mahindra, we are richer and stronger by
the diversity of thought, culture and abilities that our colleagues
from over 90 countries bring to work. We are privileged to have
this varied heritage and remain committed to nurturing an
environment of diversity and inclusivity within the organisation.

C P Gurnani
CEO & MD
Tech Mahindra

Human Capital is the key driver of business transformation at


Tech Mahindra. We aim to build an agile organizational
ecosystem with future ready workforce in which humans and
intelligent machines work together to improve productivity,
innovation and growth.

Harshvendra Soin
Chief People Officer
Tech Mahindra

47
#BetterEveryday

At JSW Steel, we believe


that a diverse and inclusive
workforce is a lever to running
a sustainable and strong
business.
JSW Steel is We aim to ensure that our
proud to be a work environments are built
Great Place to on respect, dignity and
fairness.
Work for Women

www.jsw.in
The role-models:

09 2019 - 100 Best


Companies for
Women in India
100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

3M India Ltd. They include:


• The talent program, where there were 18%
lateral female recruits in the year 2018.
• RISE -- Women Leadership Development
Program, to have Future Ready female leaders.
• 52% female university hires.
• Identification of top female talent across
businesses, is done every year.
• Career Lifecycle ensures a full range of support
policies, benefits and flexible work options are
in place.
• “Re-board”, an initiative to reconnect with
3M has introduced many policies to support former female employees.
women workforce to balance their family • Telecommute policy that provides flexibility to
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

and professional responsibilities. Some of employees to work remotely on a need basis.


them include: • D&I Council was formed last year at the Country
level to drive local implementation of ABB’s D&I
Parenting: In addition to the 26 weeks of Framework and track progress against a range
maternity leave, women employees can apply for of targets.
an additional 12 weeks of ‘work from home’ • Diversity metrics made to capture the success
option. An adopting mother is entitled to against the group ambition of 1-5-30 principal
maternity benefits for a period of 12 weeks. on a monthly basis.
Additionally, women employees receive Accenture Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
Rs 15,000 per child as against reimbursement for
child care facilities.

Safety & Security: Women employees are entitled


to safe drop in the instance of late working hours
and can also avail hotel stay a level above their
eligibility while they are on business travel.
Further, an independent platform called
“Ethics Point”, encourages employees to raise
concerns on code of conduct violations.
The POSH committee provides an effective At Accenture in India, approximately 40% of the
redressal mechanism against sexual harassment in workforce are women and the company has set a
the workplace. goal to achieve a gender-balanced workforce by
2025. Accenture’s initiatives towards developing
Flexibility: Under the “FlexAbility” program, and empowering women leaders include: High
employees can choose suitable work hours or avail Tech Women Program – this is at the cross
of “Work from home” options. The Women’s section of Technology and Diversity as it enables
Leadership Forum (WLF) enables women to make acceleration towards getting to equal in
discretionary career progression. technology careers. Vaahini Connect - a
ABB India Ltd. Facebook Live series that features senior women
leaders sharing their career journeys with a focus
on technology. Vaahini - Unconditioning for
As a truly global company, ABB is made up of Innovation workshop - a platform to empower
people with diverse perspectives, lifestyles, the external talent pool – wherein participants are
knowledge, work experiences and cultures. Some guided by experts to identify potential challenges
of the company’s D&I initiatives in India help to in their career journeys and help them discover
attract and develop a new generation of talented the most effective success factors that can lead to
women. implementable solutions.

50
100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Gender Intelligence sessions - aid recruiting ADP Pvt. Ltd.


teams and supervisors to learn ways in which they
can counter unconscious bias when they are
interviewing or selecting diverse candidates.
Career Reboot for Women - an exclusive
program focused on women returning to work
after a break. In its new 2.0 avatar, there is a
six-month long orientation after on boarding
which has been introduced to enable a strong
career journey for these women.

Adobe Systems Inc. ADP provides opportunities to its associates to


learn and grow regardless of their gender, age,
ethnicity, and ability. ADP conducts several

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
customized periodic leadership talks, well-being
sessions, and has career-development initiatives
for all its associates. ADP also has a Higher
Education Assistance Program to encourage its
associates to pursue distance learning/part-time
higher studies.

In addition to industry-best maternity benefits,


ADP provides Infant Care and Child Care benefits
Every year women professionals from business to ensure associates can manage their personal
units across Adobe India are selected to and professional lives well. ADP is also amongst
participate in the Leadership Circles Program. This the few organizations in India to extend Mediclaim
global program is focused on developing key Insurance benefit to the dependent partners of its
talent women with 6-18 years of experience to the LGBTQ associates.
Directorial levels. The results of this Program are
regularly shared with Senior Executives, the EVP of These and several other industry-best benefits
HR and CEO's Staff. The program builds leaders drive ADP’s focus on development, work-life
who own their personal leadership growth, balance, and growth of its associates.
careers and success. In addition to building future
leaders, the program also helps us in recognizing AGS Health Pvt. Ltd.
the impact that participants have made on their
respective businesses. This is done by having At AGS Health, women employees comprise over
participants identify a Concrete Measure Result 46% of our workforce. Tanvi (meaning ‘beautiful’ in
(CMR) which is shared with their respective Sanskrit) is a dedicated gender diversity forum to
managers that also gives these participants maximize the innate potential among women
visibility within their business units. employees by creating an enriching career
experience and an inclusive and comfortable work
Program Success Measures – 22% higher retention environment that enhances personal, professional
rate since 2015; 24% higher promotion rate; 92% and financial growth. Our focus areas include:
of the participants are on track to achieve their
business goals; and 97% of the participants have • Safety and Security
applied their learning to perform better in their • Health and Wellness
position/role. • Social Networking and Talent Forums
• Personal and Professional Development
• Gender Diversity Analytics and Business Support

51
100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Aspire Systems (India) Pvt. Ltd.

Aspire’s philosophy is “Attention. Always.” Aspire’s


culture and vision acknowledges that employees,
customers and society are the primary reasons for
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

All the initiatives are delivered with a blended their existence in the business and market. From
model approach that is a combination of onsite, an employee perspective, they focus on diversity
in-person programs and online virtual programs. and gender inclusiveness as the vital factors that
contribute greatly to their growth. They
ANZ Support Services India Pvt. Ltd. acknowledge that women employees need
different types of enabling systems at different
stages of their career and the work place has to
enable the same. Thus, Aspire has created
different people practices: Be it counselling,
flexible working hours, balancing and integrating
work-life, Aspire helps the women employees to
remain equally focused between work and
personal priorities. Aspire also facilitates their
career advancement through initiatives like “Fast
Trackers”, “STEP UP”, “LEAD Workshop” and other
ANZ Bengaluru Service Centre has a balanced mix periodic assessments. Forums like “Tulips” and
of men and women right by ensuring a female “Mind Spa” creates a platform for mutual support
candidate is interviewed for every role and the network among women colleagues to discuss
interview panel comprises at least a woman challenges and learn from each other.
decision-maker. 100% of our workforce has been
provided access to flexible work plan,
AstraZeneca India Pvt. Ltd.
telecommute or work remotely. 89% of women
employees join back after their maternity leave Women at Astra Zeneca benefit from varied
with 72% of women employees availing unpaid initiatives, programs and policies that include
job-guaranteed time off following childbirth. The gender parity in pay and performance,
company drives career advancement with mentorship, networking, and customised learning
dedicated affinity groups -- an Emerging Women interventions. People development was a key
Leader program, Role based Skill Development focus that helped in retention of women
and Leadership for Millennial Women employees. Training and External Exposure: 85% of
Professionals. In technology, there is an internal employees have completed technical training
diversity workgroup called WINIT (Women in IT) using the learning platform like Pluralsight,
that aims to mobilise and drive the increase in the Skillsoft, Boot camps, class room and online
presence of women in the Bangalore hub by classes. Talent Management: Key business critical
attracting, recruiting, retaining, and motivating roles and potential succession candidates are
women employees. There are three main streams identified annually. 18% of women were identified
focusing on Recruitment, Retention and Growth as successors for business critical and leadership
and supports with Governance, Event roles in 2018. Leadership development:
management and Communications. GOLD – Global Operating Leadership

52
100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Development. The objective is to identify and


create a strong pool of talent that can operate
anywhere across the world. There are now six
women leaders who have been identified as Top
talent and have learning plans carved to make
them ready for senior roles.

AstraZeneca Pharma India Ltd.


includes promoting diversity related culture and
implement practices like flexible working,
AstraZeneca is committed to building a unconscious bias etc. to support all groups of
supportive and flexible work environment that employees; increase participation in mentoring
helps working women successfully manage the programme, identify female employees as
demands of career and family. Some programs successors to leadership positions and develop
AstraZeneca offers that contribute to a supportive

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
them for the role over a definite period;
working culture include: approaches to raise the profile of senior women in
the region to ensure positive role models during
• Flexible work arrangements. key company events like excellence awards, blogs,
• Work/life resource and employee assistance talks etc. Women’s safety is the highest
program prerogative, integrity to provide equal
• Providing confidential, personal support, opportunities, collaborating globally for
resources and referrals to help solve personal advancement of women and providing innovative
and work-related challenges. solutions to develop women’s workforce.
• Career development and mentoring programs,
including support for women’s advancement. AXA XL
• Diverse employee networking groups, including (XL India Business Services Pvt. Ltd.)
the AstraZeneca Network of Women, the
Working Parent Network and the Care Giving AXA XL India has a mission to create a culture
Network, which offers resources and support to where all colleagues feel valued, welcomed and
employees, caring for elderly individuals or able to contribute at their highest level, and to
those with special needs. earn a reputation of employer of choice for strong
• Childcare and eldercare resources, services talent practices. The company’s major areas for
and discounts. focus in 2018 were to attract and retain talented
women colleagues. With 46% Women
representation in Executive Committee, the
leaders are “walking the talk” and ensuring that
women have equal roles and contribution, where
it matters the most.
The Top three initiatives include --
New Beginnings: Provide opportunities to assist
women, who intend to professionally
Atkins, recommence their jobs: Mentoring Program, a
member of the SNC-Lavalin Group relationship focused program that aims to drive
rich learning and development for both women
Atkins, a member of SNC Lavalin, being an mentees and mentors. The in-person connects are
engineering company faces inherent challenges supplemented with sessions on enabling topics:
to maintaining women diversity. The company’s Flexible Work Arrangement – Acknowledging
target statement is to increase representation of varying priorities for women colleagues at
women in senior management positions. Diversity different stages of life, ensuring they are
& Inclusion is incorporated at quarterly supported and enabled to fulfil their personal
management meetings to track progress and to commitments without compromising on career
drive and monitor initiatives. The diversity agenda aspirations.

53
100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Barclays in India (iii) Second career: A revamped hiring strategy to


enable talented women start the return journey
via part-time route and eventually be considered
The company aims to ensure that Barclays is a for full-time roles.
workplace where everyone is valued as an
individual and feels welcomed, respected, Boehringer Ingelheim India Pvt. Ltd.
supported and remain their authentic selves. For
Barclays, it is about creating a culture of greater
inclusion and engagement and central to this is
fostering a ‘one team’ spirit. In furthering diversity,
gender balance at all levels in the organisation
plays a pivotal role. Barclays has increased
activities to support the development of senior
female leadership population and expanded the
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Encore! programme to attract more women


returners. At the graduate level, the percentage of
female hires in 2018 was 42% across Barclays,
India. Prefer-a-refer program was launched with
an enhanced incentive for referring diverse
candidates for lateral hiring programs like Women At BI, 15% women were promoted last year and
in Leadership (WIL) program and sponsorship 40% of women were in the top 20% earners. One
program focusses on developing women leaders of the senior women executives was part of Global
and creating a strong pipeline for senior Leadership Development program, Women
leadership roles in the future, while "Wake the Leadership program and is getting exposure and
dragon" program aims to create more women coaching to become a global leader. 85% of BI’s
leaders for the future. employees use flexi-time and around 87%
employees use telecommuting or remote working
Biocon Ltd. including work-from-home facilities. Employees
are provided with great maternity/paternity
benefits along with facilities like crèche, pumping
rooms, and pre/post-natal counselling services.
Women form 18% of Key Talent and are offered
development through Mentoring, Coaching,
Global LD programs, Learning Passport,
Short-term projects and EBTs. Women’s safety and
security is of utmost importance and our policies,
processes as well as several initiatives are focused
at women’s safety, wellness and providing them
with work flexibility. Several workshops like
self-defence, women’s rights, breast cancer
The initiatives that have been of strategic awareness etc. are organized along with
importance: interventions like Womentoring and women’s
(i) Maternity/ Childcare Benefit: Besides the forum for developing women leaders
statute, Biocon offers: a. Flexi work hours (i.e. 50%
of total work hrs) during first month post ML) Cisco Systems
b. Extended ML up to 52 weeks for all employees.
c. Designated parking slots for women, especially Connected Women is a global community to
those in advanced stages of pregnancy and/or attract, develop, retain and celebrate talented
have mobility challenges. d. Provide Crèche women as part of a competitive and diverse
Facility to 100% of the Crèche applications. workforce. The key initiatives are:
(ii) WIL: Women in leadership programme for (i) The women of impact conference, a global
advancement of career. event devoted to the development &

54
100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

enhancement of women. and practices such as maternity leave, adoption


(ii) Executive shadowing programs, pairing female leave, child care allowance, day care facility,
employees with executive leadership and initiatives that promote health and work-life
(iii) Local events that include, Girls in IT, Women balance, maternity rating protection, pre and post
Rock IT, Women of Influence speaker series and pregnancy support by doctors, counsellors,
many more networking events. medical and relocation benefits to domestic
partners and sensitization workshops are
The company’s programs investing in and conducted periodically.
developing women for promotion are achieving
new levels of success, two examples are JUMP &
Cognizant Technology
DARE programs aimed at developing the next Solutions Corporation
generation of female leaders which have
improved promotion rates by 90% and 50%
respectively. Many other programs enable career

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
development for our women employees such as
our “Becoming a parent benefit with extended
leave”, which Cisco has extended beyond the
traditional definition of family.

Citibank

Citi has increased the level of transparency around


D&I efforts, which underscores our commitment
At Cognizant, the aim is to play a central role in
to drive change across our firm. Citi has a wide
building the digital economy. To realize this
host of polices, practices, benefits and initiatives to
ambition, the company relies on insights,
promote an inclusive work environment for
imagination and innovation that emerge from the
women in the organization like Flexible work
culture of diversity and inclusion. Cognizant works
hours, option of remote access and travel
on three fundamentals - Continued support to
arrangements are the other benefits that are
enhance and empower women associates to hone
extended to employees to support them in
their current skills and prepare them for future
maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
roles through a detailed and well thought through
Additionally, targeted recruitment drives for
catalogue with special focus on future skills -
women are conducted regularly. Special focus is
Support returning mothers through programs
laid ‘Second Careers’ program (Women returning
like Maternity Transition Program, Magic of
back to workforce).
Motherhood, Crèche Tie ups, Flexi hours, work
from home options and Emotional coaching &
counselling through the entire journey -
Participation in internal and external
programs to work towards success, career growth
and leadership priorities; to support this the
company has designed and launched a leadership
and development specifically for women leaders
from a Senior Manager to Senior Director Level.
During this 6-8 months, they are exposed to
workshops, mentoring, sponsorship, leadership
Citi India has active Women’s Networks across assessments and virtual sessions on leadership
locations, wherein both men and women capability followed by report outs and de brief
employees discuss opportunities and challenges sessions that help them understand the leadership
and come up with implementable solutions for landscape and their role and position in it.
Citi India. Initiatives such as Men as allies, Diversity
Forums are conducted on regular basis. Policies

55
100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Collins Aerospace offices, with strong support from local, regional


and global management. The India team’s efforts,
including with initiatives such as RISE, Project
Collins Aerospace, a unit of United Technologies Greenlight and Real Returns, are applauded as
Corporation, is a leader in technologically being best in class globally for innovation and
advanced and intelligent solutions that help to impact. Well thought out and structured programs
redefine the aerospace industry. Gender diversity receiving support from Human Resources,
in the workforce is a priority and they have Professional and Leadership Development and the
multiple initiatives in place to increase women in global Recruitment and D&I teams are driving
the workforce like: change towards ensuring a gender balanced and
diverse workforce as well as an inclusive corporate
• Partnering with agencies specialized in women culture. The bank’s cohesive approach is aimed at
hiring achieving tangible outcomes in hiring, retention
• Exclusive Walk-In Drives for women and leadership development, while driving
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

• Re-Empower Program for experienced cultural shifts in unconscious bias, raising policy
professionals returning to work after a career awareness, and continuing to focus on male and
break managerial staff education.
• Unmatched maternity benefits and support,
designated parking and door to door pickup for CRISIL Ltd.
all pregnant women, and day care and buddy
program for new mothers.

Collins Aerospace has ensured diversity is


embedded in all processes including recruitment
slate, leadership programs, pay parity and
succession planning. High Potential women are
given opportunities for leadership development
programs that include mentoring,
cross functional assignments, job rotation, and
stretch assignments. At CRISIL, workplace practices and policies around
sabbatical, increased maternity leave to 6 months,
With a dedicated employee resource group for have been around much ahead of the industry.
women, Collins Aerospace is working towards CRISIL has included protection of performance
including more women in STEM in ratings during maternity, support by way of child
the workplace and in the community in general. care centre and reserved parking for expecting
mothers. Women on maternity leave don’t have to
Credit Suisse worry about their performance ratings. Under the
policy, in a year when a woman employee is on
maternity leave or returns from one, her
performance rating is decided based on (a) the
rating for the current year, as determined by the
manager and (b) the average of the past two
years’ ratings, rather than put her through the
normalization process. CRISIL visits specific
campuses like SP Jain exclusively for hiring
women. The company short lists campus
applications based on women applicants.
Additionally, CRISIL participated in career fares –
At Credit Suisse India, gender diversity is an one being a virtual one and one physical, which
important focus. A well-functioning and active enabled us to offer career breaks at various levels
Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) committee is in place in the organization.
covering the bank’s Pune, Mumbai and Bangalore

56
100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Cushman & Wakefield India Pvt. Ltd. participant who graduates migrates successfully
to a new role within a year of completion.

Under the DIEL - Diversity, Inclusivity and Equity


Driven leadership program at Cyient, the focus is
Advancement of women in leadership by having
them take up additional responsibilities and
succession readiness for future roles are some of
the desired outcomes.

CYPRESS Semiconductor
Technology India Pvt. Ltd.
C&W’s policies are aimed at equal opportunity.

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
The Returnship program helps women
professionals re-enter the corporate world after a
career break, with structured on-boarding,
focused mentoring and flexible work options. The
firm takes steps towards coaching and mentoring
for women, with targeted sessions, both in person
and online, aimed at personal and professional
growth. C&W’s exclusive Women’s Integrated
Network (WIN) is a forum that provides Cypress hires and nurtures globally diverse
opportunities for mentoring from senior workforce, providing equal opportunities based
leadership, contribution to the community, and on meritocracy while celebrating their
social networking and recognition opportunities, individuality. Cypress uses its D&I Vision statement
across the global platform of the firm. On the as the guiding force and a commitment to
personal front, C&W grants surrogacy policy with building an inclusive environment is evident with
all the features of Maternity and Adoption Leaves. the inclusion of two women into executive team
Cyient Ltd. in India that now comprises 20% women
representatives. Initiatives focused at enabling are
sustained through equal development and career
The company’s D&I vision is to create a
advancement opportunities. Margadeepa, a
collaborative workplace that supports diverse
mentorship program, by voluntary participation,
thinking and attracts and inspires talented people
saw an increase in women mentees. Importance
to reach their potential. And the mission is to build
to building an effective network is facilitated
an environment that seeks to bridge the gap in
through Women Affinity group, a platform,
gender diversity, provide a workplace free of
supported by technology that enables stronger
discrimination, enhance the professional growth
networking, idea exchanges, focused discussions
of our associates, and empower them to create
and voice opinions. With emphasis on work life
real change. Other than the industry best practices
balance and an intention to go beyond, the
such as crèche reimbursement benefits, flexible
company organizes exclusive workshops with
work options, postpartum depression counselling,
industry experts on financial planning, enabling
Gender neutral policy, neutral rating system &
women workforce to be more informed about
compliance initiatives, there are a host of other
equity, inflation, credit card pitfalls and budgeting
initiatives such as gender sensitivity programs
and to take charge of their personal finance.
through different methods that are conducted
regularly at Cyient. Under the Emerging
Leadership Program and Business Leadership
Program, one in every four women associates who
participate in these programs move into a new
role every year. And, every second woman

57
100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

DBS Bank India Deutsche Bank Group

DBS believes in diversity among its employees in


Gender, Culture and Multi Generation. The
company’s efforts are furthered by Leadership
through their role in the Diversity Council by
taking a long-term strategic perspective on
building an inclusive organization. The policy
framework is channelized and implemented
around the ideas of Acquisition, Development,
and Engagement. While targeted hiring, and
Inclusion for Deutsche Bank means creating a
exclusive referral program increase in the hiring
place of work where not just women but
slates, initiatives like My Persona that promotes
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

employees from all genders, sexual orientations,


leadership advocacy. The company’s suite of
abilities, beliefs, backgrounds and experiences can
benefits, flexible work arrangement, and
thrive. Gender diversity is a business led initiative
exhaustive parental benefits program create a
and not an HR led practice. At Deutsche Bank,
nurturing environment for women. DBS is at a very
leaders aggressively monitor the number of
important juncture in its D&I initiatives. As the
women employees on the slate during hiring and
company travels the road ahead, there are some
promotion processes so that no unconscious bias
remarkable achievements from the past that
creeps in. The bank reformed its parental leave
makes the company proud. That said, DBS is all set
policy making it “gender neutral”. The new
to take on the future with eager expectations.
parental leave policy centres on the caregiver’s
responsibility, rather than tie parental leave to
Deloitte in India gender. The policy also offers same benefits for
surrogacy and adoption. Deutsche Bank’s ‘Proud
Mothers’ program enables returning mothers an
easy transition and a focused support through
assigning buddies and facilitating dialogue
between managers and program participants.
Deutsche Bank also ensures adequate
infrastructure support through on-site facilities
like Mothers Nursing Rooms and wellness rooms
across locations other than providing work
flexibility. The bank recently enhanced its
The Deloitte (Deloitte LLP and subsidiaries) childcare assistance benefit allowing for 100%
ecosystem enables mentoring guidance, reimbursement. Other initiatives to remove
professional development programs and gender barriers include building sensitivity
opportunities that help women carve paths through unconscious bias training for managers
toward their career goals. This includes to avoid gender stereotyping and a robust
sponsorship that enables opportunities to be on mentoring and sponsorship program to build a
high visibility assignments and build professional healthy pipeline of female leadership talent.
relationships for long-term growth and success.
The organization personalizes well-being options Dow Chemical International Pvt. Ltd.
to help manage the competing demands of their
personal and professional lives – helping them Dow through Women Innovation Network (WIN)
stay engaged, confident, and always on top of focuses primarily on bringing in gender diversity
their game. and striving towards balance for better. There are
several policies and initiatives including hiring and
developing women talent, have a better
representation of women at leadership level,

58
100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

program for working parents, flexible working,


adoption leave, reimbursement of infertility
treatment, crèche facilities. Initiatives include
Leadership Development Program for women
to women talent, five-year roadmap for our
with 49 Women participants, Speed networking
women talent to reach leadership positions, 2%

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
was conducted to provide women a platform to
lower women attrition from last year.
interact with all Dow leaders to discuss their
(iii) Several unique inclusion, sensitization and
current profile, development plan and seek
development initiatives to ensure an inclusive
guidance. 30 WIN members participated. Project
environment.
Catalyst is a program to facilitate women
engineers on career break for their re-entry the
regular workforce, 2 women engineers were hired Elico Healthcare Services Ltd.
under this program. Project SITA is an initiative for
female engineering student to do their B.E Elico values the backgrounds and perspectives of
projects at Dow. 22 candidates did 7 projects and every individual. The current Gender Ratio Male:
12 candidates were selected. Female is 56:44. Elico has tied-up with women
colleges to hire them after their graduation. Post
Eli Lilly and Company India Pvt. Ltd. their joining, the company encourages them to
pursue higher education / certifications related to
At Eli Lilly India, the D&I Philosophy is clearly their jobs to enhance their knowledge and skills.
articulated and diligently implemented. The Elico pays for a few certification programs and also
three-pronged approach has helped Eli Lilly provides pick up and drop facility to all women
achieve results that are unheard of in the industry. employees. Women at leadership levels are
The gender diversity is now at 26%. In the sales empowered to make business decisions. The
roles, there is a 25% representation of women. Not company has been able to enhance women
only that, for the first time in our history we have employees, assign business units to them and
20% first line field supervisors as currently have 2 of the processes headed by
women. The company achieved this by: women. As a retention strategy “Work from Home”
(i) Leadership commitment- Right from the CEO, is initiated. The employees are offered to continue
Dave Ricks to the India Leadership team, D&I is a their service and attend to work from home
priority and a part of every leader’s goals that are remotely. Women are entitled for maternity leave
monitored closely. Even at a District Sales as per the Maternity Benefit Act 1961. Post
Managers (DSM) level, the company has set a maternity, Elico gives the flexibility for them to
target that each DSM must have at least two work in different shift. This approach has helped in
women in their team, which puts the ownership of retaining women employees. As an organization
hiring and developing women talent and creating lot of impetus is given towards wholesome
an inclusive team environment on that DSM development of women workforce as they are
as well. engaged in women centric training and events.
(ii) Sustained execution of a comprehensive
strategy across the talent value chain: 43% of all
new hiring have been women, 45% of identified
talent are women, 40% of all developmental
assignments / STAs / role changes went

59
100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Encore Capital Group watch and ‘FLY - Future Leader in You’ too
strengthen the women leadership pipeline, while
‘Pay It Forward’ enables women leaders who have
The company recently introduced the concept of made it, pass on the legacy through mentoring. EY
“Privilege Leave”; which is available for our women has a strong enabler networks like EYWIN Learning
employees wherein they have an option to avail Hub and Everywoman virtual community. Making
one leave per month in case of illness during flexibility a way of life endeavours to support all
monthly cycle. Policies on POSH, maternity/par- professionals seeking personal and work-life
enting, transport and crèche are well defined and integration, needs and preferences. EY’s
well promoted within the two nurturing women short-term hiring platform, GigNow, provides a
centric programs and forums. At MCM India – large option of roles with flexi-working.
subsidiary of Encore Capital -- women are not only
encouraged to take on leadership roles through Flipkart Internet Pvt. Ltd.
programs like Encore Emerging Managers, but
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

they are also empowered to enrol themselves for


the various mentoring programs available through
the year. At MCM, 7.5% of annual variable bonus is
linked to Diversity Ratio in the Company Balance
Scorecard. These Diversity metrics are tracked and
reported at a functional level in Functional
Reviews and Business Reviews with the CEO; and
are also reported at the global executive
committee level. As a result, in 2018 the diversity
hiring ratio stood at 38% with one class of all
women account managers joining Encore. There
has been a 30% improvement in the diversity ratio
over five years, improved employee engagement Flipkart is one among India’s first few companies
scores, almost 96% women re-joining post to embrace a people-friendly work ethic. The
maternity leave and a workforce that is gender company realizes that every FLIPster (Flipkart
sensitized, conversant on cultural nuances and employee) comes in to solve challenges;
aware of POSH and grievance redressal something that cannot be done in a place with an
mechanisms available to them. assembly line mentality. And so, over the years,
Flipkart has worked to create a near-perfect
EY workplace that ensures every FLIPster is inspired
and engaged constantly, be it a Monday or a
Friday. Flipkart provides flexi work culture. One
can opt for Time away from Work or career break
for higher education, take care of elders or
children in the family or any other personal/family
emergency. Flipkart provides extensive support
for new parents through Maternity Benefit
Program, Paternity Benefit Program, Adoption
While gender parity is pegged at 217 years, EY Assistance Program and Day-care Support
actively continues to champion interventions that Program. Flipkart's Wellness program supports
propel careers of its women employees. This employees through Employee Assistance
includes changes to policy, processes and people Program, Onsite Medical Centre, Onsite Gym,
matters throughout the employee lifecycle. EY’s Emergency Support System. Besides these,
sponsorship program Power-Presence-Purpose Flipkart provides an array of several other benefits
(PPP) focuses on building the women leadership like Higher Education Assistance Program, Meal
pipeline by providing high-potential employees Allowance, Car Lease Program, Salary Advance
access to enriching experiences and opportunities Policy, Concierge/laundry Services etc.
to help them fully develop their potential. Career

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100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

GE India Industrial Pvt. Ltd.

styles, the impact is incredible. That is why they


GE, is committed to Inclusion, it’s embedded in focus on diversity, which leads to different ways of
how the company hires, grows and retains talent! problem solving and creates a highly
collaborative environment.

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
It is called W.O.W - as it’s the Way of Work. Rather
than segmenting people based on their
differences, GE India’s efforts are focused on Goldman Sachs Services Pvt. Ltd.
creating a culture where every employee proudly
brings their whole self to work and is enabled
Goldman Sachs believes that being diverse is not
through structure, policies, systems & facilities, to
an option, it is what we must be. The firm is
achieve their best. The Gender neutral job
committed to making progress in increasing
descriptions attract the best talent and helped
women’s representation across levels. To support
increase external hiring by 5%. The state of the art
this goal, the firm leverages various programs
infrastructure for child care has a Day care for
towards advancement and retention of diverse
babies to toddler on the campus with 100%
talent. A few examples include:
utilization. The parent-child rooms for children of
all ages to put parent employees minds at ease is
Women Emerging in Finance, a strategic
another unique initiative. The Wow Mom program
branding and engagement initiative aimed at
is used by more than 8% of the women workforce
inspiring women students to build careers in the
and not just supports, but celebrates mothers. The
financial sector and possibly within the firm.
company makes sure that employees have the
support system to bring their best selves to work.
Maternity Management Program, a
With a 12-year-old women’s network having 3500
comprehensive program providing holistic
women employees working across 15 cities, there
support to women employees during pregnancy
are endless opportunities to network and leverage
and motherhood.
the platform for their professional growth.

GlaxoSmithKline The Children’s Center, an onsite childcare facility


supporting women post re-integration.
Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
Diversity committees exist to ensure top-down
GSK is a place where outstanding people do support of efforts and are responsible for driving
amazing things. As a science-led global healthcare accountability for important people processes and
company, GSK exists to help people do more, feel decisions. The firm is unequivocally focused on
better, live longer. This special purpose – along providing the opportunities and flexibility to
with their goal of being one of the world’s most sustain a work environment where women are
innovative, best performing and trusted empowered to reach their full potential.
healthcare companies – helps them attract some
of the best and brightest minds in the world. An Harman
important part of trust is for GSK to be a modern
employer. The company believes that every HARMAN Executive Committee has taken another
employee brings something unique and when important step towards strengthening its
they combine their knowledge, experience and employee team, with approval of a formal strategy

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100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

to improve diversity and inclusion across its global Women’s LINC), HCCB is committed to
workforce. Even with a flexi workplace culture diversity and inclusion and is an equal opportunity
accessible to all employees, there was tremendous employer with inclusiveness is one of its
rise in merit promotions for women in managerial core values.
& senior managerial category up to 30%. The
returning mother’s integration back to work was HP Inc.
close to 97% showcasing positive impacts of the
policy for women being able to adjust their hours, HP is committed to a Diverse and inclusive work
telecommute or work remotely. Exclusive wellness environment. Their BIG (Belong, Innovate and
programs & dedicated leadership initiatives, Grow) strategy is a critical component of their
women’s networks and formal mentoring aid Diversity and Inclusion agenda, which focusses on
women employees’ development, succession ‘Making HP the career destination for women”.
planning, talent programs have created platform This includes the organization’s efforts to recruit,
for women to bag high profile, challenging retain and advance women; to provide flexible
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

leadership roles. It has also bumped up the overall work arrangements, paid leave, and other benefits.
gender diversity ratio from the past year. It is critical to HP’s success to create a workplace
where women can bring all of who they are to
Hindustan Coca-Cola work. HP actively promotes a “speak up” culture,
enabling women to have courageous
Beverages Pvt. Ltd. conversations—especially about the unique
challenges they face and about barriers to their
success. Role modelling, along with tackling
unconscious bias in hiring and investing in
programs to widen the pipeline of women in
various job positions, is a part of a well-rounded
strategy for levelling the playing field.

HCCB has certainly earned its place as one of the


largest and most respected, fast moving consumer
goods companies in India and has built an
organization and a community of people where IBM India Pvt. Ltd.
respect, diversity and inclusion are valued every
day. HCCB has made remarkable transformation in Attracting, retaining and developing female talent
2018. Talent Infusion: First factory with 40% is not only essential to IBM’s company culture, it’s
female representation across levels became a business imperative. A number of programs,
operational in 2018. Inclusive Policies: To policies & interventions empower women’s
develop policies, programs and practices to success in IBM. Many focused women leadership
remove barriers and to ensure that the development programs in early, mid and senior
organisation is completely free from levels, women aspiring managers, technical
discrimination or unfairness of any kind (Parenting women, women with executive potential,
Policy, Travel Policy, Day Care Policy, Reasonable contribute to accelerate growth of women in IBM.
Accommodation Policy, Equal Opportunity Policy, Commitment & actions by senior leadership team,
Setting up of BRG's, Sessions around Unconscious Engagement & enablement initiatives by Business
Bias). Also, Business resource group on gender resource groups, education & sensitization on
equality and specific focus on leadership impact of bias on decision making, recognizing
development with respect to women (LIFT, inclusive behaviour in the workplace, contribute

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100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

manager. One of our most popular aspects is the


work from home policy which can be used by an
employee from the day one of joining. Our policy
on prevention, prohibition and redressal of sexual
harassment at workplace puts forward a rather
tight and fool proof policy to deal with any such
offences. There are committees installed to handle
such cases. There are awareness sessions/surveys
around sexual harassment offences being
conducted once in six months and we also have
the external member to visit the organisation
offices so as to ensure that employees are made
to create an inclusive ecosystem which fosters comfortable and aware of processes and avenues
growth of diverse talent. A supportive work to report any concerns that they may have. IBS

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
culture which offers inclusive policies, programs & continues its journey towards bettering its
resources to support and enable smooth processes to ensure that it provides the right and
transition of women returning to work post healthy environment for its women employees.
maternity such as Maternity care program, child
care support, travel assistance for primary
Indegene Pvt. Ltd.
caregiver, flexible work options, access to online
resources parenting, exclusive community for new Indegene commits to providing a congenial
mothers, coach on call, monthly newsletter, environment that nurtures, engages and
webinars for new mothers. empowers women, who form 45% of its
workforce, to craft a fulfilling career. The
IBS Software Pvt. Ltd. company’s innovative policies promote women
empowerment to overcome societal and personal
barriers. To name a few: Power of affinity group
“DIVA” which aims to engage and empower
women through Smart and Self-management
programs. Maternity Act – Celebrates
motherhood and extends the maternity act
benefit to commissioning and adopting mothers
equally. ASH committee – Focuses to build a
culture of high performance and harassment free
environment. Health initiative #MHM – Provides
customized health programs/support for various
milestones in women’s life. Career Development
Policy - Focuses on fair and transparent
performance evaluation and individual
development plan to groom them to take up
leadership role through focused learning journeys.

Infosys Ltd.

IBS Software Private Limited is known to be Infosys’ second career program ‘Restart with
generally an employee friendly organisation, more Infosys’ hired 130+ women in mid and senior
specifically towards women. Flexible work management levels, about 35% of them holding
option - This policy helps women employees to niche and difficult-to-hire skills. The AI Based
choose work for 22.5 hours in a week rather than coaching program for 600 identified high
the otherwise mandated 41.25 hours. An potential women focused on advancing their
Employee is free to choose the same with her careers in technology. Speed Mentoring and

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100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Invesco India Pvt. Ltd.

Invesco is committed to diversity of thought with


an enhanced focus on gender diversity. Achieving
greater gender balance is a cornerstone of its
global efforts to further strengthen diversity and
inclusion in every part of the firm. In support of the
company’s aspiration, Invesco implemented a
Bridge Academy focused on honing the skills of variety of programs focused on engaging,
women in sales facilitating career progression of developing and retaining the many talented
over 30 women. NASSCOM’s Women Wizards Rule women who work for Invesco. The company is
Technology, has provided 200 mid-level women also focused on implementing more robust
with industry mentors in technology. The return to recruitment practices to attract additional women
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

work post maternity initiatives, has increased the into the firm while promoting investment
return to work percentage by 10% as compared management as a career for women in school or
to 2017-18. beginning their careers. Each year, Invesco
Women's Network (IWN) regional chapter
Integra Software Services Pvt. Ltd. members plan and execute activities that help
women employees develop professionally and
personally. With these interventions, Invesco
engages a highly diverse team of people across
the globe who are client-focused, think
differently and draw on a range of backgrounds
and experiences to contribute their
unique perspective.
JSW Steel Ltd.

JSW Steel has a set ambitious plan to increase


Integra is proud that the organization is truly a women’s representation from current 3% to 5% in
diverse one, with diversity at multiple levels. FY 2019-2020. Secondments, opportunities for
Integra is a potpourri of different cultures. There professional development and exposure to other
are employees from most states, spanning the areas of Business. Involvement in projects or roles
length and breadth of India. Diversity is also across that fall outside of a person’s normal duties/work
levels – non-managers to corporate executives. environment; Provision of mentoring and
The company also has diversity in age with coaching when staff are placed in senior positions
employees as young as 20 years to 59 plus again and after completing the JSW’s leadership
across levels. Integra also includes employees who programs, thereby helping to ensure that women
are differently abled and have an equal staff successfully transition to senior roles.
representation of women in the organization. Development of a ‘talent pool’, which would
consist of high potential staff who could be invited
Integra takes pride in being an equal opportunity by senior management to assist with special
employer and believes that by being inclusive and projects or to participate in high-level committees.
diverse, it can bring out the best in each one of us. JSW has incorporated the bell curve approach for
Different cultures, genders, age groups and women returning or proceeding on Maternity
abilities help give a holistic dimension to how we Leave. Future Fit Leadership Program is a
work. The company’s commitment to inclusion is Potential Assessment and Development Program
evident in our recruitment, retention and across JSW Group.
advancement policies and with each passing year Candid Conversations with Leadership of JSW:
we love challenging our own benchmarks! Candid Conversations at JSW is two-way
communication platform. It is a connect platform

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100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Kellogg India Pvt. Ltd.

Kellogg India believes that not only is ‘gender


diversity’ critical for the organisation’s growth but
also the ‘diversity of thought’ for the future of the
thriving community. With a focus on
un-stereotyping and inclusion, the D&I strategy is
wrapped around three key stakeholders –
Consumer, Colleague and Community. On the
to interact with Management and Leadership consumer front, Kellogg seeks the power of its
of JSW. purposeful brands to break gender stereotypes
under the #NourishYourDreams campaign.
Simultaneously, the organisation continued to
K Raheja Corp.

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
provide #BetterDays to women farmers in central
India in the form of training in backyard vegetable
K Raheja Corp, has a zero tolerance for pregnancy cultivation that can provide an additional source
discrimination, be it during promotions or of income as well as nutritious produce. For
increments. The company believes the emotional women resuming post maternity, the organisation
intelligence of women goes a long way in making provides nanny reimbursements, crèche facilities
strategic decisions, in everyday business and also offers mothers an option to travel with
functioning. Aanchal Maternity Support child and caretaker. For women in sales, Kellogg is
Program encompasses initiatives and practices to working to ensure basic infrastructure for them in
support new mothers achieve work-life balance. the market. A consistent enablement of
During maternity leave, the employee is kept sensitization on inclusion continues across all its
updated on any critical developments at the work offices, including its manufacturing units in
place through a friend in the team - My Saheli. Maharashtra & Andhra Pradesh. Further building
Post maternity leave, new mothers are seamlessly the pipelines of high potential talent through
blended back in the environment through leadership programmes (Rising Star) and
initiatives like Crèche facility, reduced work hours mentoring (WOK Match) are some of the
for initial one month and counselling session with key initiatives.
Head HR for re-instating the support of the
Company. This has helped 98% of our women
workforce return to mainstream jobs as against KONE Elevator India Pvt. Ltd.
cases where women extend maternity leave/take
a sabbatical/quit the Company. Flexible Hours: At KONE Diversity and Inclusion is just not a
This has proved to create a smart working priority but is imbibed in the culture, driven from
behaviour and a happy work environment. Our the top reflecting the importance of having equal
trust has resulted in them dedicatedly completing presence at the Leadership table. Women
their working hours, irrespective of the time they employees in KONE take up dynamic roles and are
walk in. Time off work: While most of us work to mostly in-grown through a structured Leadership
provide for a happy lifestyle for ourselves and our Excellence Program run globally and locally as
loved ones, it is crucial to not ignore the well. The company has piloted having women in
importance of taking a break occasionally. front-line sales roles and key roles in the Factory
establishment. The company’s Global Shared
Service centre and Global R&D centre having the
presence in Chennai has over 15% of women
employed in various critical roles in Technology
and Finance domains. Some of the key initiatives
under the D&I program are:

• Flexible working Policy allowing women

65
100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Macquarie Global Services Pvt. Ltd.

Macquarie empowers women employees across


learning, labour and leadership by providing end
to end solution needs to help them achieve their
true potential. To enable them manage multiple
priorities there are multiple avenues including
flexible working, talent interventions, employee
employees pre and post maternity period after lead networking groups. In 2018, on an average
returning 80% of women colleagues availed flexibility
• First to adapt to new Maternity policy by the opportunity. 21% of female colleagues got
Government, besides which KONE also allows promoted to associate director and director level.
women employees to have extended maternity A tie up with day care facility as part of creating
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

leave to settle down support network allowing working parents take


• KONE’s EAP Partner provides exclusive support to care of their kids was established this year. This
Women returning form Maternity and other facility is availed by 10% of the staff. Women
support services through their app based services returnees remains one of the strongest
• KONE India has set up a D&I council headed by proposition across and has seen a significant
HR Director with representation from women up-take from potential candidates. At the same
employees in diverse roles and functions to time well thought through leadership
address and drive key priorities on an interventions, mentoring and development across
on-going basis. levels nurtures women development.
KPMG
Taking a dynamic and unique approach in line
with the business structure and focus areas
particularly on enhancing and building the gender
diversity, over the last few years, KPMG has taken
various measures that help - attract & retain,
develop & grow, and enable & engage women. All
the AM and above roles being hired are now
monitored to ensure that at least 30% joiners are
women. Also programmes like hiring returning
mothers, diversity hiring drives, vendor meets Maersk India
where they are brought on-board with the
diversity focus, gender agnostic policy frameworks Maersk set itself on an exciting journey towards
and more particularly on maternity where Diversity & Inclusion and turned around the
new-mother buddies, subsidized day care, career industry perception about gender role in the
break, agile work options, have all lead to travel industry. Following policies helped the
sustained diversity. Leadership development company in greater inclusion. Building a
programmes specifically aimed at developing supportive ecosystem: Maersk India understood
women at middle to senior management have that its women employee’s requirements and
been well engrained in the organizational culture personal situations are different from each other,
& promoting inclusive leadership. and therefore need to work across these
differences to put a strong support mechanism in
place especially for critical life stages. Creating
enablers: Returning to work after maternity leave
can be a demanding time for an employee. The
‘Return to Work’ policy aims to support women
allowing a phased return with an option to work

66
100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

80% of their weekly hours on full pay for up to 26 that allows new mothers to extend their Maternity
weeks. Tapping the right talent pool: Maersk Leaves with an additional 84 days leave at 50% pay
India launched a so called ‘Back2Work’ program in or work from home with 100% pay. With this, the
2015 for women who have taken a break in their number of employees joining back post maternity
career for maternity or other personal reasons. break increased to 78%.
Back to future: This is a special work internship
program that was launched for returning Mothers,
specifically in the Tech field. The objective was not
only to capitalise the Women talent in tech that
had drained out but also to help them return to
technology after breaks. The program featured
upskilling these women, assigning them mentors
and help them to ramp up for successful returns.
Holiday Experts: Started in 2012, this is a channel

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
Mahindra Susten Pvt. Ltd. for stay-at-home women, mostly mothers who
have left the workforce once they had children. As
of 2018, there are about 1000 holiday experts
Mahindra Susten Pvt. Ltd., believes in empowering
situated all over the country, which contribute to
all employees and encourage their own growth
about 40% of the revenue brought in by the
journeys. Mahindra Susten’s Maternity Leave
holidays’ team. The company is ready to launch
policy offers 28 weeks of paid leave, as against the
the Caregivers policy in 2019. This policy is
statutory 26 weeks. The additionally phased
intended to support women employees who
approach to help female employees transition
travel for work and have a child younger than two
back to work has enabled Susten to champion a
years of age.
100% success rate of women returning from
maternity. Flexitime and work from home also
further cater to the needs of women across the
company, whether parents or otherwise,
encouraging them to attend to other needs
whenever necessary. Flexible work options do not
have any impact on an employee’s compensation,
medical or other benefits or career progression.
The Crèche Policy has made the workplace more
conducive to working parents, encouraging both
male and female employees to use the near-site
child care centres made available. In addition, in
order to ensure safety, Susten has a policy to waive
off hotel rate entitlement limits for women
employees, and provides a cab tie-up to ensure Mastercard Inc.
that all women employees are automatically
entitled to use cab services if they land in a city Mastercard has been making determined efforts
post 10pm. to build a working environment centered on
talent, and actively filters out bias based on
MakeMyTrip (India) Pvt. Ltd. gender, age, disability, ethnicity, or sexual
orientation. Providing an atmosphere where
Recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce is a women feel safe, dignified, respected and valued
more competitive business issue than ever: is a “must have” dimension of our culture to
increasingly, diverse talent reflecting this retain women.
competitive landscape is one of the most critical
factors a business can leverage to consistently Many successful programs include: • Sponsor a Girl
drive successful results. A few of the policies are as Child • Mentoring • Girls4Tech: Girls who code •
mentioned: Maternity Benefits: MMT as a policy Women Leadership Network, Women in

67
100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Technology to the Whole You program has been flexibility, specifically for working mothers with
immensely contributing in driving the Diversity available IT infrastructure can avail flexible shift
and Inclusion commitment leading to an increase timings where they are allowed to manage their
in women diversity ratio from 25.71% in 2015 to shifts. The company provides one time pay out
30% in 2018. Programs that are showing post child birth for employees to cover their
continuous contribution towards a change are: post-natal expenses.
Women who lead: a program designed for
women at leadership level to be groomed for Mindtree Ltd.
senior leadership roles. Take Charge and Women
in Learning Leadership focuses on building and
enhancing skills. Inner Circles: a consistent and
sustainable platform providing a unique
opportunity to network with leadership teams to
take ownership and charge one’s own career
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

development, inspiration to take up new


challenges, exchange of learnings and ideas.

To help meet Mindtree’s gender diversity goal


(35%), talent acquisition initiative has been
pursuing women recruitment target and
achieving 49% campus hires as women for the last
two years. The diversity index launched in 2018-19
is designed to monitor performance against goals.
MetLife Global Operations The MiLady app keeps women on leave
connected with the organization and engages
Support Center Lady Mindtree Minds in several beneficial ways.
The company launched a unique initiative,
MetLife is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and is Unconscious Bias Training, with ‘men as
committed to creating an environment where all advocates’, where business leaders sensitize
associates can contribute to the fullest of their others on unconscious bias towards gender. Our
abilities. They focus on three components to policies and practices are oriented towards
encourage effective work life balance, creating an supporting working mothers, and Mindtree is
employee focused support structure and recognized for its stance on this imperative. All the
promoting diversity and inclusion. They run locations have childcare facilities, either onsite or
dedicated “Diversity Hiring” drives to improve offsite. Significant investment has been made to
women ratio in the organization. Women offer day care services for children of our
Empowerment’ (WE) forum is yet another area that employees in all Mindtree locations at close
they focus on providing solid foundation to quarters. IFC, a World Bank organization,
nurture inner strength, creativity and self-esteem conducted a detailed study of our childcare
of the women employees. With multiple Initiatives facilities and published a case study in 2018.
like Executive trainings, grooming sessions,
Leadership speak, Health & wellness sessions, and
Women’s Day celebrations, the group has set high
standards. This platform, for our employees in
Noida, and Jaipur has helped develop strong
personalities and future leaders. To ensure

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100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Mondelez India Pvt. Ltd. Mphasis Ltd.

Mondelez India - a 70 year old young organization Mphasis being a technology company not only
believes in giving diversity of every form a seat at believes in transforming itself using the front to
the table. Through active Inclusion we leverage back, holistic strategy, but also believes that it is
diversity and embrace diverse perspectives in crucial to invest in its number one resources
business decisions. The key focus is to ensure a ‘People’. It is this philosophy that has led to a
‘level playing field’ for all employees, where every number of refinements and process changes in
unique individual is given equal opportunities. our entry level recruitment model that has led to
Progressive parenting policy, Gender agnostic an increase in the gender ratio going up to an
POSH and flexi work policies and focus on average of 48%. The efforts to support and induct
succession planning establish Mondelez’s intent second career women also paid off with the first
of equal work relationships. At Mondelez India, batch that got inducted. With focus on mentoring

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
every day is a women’s day! Our commitment is women for senior level positions well on the way,
visible in the manufacturing facility at Sri City – AP the company’s efforts are definitely channelized
with 48% Gender Diversity and their Cocoa Life towards creating an environment for women
Programme that has impacted over 1000 women employees that will not only encourage them to
across Southern states. With a 30% gender join Mphasis but also create an ecosystem that will
diversity at Leadership level we make sure both consistent help and support them grow both
ends of the spectrum are well represented. professionally and well as personally.
Mondelez’s journey of I&D has just begun but here
to stay and impact India at a social and MSD Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd.
economic level.

Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley’s commitment to a diverse


workforce and an inclusive corporate culture
extends throughout the organization. The journey
towards strengthening representation of women
in their workforce has been holistically driven to
ensure that they build a workplace that inspires all
the employees to build their careers at the firm.
MSD India continually endeavors to provide the
Business leaders have clear goals and are
best-in-class practices for its female employees.
committed to this vision making this is a business
The company focuses on creating a conducive
priority. From focused hiring drives to tailored
ecosystem for its development. The initial focus
development programs and Employee Networks,
was on improving the representation of women in
Morgan Stanley offers a wide array of
the workforce and MSD strived to develop women
opportunities to foster a culture of collaboration
both in sales and non-sales roles for leadership
and growth. Morgan Stanley’s Return to
and managerial positions.
Work program enables experienced women
professionals on a career break, to return to the
MSD also focuses on resource groups like MWN
workforce and take on roles that complement
(MSD Women’s Network) as a catalyst to drive
their skillset and experience. In alignment to its
change throughout the organization. The MWN
core values, the Firm partners with local nonprofits
consists of a cross functional team of women
to promote health, nutrition and sanitation
colleagues who meet regularly to plan and
practices benefitting underprivileged women
execute various initiatives and activities.
and children.

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100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Some of the policies that enable more diverse and


inclusive work environment are:
• Higher referral bonuses
• Work life balance through flexible work
environment
• Child care leaves like Maternity & Paternity leave,
Adoption leave, Maternity reintegration
• Safety and wellbeing initiatives like targeted
health and wellness programs, late night work
policy (WIP), Anti-sexual harassment policy
Myntra Jabong India Pvt. Ltd.
Benefits for expecting and returning mothers,
Project Sanjhi focusing on menstrual hygiene, a
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

gender neutral adoption leave policy and Work


From Home policy, all go a long way in building
the right ecosystem. Complementing this is the
journey of mind-sets, as the organization focuses
on unconscious bias awareness for employees
across levels. Nestlé has of one of the highest
Myntra Jabong has always been a champion of number of women in the field force in the
diversity in the organisation. In the last year, some industry, a result of focussed efforts which include,
of the key initiatives to promote diversity have sanitation facilities at distribution points,
been: Women in the warehouse – Myntra identification of safe territories, enhanced travel
focused on women-centric hiring in our entitlements and, sensitization trainings for hiring
warehouses with the goal of increasing the managers. A culturally and geographically diverse
percentage of women from 10% to 20%; 18% is organization, Nestlé is over a 100 old organization
currently achieved. The company ensures only day with a heart of a millennial.
shifts for women, female changing rooms and at
least four female guards at all times in the Netmagic IT Services Pvt. Ltd.
warehouse. Happy Boys - Myntra Jabong is an
equal opportunity employer; one of the initiatives Netmagic has flexi work policy for employees and
is the programme for specially-abled employees in no deduction on account of late coming or early
the warehouses, where they are employed, trained going. The organization has demonstrated five
and provided with the opportunities they deserve. most important qualities of being a women
Latitude - In terms of diversity in thinking, Myntra centric company. They are: Accessible, Responsive,
launched an international experience programme Empathetic, Cohesive and Nimble. Apart from that
in which interns from different universities joined the company has a work from home policy
us in Supply Chain, Technology and Finance. They whenever employees are required to be at home
were selected from over 100 candidates and for elder care, child care, and family member’s
underwent a cross-cultural training, mentoring illness. Some of the signature interventions
sessions with business leads, and a customer especially for women work force are: • pinkathon
immersion programme. participation • Cancer awareness programs
Nestlé India Ltd. organised for women employees • Self defence
programs for women employees • Pampering
With ‘Respect for Diversity’ being one of its four programs for women employees – SPA • Weekly
core values, Nestlé India is committed to be an Zumba and Yoga session • Free coupons for
equal opportunity employer. An organization that various health check-ups. • Free Annual Health
is driven by purpose and guided by values, Nestlé Check-ups for employees.
continuously works towards building a conducive
ecosystem all its employees. Pre & Post Maternity Clear and concise succession planning has not

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100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

only identified the potential of women employees


but has also given them opportunity to
take up new roles and responsibilities.
Periodic orientation of women employees on
POSH through various mediums such as email,
training, posters and so on for an enhanced safety
and women empowerment.

Nielsen India Pvt. Ltd.


Nielsen leadership belief continues to be
followed by flexible working options • 6 months
"Diversity and inclusion are crucial to Nielsen's
Adoption Leave • Reduced working hours for
growth, strength, and ability to innovate." Nielsen
pregnant associates and nursing mothers • Need
continues to build on these principles and is
based Work from Home (no upper cap) • Part-time

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
moving from strength to strength. The focus on
working • POSH • Unlimited sick leave
Women and diversity in general are pillars that
• Women-oriented programs: Pre-maternity
have evidence of making a direct impact on the
preparedness and Pinkathons.
performance of any organisation. At Nielsen, the
policies for hiring, retention, motivation,
professional development and safety are built and Omega Healthcare
are being improved regularly keeping in mind this Management Services Pvt. Ltd.
focus. These policies benefit women across levels
and strengthen not only in the leadership roles
but also opens up avenues of employment that
were till recently dominated by men (e.g., data
acquisition). Keeping in mind the requirements of
women at different life stages, the company
continues to support them with policies related to
work from home, flexi timings, extended maternity
leave etc. These are extensively supported by our
men as leaders and as people managers.
Novartis Healthcare Pvt. Ltd.
At Omega, there are various policies to support
Novartis, Hyderabad has always believed and is women: Training and development – Exclusive
championing an inclusive work environment that modules for women help them to build their
fosters potential and connects aspirations with confidence and hone skills for leadership roles.
opportunities. Here is a snapshot of The training approach is a blend of counselling,
women-oriented strategies designed and classroom and computer-based training to suit
successfully implemented in the organization: the learning curve of each individual. SheWorks is
Hiring: • Diversity hiring drives • 30% resume slate a unique intervention where women employees
for each leadership hiring • Driving Manager get short bursts of learning opportunities. These
accountability through performance modules are interactive. Participants can also ask
management in building diversity. Development: questions to a counsellor. Maternity Leave – 82%
• A one-year multi-modular program for high employees return to work after maternity leave
potential women associates – Accelerated because of the conducive work culture. There is
Development Program. It involves a course at support for them to re-join in the form of
IIM-B, mentoring, stretch assignments and much extended leaves and job assurance. POSH
more • Discussions on career growth opportunities Employees internalize POSH through classroom
for high-potential female talent in every talent training, e-learning, posters, intranet
review discussion Women friendly policies. communication coupled with a number of
Engagement: • 6 months Maternity Leave, refresher training. Employee engagement – In

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100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

addition to the opportunities to participate in all PayPal India Pvt. Ltd.


company events, women have exclusive programs
available for them to display their expertise
and skills.

Optum Global Solutions

PayPal values people and diversity & inclusion is at


the foundation of everything we do. It fuels the
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

purpose to build a fair, safe and inclusive financial


network to enable full participation. More than
400+ women were hired in 2018 through various
channels and 30 women were hired through our
flagship Recharge program in the past 3 years.
Industry recognized Zinnov Award for Gender
Diversity at the workplace is a testimony to our D&I
commitment. Be it flexible work policies or
While there is a healthy diversity ratio in the programs designed we aim to create a supportive
organization which is representative of the talent work environment. Facilities like an in-house
market, Optum has taken steps towards putting Gynaecologist or transport arrangements for
together a plan for creating a more gender diverse expectant mothers, PayPal goes the extra mile to
workforce and also rooting out any challenges maintain the welfare of our women colleagues.
that the company may face in this journey. The Girls in Tech program, which focuses on
Detailed analysis is done at the demographic level providing hands-on experience and
to understand the ratios of career advancement, understanding of technology to get young girls
women representation across all sites, interested in Science, Technology, Engineering
representation across all levels in the organization. and Mathematics (STEM) education are initiatives
This detailed analysis helps supporting women designed to deliver on our commitment to being
colleagues through flexible work options, a truly diverse and inclusive organization. Since
coaching and mentoring support, leadership the inception, Paypal has touched the lives of
preparedness through programs like Manager more than 60 plus girl children from the nearby
ALPHA, a 48 months development journey for government schools.
women (and men) colleagues to advance through
their people leaders journey, EDP (preparing People Combine -
employees for a global enterprise senior leader Nord Anglia Education - India
role), ELP etc. Almost 400 (18% of all managers)
women managers have undergone these People Combine is proud for the recognition it has
managerial development programs. Care Nine, received as one of the 100 Best Companies for
our Maternity support program, is an award Women in India consecutively for the three
winning program certified by World HRD editions by Working Mother Media & Avtar.
Congress. The program ensures that expecting Fulfilling the core vision of the organization ‘Be
mothers in the organization have access to best in Ambitious’, the policies designed and revamped
class doctors, nutritionist, physiotherapist, focus on providing career enhancement and
psychologists etc. Self-defence workshops are support with work-life balance. In 2018, Maternity
regularly conducted across the organization to leave extension up to one year was availed by 20
empower and train women employees to deal women, Segment specific Training and
with unforeseen situations. Development cell budget increased by 10%, 70%

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100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

the flexibility of choosing their location. Creating


an ecosystem for women to thrive is equally
important at PepsiCo with “Men as Allies”
programs, sponsored mentoring opportunities
and creating women’s affinity groups.

Procter & Gamble


of COOL Club participants were women wherein Diversity & Inclusion is an integral part of the P&G
women form 36% mentors, 25% women moved DNA and critical to growth. For employees,
up to chief executive level. 100% tuition fee waiver bringing to life the D&I strategy means
for academic staff, tenure incentive, flexible recognizing that each employee is truly unique.
timings and work from remote places increased by Bringing together individuals from different

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
two-fold. Day care centres across all office backgrounds, cultures, working and thinking
locations, comprehensive Performance styles, provides remarkably different talents, career
management system, free Food and Transport experiences and life perspectives for all. Over the
system availed by 90% of employees, nationwide last year, two key initiatives, Flex@work and Men
dependent care discounts, health wellness camps Advocating Real Change (MARC) had a large focus.
for women helped happy women employees Flex@work is designed to intentionally drive a
across locations. culture change around flexibility to enable all
PepsiCo India Holdings Ltd. employees to be fully engaged by supporting
work-life integration, empowering employees to
personalize their schedules directly with their
managers. 75% of women utilized a flex@work
arrangement over 2018, including Work from
home, Flex hours and personal leave of absence.
MARC was launched in India last year to engage
men as full partners in achieving gender equality
inside and outside P&G.

PTC Software (India) Pvt. Ltd.


Winning with Diversity & Inclusion is a key priority
at PepsiCo India Region and one of the key pillars Creating an inclusive and diverse workplace is vital
towards this is supporting working parents. to the business strategy and culture at PTC, an
PepsiCo has onsite and near-site day-care options, importance that is recognized by everyone
where in all women can reimburse 100 percent throughout the company. From President & CEO
amount in lieu of the day care facility until the age Jim Heppelmann, who joined a group of over 500
of three years. Working parents are supported other CEOs in signing the CEO Action for Diversity
through the day-care facilities as well as “Bring & Inclusion pledge to advance inclusion and
your child to work” policy to help when support diversity in the workplace, to ERGs that recognize
system fails and summer camp programs to and celebrate differences in the individual
engage children. Processes at PepsiCo including identities, to creating flexibility to promote a
performance evaluation, succession planning and positive work/life balance, the organization works
Rewards ensure gender bias is tackled head-on to to celebrate and support the exclusive
consistently provide equitable pay and career competencies each PTC employee brings to work
growth opportunities. PepsiCo has also taken work every day. By harnessing the ‘Brains and Passion’ of
flexibility policy (flexibility in time or in location) to diverse employees, PTC is taking a fresh look at the
the next level, via Location Free Roles policy. best practices and provide opportunities to
continue to excel as a technology leader. The
This enables PepsiCo to further leadership focus this year is to encourage a more
aspirations of women to take up global Roles from inclusive workforce.

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100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Publicis Sapient and two weeks for tubectomy operation. Further,


our paternity leave is valid for adoption as well.
Preferential cab facility for women is offered in the
Fostering an environment that encourages third trimester of pregnancy, where women
constant learning and development, Sapient employees can take a company reimbursed
supports women employees’ career journeys personal air-conditioned cab. Through the Crèche
through meaningful partnerships and Benefit Policy, PwC has empanelled quality
opportunities. From mentorship programs, childcare centres near the offices across cities with
exposure to leading industry events, skill building 50% of the fee/ INR7500 (whichever is lower)
initiatives, women led hackathons, to presenting subsidy. The flagship programme ‘Full circle’ -
in conferences, women employees are provided gives women colleagues the opportunity to take a
with a safe and caring environment to experiment, break from work for up to three years for childcare.
learn and grow. Women employees also benefit There is a cohort of 150 directors and above level
from the plethora of internal & external leadership identified as Inclusion Champions, who facilitate
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

development programs that help broaden the performance and promotion moderation
perspective and connect better with our clients discussions as they undergo extensive training to
and teams. The company also takes pride in the provide bias-free and objective inputs. All
fact that 98.8% of women employees return to maternity returnees are exempted from the bell
work after their maternity break and this is curve during performance appraisal.
catalysed by an enabling environment which
includes flexible working arrangements, focused Qualcomm India Pvt. Ltd.
connection and support on integrating them
back. Parents benefit from a robust maternity
leave policy complete with 26 weeks off full pay
(after a birth, adoption, or surrogacy), subsidized
day care centres, medical insurance for
dependents, same-sex and live-in partners.
Overall, a safe, nurturing work environment and
focus on wellness provides our women a
conducive environment to thrive, making Publicis
Sapient a great place to build a career
for everyone. Qualcomm Pvt. Ltd. Diversity, and the creativity it
brings, is a vital anchor of business at Qualcomm.
PwC India To further the D&I agenda, the company has built
a four-pillar strategy to Hire, Develop, Advance
and Retain more women in India built on the
strong underpinning of creating a more Inclusive
workplace. The “Hire” pillar includes initiatives like
recruiter training for specialized sourcing and
sensitization around unconscious bias. Monthly
D&I dashboards underscore the importance of
diversity hiring. The “Develop” pillar offers
tailor-made development opportunities for
women at different career stages, ranging from
PwC is committed to creating a workplace that is “Impact the Outcome” series for younger women
inclusive and supportive of developing women to “DAWN”, an immersive development journey
talent by creating conditions for them to feel for our leaders. The “Advance” pillar focuses on
empowered at every important life stage. In ensuring parity in progression by educating
2018-2019, 40% of our employees used flexible managers & leaders. The mentoring platforms
work options. In addition to the 26-week maternity (Q-rise for mid-levels and Saqhi for entry-levels)
leave and adoption leave, there is a six-week leave provide unique opportunities for mentorship by
for women employees who undergo miscarriages leaders. The “Retain” pillar offers initiatives for

74
100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

better support for expectant and returning Renault Nissan Technology &
mothers to arrest attrition. Q-flex programs, Child
Care Support, Employee Assistance Programs and Business Centre India Pvt. Ltd.
progressive leave policies also provide support for
working mothers. QWomen, the company’s RNTBCI, has crafted and implemented the
empowered women’s networks offer platforms for following programs for women career
networking, engagement. enablement. Women in Leadership (Infinity,
Catalyst, and Journey to top, ILDP) initiatives are
Raychem RPG Pvt. Ltd. imparted through mentoring & coaching, learning
from successful leaders, to develop a strong
women leader pipeline which helped improve the
base from 7 to 8%. Career Acceleration (Career
restart, Career integration, Maternity & Child care)
programmes provides enthralling platform to

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
pursue their Career aspirations while managing
work-life harmony. These resulted in improving
gender diversity by 190 women employees of
which 5% are Career restart and we were able to
retain 98% women employees who went on ML.
Women@RNTBCI initiatives (Women achiever
Initiatives that have been crafted under the award, Mother Board, Knowledge café, Product
Acquire-Develop-Motivate-Involve-Retain- learning, Wellness, EAP) helps to recognize and
Empower (ADMIRE) framework at Raychem motivate performers, affinity group to co-learn,
include - Acquire: Consciously working towards know the product to be at par with male
attaining a healthy gender diversity ratio. colleagues and stay physically and mentally fit to
Develop: Nurture a learning organization creating progress in their career.
several avenues for skill enhancement and
development. Motivate: To ensure rational and Shell India Markets Pvt. Ltd.
emotional engagement of women several policies
have been designed to help them progress in their
career, attain a healthy work-life balance and
seamlessly transcend through life-changing
experiences. Involve for active and productive
participation in the workforce, they comprehend
the needs and aspirations of women and seek
their involvement when defining policies that
matter to them. Retain: a key outcome of all the
interventions and initiatives planned towards
gender diversity, is the retention of women Shell's core philosophy around balance means
employees. At Raychem, attrition analysis is better, bringing ones' whole self to workplace, and
conducted every month to understand trends and creating a safe culture of Inclusion that allows
corrective actions are sought. Empower: They people to achieve their fullest potential is
provide an environment that provides equal reflected as part of the policy portfolio.
opportunities for growth for men and women. At Administering them with care and fairness have
Raychem, 10.5% of women workforce are at GM created a unique employee value proposition and
roles and above and part of the top & critical talent acted as a trust-based choice for every staff.
pool. In the last financial year, 10% of the Polices around various flexible work
promotions were women employees. 11% of new arrangements, customizable child care support
hires at the company are women employees, and and zero tolerance towards safety & security help
18% of the total number is women at the shop further the cause. Last year 11% of our staff used
floor. 8.5% of women were moved to larger the remote work policy and 12% of availed child
roles internally. care support and maternity benefit.

75
100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Collaborative efforts between visible leadership leaders managing two business verticals, was
and vibrant employee network acts as a major unheard of and has been achieved with conscious
enabler in driving a culture of Inclusion within efforts. Gender network has been strengthened to
the organization. develop junior level management women so they
get visibility and growth. Today, women
Societe Generale employees have a voice and are confident to
Global Solutions Center speak up in case they have issues. Sodexho has
created multiple ICCs in different regions, so
sexual harassment cases are looked into and
closed with urgency. Sodexo India did pay parity
analysis for the first time and have highlighted
regions where there was disparity and corrected
the same.
Sony Pictures Networks
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

India Pvt. Ltd.

The organization’s efforts on building gender


diversity focusses on hiring and developing
women Leaders, across all seniority, internally.
Since inception in early 2017, Socieite has
improved the gender ratio from 18% to 23% at the
Senior Leaders (top 2.5% of the organization) and
moved the overall gender ratio to 28%. The
organization launched “Women in IT” (WIT) Focused leadership development interventions
program to provide women technologists like 360 feedbacks, Pivot-up, Live Your Dream etc.
connect, learn and inspire each other and provide and dedicated sessions with the CEO and senior
them access to external platforms to have network leadership for mentoring emerging women
and share thoughts. The program has an impact leaders, has ensured there is a strong leadership
on 1000 odd workforce of WIT at SGGSC. Speed pipeline of women talent who can assume
mentoring is a unique platform for women staff to leadership roles. Equal weightage is given to all
receive advices on their career development and women employees during the talent review
progression from established Mentors within process (succession planning, high potential and
organization. The staffs are also provided with Day critical talent identification), resulting in 50% of
care benefit for children aged between 6 to 15 our high potential employees being women.
months at an external facility easily accessible Women employees are encouraged to attend
from the office so women can continue their networking forums, external workshops and avail
career with, post maternity. Education Assistance benefits for professional
development. The women employees are entitled
Sodexo On-site services to an enhanced maternity benefit (for birth,
adoption and surrogacy) and free of cost near-site
Sodexo has mandated laptops for all employees crèche facility across all locations. The
so they are able to work flexi time and remote organization also provides infrastructural support
work. Almost all our regular employees have taken for expecting and new mothers including
this facility for various reasons. Sodexo has preferred parking slots and mother’s room. The
improved its gender balance over 4% in the last medical insurance program also has infertility
two years which has been achieved only after related treatment costs as part of the cover.
massive exercise considering the company has Women employees can go on maternity break
over 45,000 active employees. Two women stress free since there are temporary replacements

76
100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

are made during their leave period as well track


the returning mothers and ensure that they return
to the same role post their break. 100% of the
women employees utilize the Flexible working
policy to manage priorities at work and home. In
addition, there is a stringent Anti-Sexual
Harassment policy, and conduct regular
awareness campaigns around it.

Standard Chartered Bank PLC

Standard Chartered Bank, has a unique initiative working practices, to extended maternity benefits,
for signing up Women in Finance charter thereby GBS has always stood up for gender equality

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
pledging for women to occupy 30% of leadership practices at work. GBS also has extensive
roles by 2020. Today, 28% of the leadership is workshops on tackling ‘Unconscious Bias’ for all
women and there are women CEO’s in five big People managers to inculcate diversity and
markets, India being one. In 2019, SCB ran inclusion at work. Wanting to capitalise on the
Group-wide training on minimizing unconscious talent that women bring to leadership, GBS has
bias, and have trained around 800 plus people women leadership mentoring and coaching
managers in India. SCB recently launched Fair Pay programs along with ‘SheReturns’ - a unique
Charter, which reinforces rewarding colleagues platform for women to get back to workforce after
that is free from discrimination including any a sabbatical. As a part of our CSR agenda, we also
gender bias. promote ‘Goal program’ which works towards
providing adolescent girls with the confidence,
Closer home in India, the Bank has an employee and knowledge for better employability
friendly and market competent policies like six opportunities. There are also awareness sessions
months fully paid maternity leave for over 10 years on ‘Prevention of Sexual Harassment’ and
now. SCB was the first in the industry to have self-defence workshops in addition to adequate
introduced day care facilities across three metro security and transport facility for women working
locations. The Bank’s in house resource group deferred shifts.
‘Women India Network’ has been instrumental in
organizing sessions with senior leaders on Target Corporation India
inclusiveness, hosted three rounds of ‘speed Pvt. Ltd.
mentoring’ session covering around 200 women
staff who met senior leaders. Finally, SCB launched Embracing the fact that the team members have
Women Talent Cohort in 2019 – a curated responsibilities outside of work, drives us to
program for selected women in junior to middle empower them with benefits to help them
management who will be taken through a suite of maintain a healthy work-life balance. Flexible
soft skills training, self-profiling tools and multiple shifts and working options are available
mentoring sessions – thereby being provided with for team members, as per their needs. Working
a conducive and positively challenging parents can utilize benefits such as day-care, to
environment to excel at what they do. help them be their best selves at work. Learning is
key to the organization - Team members can take
Standard Chartered
up a course that helps them upskill, with 100% of
Global Business Services Pvt. Ltd. the tuition fees reimbursed by Target. Being a
career intentional company, we’ve always
Standard Chartered GBS has ‘diversity, inclusion encouraged lateral movements. We saw 41% of
and respect for all’ as its core values and its women team members move into new roles in the
commitment to promoting equality at workplace; past year. Leadership programs like Ignite and
is evidenced by the many women centric policies eMIP were conceived with a goal of creating a
and support programs that it has. From flexible stronger women leadership pipeline and are

77
100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

continuing to work towards that. Target is an


equal opportunity employer that believes
differences are the greatest strength.

Tata Communications Ltd.


campuses, NGOs, organizations that help women
start their second careers. The organization
Tata Communication’s flagship diversity &
supports women through various women friendly
inclusion program- The Winning Mix- a strategic
policies. Initiatives such as hiring of second career
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

initiative to work with a diverse and collaborative


women, pioneering implementation of five-day
workforce enabling creative thinking,
work week, 6.5 months’ maternity leave
better decision making, operational excellence
(introduced since 2012), clearly defined shift
and innovation.
timings, safe travel arrangements, women specific
leadership development programs and child care
Since its inception the Program has bought to life
assistance have been instrumental in creating
many cutting edge practices: The Global
culture of warmth for the female employees.
Caregiving Policy (2017), is a six-month paid leave
These are also other enablers that have been
for primary caregivers – female or male. The global
instituted for women to be able to juggle
flexi-work offering includes work from home, and
seamlessly between family and work. Flexible
part-time work and training programs for
employment model has helped in attracting and
managers to be active champions of the flexible
retaining talent, especially women. This is also
work culture. The offering has been enhanced
helping the women partners to switch between
with LEAP – Life Event Assistance Program – an
flexible and full time roles based on their life cycle
intelligent ecosystem designed to support
needs, thereby helping them to continue their
primary/secondary caregivers during critical life
career journey without break.
events, like parenthood and childcare, through
customised support, resource centres,
confidential counselling and larger community
Tech Mahindra
network access–to help them navigate this
journey smoothly. Since the launch of the Tech Mahindra believes in being 'intentionally
program, Tata Communications saw an increase in diverse' which essentially means that the
women representation from 16% in Mar’14 to organization practises inclusiveness in all aspects
23.4% in Jul’19. of diversity – right from gender and sexuality to
generation and ideation. Tech Mahindra’s sharp
Tata Starbucks Pvt. Ltd. and sustained focus on diversity is what makes the
associates bring their true selves to work. This year
Tata Starbucks is committed to upholding a the company has reached new milestones in D&I
culture where diversity is valued and respected. initiatives. Sexual Reassignment Surgery (SRS)
Through the 6-year journey, the company has Policy: Employees planning to undergo SRS are
grown in gender diversity from 16% in FY 14 to helped by Tech Mahindra at every step.
30% and are continuously striving to bring more 30 calendar days of paid time-off is granted to
women representation in the organization. We them. The company ensures a smooth transition
aim to take the organization’s female diversity rate and accommodates any request. Same sex
to around 40% by 2022. Tata focuses on achieving partner insurance: Understanding the need for
equal representation at the hiring stage itself by insurance for loved ones, policy has been framed
tapping special women centric sources such as to extend insurance to same sex partners. All
women hotel management or educational employees insure their partners against any

78
100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

untoward accidents. Sex reassignment surgery


cover: The company reimburses a major part of
the expenses of SRS to help our employees. the same medical insurance policy. Same-sex
partners are also covered in this policy. TWI offers

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
Thales India Pvt. Ltd. insurance cover for the first three kids and has
tie-ups for discounted consultation, diagnosis and
Leadership Excellence: This is a leadership scans. The company also has an EAP program in
program targeted at mid-level managers who lead place for all employees, wherein employees can
other managers. An extension of GLB, GLE get any sort of advice or counselling (financial,
program focuses on essential business and people legal etc) in extreme confidentiality. There have
management skills through training and best been so many instances when women employees
practices sharing. Leadership Basics is a program were hired during the last trimester of their
designed for first time, first line managers to help pregnancies and later given them all the support.
them build their leadership skills in line with the A safe and harassment-free workplace is a critical
company’s values – customers, people and factor for all employees especially women and
innovation. Mentoring Program: This Program is increases productivity. ThoughtWorks India
a leadership development program focusing on Non-Harassment and Prevention of Sexual
high potentials who have the potential to grow Harassment in the workplace policy is customized
into regional roles. 15 such high potentials are with e-learning modules, induction program
selected as Mentees to join this program and sessions, poster campaigns etc. The policy is not
paired with Mentors from the senior management gender specific and covers men, women and the
in Asia. The mentor acts as a guide and a LGBTQI community members.
confidante, which allows the mentee to discuss his
fears and doubts without any inhibition. This US Technology
program is one of the key drivers of our International Pvt. Ltd.
culture of “Promotion from within”. Executive
Workshop: This program focuses on engaging
UST Global is recognized as a brand where
and training senior management on specific
diversity and inclusion are imperatives, ensuring
topics that relate to the current business issues
diversity not only in its workforce but also in its
and trends in the market.
culture and values. With a workforce from diverse
cultural backgrounds, UST has an inclusive festival
ThoughtWorks
calendar, celebrating 3 to 4 festivals for each
Technologies India Pvt. Ltd. region across the nine centers in India. UST also
introduced sign language in the video series -
TWI has the maternity policy of 180 days and also ’60 Seconds’, a video highlight of organizational
offers a lot of flexibility in working arrangements events, to ensure active engagement of its
post that. Options of using annual leave, LOA, differently-abled workforce.
part-time working are available to employees. The
Medical insurance policy also provides a lot of Through focused self-paced D&I eLearning
benefits to the mothers and the new-born. The courses and encouragement of C-level executives
transgender employees are also covered under to sponsor/drive D&I initiatives, employees across

79
100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

regions continue to take an active ambassador


role organically ensuring improvement in women exercise flexible work options. Our
awareness and a cultural shift towards an TechMakers (Women in tech program) helps in
inclusive environment. advancing their careers through shared learning,
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

UST also ensures diversity of thought among its mentoring and development opportunities
associates through the annual technology provided internally and externally. Women wizard
conference, SHEROES partnership and rule tech initiative additionally focusses on skill
Women Unlimited forum giving them a transformation. The succession model driven by
platform to engage with customers and industry Talent council (comprising of leaders) enhances
thought leaders. capability, creates visibility and sponsorship for
ValueLabs LLP the top talent. Continuous coaching helps them
by means of projects and shadow the leader
ValueLabs as an organization offers a range of program. Bold conversations are encouraged
facilities for its women employees to help them through “Makers & aspiration” series. Diversity
excel in their professional and personal realms. summit is centered on the theme “I stand for
The programs, policies and initiatives that are inclusion” involved 4000+ employees across
functional across ValueLabs are institutionalized levels. Safety, support practices like Employee
with the core objective of empowering women Assistance Program (EAP), Ethics helpline, ICC,
and provide supportive facilities that enables moveinsync, zero harassment at Verizon create a
women's working day better by taking care of progressive environment for women to thrive and
minor issues that are generally faced by them. A grow in their career.
summary of few of our best policies, programs and
initiatives are: Well-structured policy for Sexual Walmart India Pvt. Ltd.
Harassment at workplace; Laptops are provided to
women employees to help them connect from Walmart India is committed to attracting, retaining
home; Cab services at odd times for a safer and advancing women at workplace by
commute back home; Extended maternity supporting their professional goals and
benefits to help new mothers bond better with aspirations. Programs and policies, learning and
the newly born child; Provision for dispensing and growth opportunities, initiatives and celebrations,
disposing off sanitary products in safe and healthy all with their unique work-streams have together
way; Accelerated Career Program – For fast track translated into meaningful actions. The Culture,
career growth. Diversity & Inclusion (CDI) Office strengthens
awareness on culture and nurtures a diverse and
Verizon India (Verizon Data inclusive environment and works with the
Services India Pvt. Ltd.) Women’s Resource Council (WRC) to drive:
Develop, Retain & Advance Women; Attract
With growing focus on business and Female Talent; Promote Inclusion; and Invest in
technology transformation, Verizon India has Women Externally.
intensified measures to create an inclusive
environment that fosters innovation through Maternity Benefit of 26 weeks of leave at the time
diverse talent. The company is witnessing a net of maternity, Flexi-Work Options and Sabbatical
growth of 1% women talent every year. 96% Leave provides opportunities to employees to

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100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

maintain a healthy work-life balance. Childcare


support in our Best Price Stores and tie-ups with
crèches outside the office premises are also
benefiting returning mothers. With zero-tolerance
policy, our Anti-Sexual Harassment Policy provides
an environment free from all forms of
sexual harassment.

Network (WTMN) focusses on strengthening


women team members’ value through support,
network and learning interventions for young
professional, professional mother, mid-to-senior
management and women in leadership.

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
Western Digital

Externally, through projects supported by Walmart


and Walmart Foundation to train women in
agriculture, factories, and focus on increasing
diversity in the supply chain, Walmart’s Women’s
Economic Empowerment Initiative is significantly
expanding opportunities for women. Through
‘Women Entrepreneurship Development
program’ launched in 2016, Walmart has trained
nearly 150 women owned businesses. Western Digital India has a vision of having a
gender fair organization, where men and women
Wells Fargo EGS (India) Pvt. Ltd. are equal contributors to the business. Starting
from our executives to our entry-level employees,
Acknowledging the need to build a conducive
the management strongly believes that only if all
environment for new mothers, the maternity
stand together the organization can accomplish
management program ensures support to the
what it wishes to. Innovation is fundamental to the
expectant team member pre- and post-maternity.
Organization and it is believed that there is no way
The features include reporting manager
one could do it unless the organization cultivates
sensitization, special cab privileges, reserved car
a culture of inclusiveness, where different
parking, convenient work station, mothers' room,
perspectives are shared and respected. All the
work from home options and options to avail
policies, whether it is about leaves, work
counselling. This includes day Care/Crèche
arrangements or compensation, are fair and
Facility childcare reimbursement. Glide - Career
equitable. It is ensured that there is a five-Pronged
Continuity Program for Women is a highly
Strategy- Hire, Engage, Develop, Network and
customized offering for women returning to the
Retain align with our objectives and goals.
workplace designed to upskill technical
Through strategies, an ecosystem is created where
competence, build soft skills, impart knowledge of
people have a sense of belonging as soon as they
business perspectives, provide knowledge transfer
join the organization and they continue to grow
through a structured program, monitor
and develop. Western Digital takes pride in its
performance to assess gaps and overcome
initiatives, to consistently work towards achieving
challenges, frequent feedback (initial 6 months),
the overall vision.
mentorship through networks/buddy systems and
opportunities through leadership connect
sessions. The strong Women’s Team Member

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100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Wipro Ltd. we launched to enable women in tech on a career


break to transition to work and be the
amazing technologists they’ve always been. WM
At Wipro, inclusion is about integrating diversity encourages the women community to be a part of
effortlessly into everyday working; encouraging all external events, leverage industry forums to
to participate and be their authentic selves. An showcase their expertise and leadership. In
inclusive workplace respects uniqueness among addition to it, the management motivates them to
individuals and nurtures an overall sense of contribute extensively towards internal events
belonging. Wipro has been built on an unflinching such as Mélange, the Annual Diversity Event and
commitment to values, better known as the Wonder Coders. Every quarter, there are sessions
“Spirit of Wipro”. These values are the cornerstone titled ‘Wow talk’ and ‘Wow Learn’ where an
of their Inclusion & Diversity (I&D) practices. The external speaker addresses our women
key focus areas at Wipro include Gender, Persons associates and discusses topical issues and
with Disabilities, nationalities, underprivileged leadership tactics.
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

communities, suppliers, and more recently, LGBT


community. Wipro encourages plurality of ideas Zensar Technologies
and the elimination of unconscious bias.

Gender Inclusion programs at Wipro


Wipro’s gender inclusion programs cover the full
spectrum from hiring to programs that nurture
women for various roles. These are enabled by
robust processes and policies. Wipro makes
conscious efforts to nurture and groom women
across various levels through their “Women of
Wipro” (WoW) programs. Recognizing that at
different life stages, the needs and expectations of
women employees differ, they have adopted a
life-stage based approach to the WoW programs.

WM Global Technology Services


Zensar believes that Inclusion does not work in
Pvt. Ltd.
isolation: aligning it to the business on one hand
and societal impact on the other, can lead to true
inclusion, and that is our core philosophy. As an
organization where one of the core values is
Commitment to People and Community, the
diversity program embraces associates of different
gender, age, nationality, backgrounds,
experiences and physical ability and supports
them to work collaboratively by creating a culture
of Inclusivity. For the inclusion of women at every
level of the organization, Zensar identified the
talent pool in a manner to be able to create
Walmart Labs is committed to building a diverse gender balance and offers an environment and
and inclusive workforce by investing consistent culture that develops, empowers and enables
efforts in building awareness through new them to thrive through their career and life stages.
initiatives and ideas. To architect, attract, retain The diversity ratio at entry level is at 49% In
and upgrade women leadership, concepts are addition to the 26 weeks of statutory maternity
continually engineered by the Women’s Resource leave, the company offers 52 weeks of unpaid
Council (WRC) & Diversity Team at Walmart Labs. leave to new Mothers and 12 weeks of adoption
Back 2 Work programme is a six-month internship leave for both men and women associates. Zensar

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100 BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

also has ‘ZIVA’, the pregnancy to parenting care employees through its policies, practices and
program which is offered to expecting women initiatives. The flexible work policies are availed by
associates, spouse of men associates and single 85% of its women employees enabling them to
Mothers, too. There is a strong Women Executive meet their professional and personal
Network called ‘ZENWEN’ which also connects all commitments. ZS's maternity benefits along with
women globally on a digital platform, strives the flexi work policies enable new mothers to ease
towards Women empowerment and career back into work at their own pace. And, ZS has a
advancement programs. dedicated women leadership initiative started 10
years ago with the vision to support women in
ZS Associates India Pvt. Ltd. building a successful career at ZS.

ZS believes achieving greater gender diversity isn’t


something that should be focused on because it’s
the “right thing” to do. ZS believes gender
diversity is a critical strategic growth driver for ZS
as a firm. In 2019, ZS set a goal of achieving equal
gender representation at all levels of the firm, or
“50/50” for short. The organization will be
leveraging on three key levers to move towards
these objectives. These levers are Hiring,
Engagement, and Retention – or H.E.R. Apart from
this, ZS continues to offer support to women
Avtar is India’s premier
Diversity & Inclusion strategy firm

Avtar enables high-growth organizations to focus sharply on effective and sustainable


talent strategies to make the workplace more inclusive. Avtar has helped MNCs and Large
Indian Conglomerates to structure and implement sustainable Diversity & Inclusion
programs. Avtar is the only firm that provides end-to end solutions for D&I in India.

OUR SERVICES

D&I Assessments for workplace


For creating customised D&I Blueprints Training & Workshops
Building a balanced workforce at all
levels
Diversity Hiring
Full-fledged recruitment services
Events & Conference
Discussions and ideations for
Research & Analytics
creating best practices
Data driven insights that work

www.avtarinc.com | info@avtarcc.com
10 Highlights from
2019 Best Companies
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11
Introducing MICI -
Most Inclusive
Companies Index
12
About MICI –Most Inclusive
Companies Index
Invigorated by the success of their gender diversity intent, companies are opening up their streams of inclusion
to welcome all dimensions of diversity – physical capabilities, sexual orientation, cultural background et.al. And
against this backdrop, the Working Mother & Avtar Best Companies for Women in India (BCWI) canvas has grown
to appreciate this strive for inclusion, through the Most Inclusive Companies Index (MICI). This study, the first of
this kind and magnitude in India, is aimed at helping organizations understand gaps in demographic
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

representation and provide a strategic roadmap to drive internal change to find and implement Diversity and
Inclusion (D&I) solutions. The key segments that MICI covered are a) Diversity Representation across the key
strands of diversity including gender, generation, people with disabilities, LGBTQ b) Practices for fostering diversity
and inclusion in recruitment, retention and advancement of people from diverse groups c) Company culture on
Inclusion. This study (called the Global Inclusion Index in the US) is in its third edition in 2019 in the United States,
under the aegis of Diversity Best Practices (DBP), a division of Working Mother Media.

An index, unlike a list, does not have a set number of organizations to recognize. Instead, threshold percentages
are set at which point any participant company with that percentage or better qualifies for the index. Based on the
cumulative score (expressed as a percentage) companies got across the three segments the MICI indices were
arrived at using two different threshold scores for this years’ applications – of 70% and of 50%. Two categories of
winning indices for 2019 MICI are:

• Companies with an Inclusion Index score of 70% and above get the coveted
CHAMPIONS OF INCLUSION AWARD
• Companies with an Inclusion Index score of 50% and above are recognized with the
EXEMPLARS OF INCLUSION AWARD

The Most Inclusive Companies Index (through the amazing work of these Icons of Inclusion), will widen the
expanse of Inclusion and initiate new and necessary conversations around diversity, helping businesses rise to the
fullest of their potential, in the years to come.

2019 MICI Contour 13


Any company that participated in the 2019 Working Mother & Avtar Best Companies for Women in India study was
eligible to apply. Companies spanning every major industry, geographical location and line of business were
amongst the applicants. The application form with close to 150 questions, required applicant companies to
provide data of high-order granularity on their diversity representation and inclusion practices.

From the 136 applications that we received this year, the Most Inclusive Companies Index was chosen based on
their policy framework towards including a diverse workforce.

Key segments that MICI covered are:


• Diversity Representation
• Recruitment, Retention & advancement
• Company Culture

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14 MICI:
Winners Segment
CHAMPIONS OF INCLUSION
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Accenture Solutions Pvt. Ltd. ANZ Support Services India Pvt. Ltd. Encore Capital Group

EY IBM India Pvt. Ltd. Infosys Ltd.

Wipro Ltd.

Companies with an Inclusion Index score of


70% and above get the coveted
CHAMPIONS OF INCLUSION AWARD

108
EXEMPLARS OF INCLUSION

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
ABB India Ltd. ADP Pvt. Ltd. AstraZeneca India Pvt. Ltd. AstraZeneca Pharma India Ltd.

Citibank Credit Suisse Cushman & Wakefield India Pvt. Ltd. Cyient Ltd.

Omega Healthcare
HP Inc. Integra Software Services Pvt. Ltd. Mastercard Inc. Management Services Pvt. Ltd.

Standard Chartered ThoughtWorks


Global Business Services Pvt. Ltd. Target Corporation India Pvt. Ltd. Tech Mahindra Technologies India Pvt. Ltd.

US Technology International Pvt. Ltd. Zensar Technologies

Companies with an Inclusion Index score of


50% and above are recognized with the
EXEMPLARS OF INCLUSION AWARD

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+91 44 4294 1100 | us@bruhatinsights.com
www.bruhatinsights.com
15
Champions of Inclusion:
2019 Most Inclusive
Companies Index
CHAMPIONS OF INCLUSION

Accenture Solutions Pvt. Ltd.


Accenture in India uses the widest possible lens to purchase of personal assistive devices for PwD
view Inclusion & Diversity – mainly under four key employees AND their dependents, and medical
segments – Women Diversity, Persons with insurance for LGBT and same sex partners.
Disabilities (PwD), Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender (LGBT) community and Parents at Work Vaahini – ‘Unconditioning for Innovation,’ workshop,
with an overarching Culture of Inclusion. is an example of an activity that was conceptualized
to specifically help women overcome prevailing
Accenture believes in Inclusion & Diversity (I&D), biases, personal as well as professional, to fearlessly
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

rather than Diversity and Inclusion – the focus is on work towards individual success.
inclusion to realize the benefits that diversity can
provide. The photo pledge movement The PwD Champion’s Network is Accenture India’s
“#InclusionStartsWithI” was the foundation for network for PwD employees and supporters of PWD
kickstarting the action to build a culture of inclusion, inclusion, with over 5600 members. The Pride
followed by the ‘Inclusive Leadership’ learning Network has grown exponentially in India and
module and Gender Intelligence sessions to learn pushing the Global ally network to over 115,000
about and counter unconscious bias in selection and members. Allies actively advocate for a safe
decision making. Pioneering benefits in 2018 across workplace where everyone can be their authentic
I&D segments include insurance coverage for selves at work.

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CHAMPIONS OF INCLUSION

Various market leading practices help enable Two-hour virtual parenting workshops are held by
a culture of inclusion for a diverse workforce: external experts/psychologists aimed helping
employees who are parents, to learn essential
Voluntary disability self-declaration process helps in parenting skills and effective parenting styles.
emergency preparedness, accessibility throughout
the organization and PwD employees are thus able Maternity Counselling Helpline under Accenture’s
to avail Income tax and statutory benefits. Employee Assistance Program, child-care centers
near Accenture offices and flexible work
Abilities Unleashed is a leadership development arrangements for employees focuses on helping
program exclusively for PwD employees and offers its people cope with both personal and
an 8-month learning experience including professional issues.
classroom sessions, leadership mentoring,

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
one-to-one strengths coaching and self-study.

Celebrating Abilities series is to celebrate abilities of


Persons with Disabilities who have accomplished
great heights against all odds.

LGBT Leaders Learner Training provides participants


access to tools and resources designed to help
them succeed as authentic leaders both in their
career and as role models in the LGBT and Ally
global community.

LGBT Mentoring Program aims to promote


knowledge-sharing between mentors and mentees
enabled by coaching, information & leadership for
additional perspectives and holistic development.
Transgender inclusion with Gender Reassignment
Surgery coverage under Accenture medical
insurance coverage and in person team sensitization
workshops to ensure smooth gender transitions at
the workplace. All gender restrooms have been set
up across facilities in India to ensure Transgender
inclusion at workplace.

Hues of the Rainbow Series aims at reiterating


Accenture’s commitment towards ensuring an
inclusive and safe work environment for the
members of the LGBT community who have
voluntarily stepped up to share their story line with
people at Accenture in India.

Returning Mothers Program is for employees who


are new mothers are paired with an experienced
woman executive who has successfully transitioned
from maternity leave and returned to work, to a
successful career.

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CHAMPIONS OF INCLUSION

dictionary of banking words in sign language is also


available so that hearing and speech impaired staff
can communicate well. Wellness coaching and
counselling is also provided to their support and
ANZ Support Services house-keeping staff.
India Pvt. Ltd.
Groups and networks have been created to bring
ANZ invests in a diverse and inclusive workforce with the diversity and inclusion agenda to life. PRIDE
the vision to build a team that reflects the Network is the voice, contact point and support
communities in which we operate. To create an mechanism for LGBTIQ+ community. Abilities
inclusive workforce, they ensure that the Network fosters inclusiveness, and raises awareness
environment is conducive for the development of about disability. The network includes staff with
employees throughout their journey at ANZ. They severe disability like cerebral palsy, autism, muscular
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

hire an increasing number of People with Disability atrophy, and missing limbs.
(PWD) and from LGBTIQ+ community - three
transgender in 2018-19 taking the total number to Their FORWARD Network champions gender
10; and about 100 PWD staff and of which more than equality, inclusion & recognition of women, based
25% of them are women. 37% of women constitute on merit. 37% of women constitute their workforce
their overall workforce. where more than 30% of women have five years+
tenure in the organisation, and 89% of women join
Sensitisation workshops and Sign language training back after maternity leave. Today, 28% of women are
is regularly conducted for hiring managers, team in management roles, a 6% increase over the last
members, leadership, and house-keeping staff so three years.
that they are equipped to make the communities
feel comfortable from day one. They also put a great They believe different backgrounds, perspectives
deal of focus on the flexibility offerings as they and life experiences help forge strong connections
consider it an enabler for all D&I interventions. with customers, help innovate and make better
decisions for their business. They have a diversity
It is very normal to see staff conversing in sign scorecard that outlines priorities and targets with
language on floors, and be served at cafés run by measurable outcomes. Their employee engagement
PWDs. They have made significant inroads by scores for D&I proudly ranges in the 90s. They stand
providing infrastructure support such as with their purpose of shaping a world where people
wheelchairs, dedicated washrooms for PWDs, and communities thrive and dedicate 25-30% of
all-gender washrooms for LGBTIQ+ community, their CSR budget for not for profit organisations that
special medical cabs for PWD staff, braille support the PWD cause.
nameplates on all doors in the facility, ramps for easy
movement and other assistive tools. Regular ANZ is committed to building a community where
mentoring and coaching sessions are conducted to every single person is valued, heard, respected,
ensure people thrive in their career. Exclusive empowered, and feels a real sense of belonging.

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CHAMPIONS OF INCLUSION

Encore Capital Group

At MCM India, an Encore Capital Group company, • Take a stand for colleagues, if they happen to be a
inclusion is a state of being valued, empowered and victim
supported. The company believes that leveraging • Be an inclusion champion by spreading awareness
different thought paradigms can help them on how it should manifest at the workplace
engineer better business outcomes. They seek to
achieve this through a common language of Challenge stereotypes and prejudices

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
inclusion and a set of rigorous initiatives. ABCD of • Judge people on their merit without being swayed
Inclusion at MCM India. by hearsay or factors including ethnicity, gender,
race, faith and sexual orientation
Accept and Embrace • Call out prejudiced and stereotypical behaviors
• Respect diversity when observed
• Be intentionally inclusive • Be aware of workplace policies on harassment,
• Have authentic conversations and genuine bullying and gender
interactions
Demonstrate open mindedness
Be an upstander! • Look beyond hierarchies and listen to voice of the
• Report incidences of racism, bullying and people from across levels
harassment – know the grievance redressal • A questioning mindset is required for growth, do
process not see it as a challenge – react positively!

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CHAMPIONS OF INCLUSION

• Personal choices and ideologies should not be Company and Function Balanced Scorecard:
topics of workplace discussions 7.5% of annual variable bonus is linked to Diversity
Ratio in the Company Balance Scorecard. These
Key Initiatives Diversity metrics are tracked and reported at a
functional level in Functional Reviews and Business
Women@Encore (WE): The forum provides a Reviews with the CEO; and are also reported at the
platform for women employees to develop global executive committee level. Each function
connects across the organization, besides an leader is expected to be green on the gender
opportunity to reach out to senior leaders for career diversity targets and provide valid justifications
guidance and coaching. where ever required.

Talent Approach: MCM India is as an equal Enablers: These include free wheeling discussion
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

opportunity employer and their diversity hiring with senior leaders where women employees can
process mandates having more than 50% women speak freely on what’s most relevant to them.
candidates in the selection funnel. For certain #ConnectHer is an effort to sensitize managers to
positions there is a mandate of having at least two needs of an expecting working mother. #MentorHer
diversity candidates in the final shortlist. Existing is part of the women leadership development
vendors receive a premium fee of 25% for providing program wherein potential leaders are groomed for
diversity hires. success. Maternity benefits are also extended in case
of adoption and one privilege leave is offered to
PEER Scheme: The company pays 20% higher women employees, each month, to help them cope
referral amount to employees in case of diversity with an uncomfortable menstruation cycle. Gender
referral joining at any level. There are specific sensitization workshops for people managers are a
diversity classes and initiatives to drive referrals. norm and so are benefits like creche facilities and
secure transport.

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CHAMPIONS OF INCLUSION

Inclusive Intelligence. This is further reiterated


though various workshops, self-learning programs,
coaching sessions and even through employee
advocacy groups.

EY The I in diversity: While learning initiatives looked


at influencing behaviours, as an organization, we
looked at strengthening the fundamentals that prop
The more EY mature as an organization, the deeper up at the workplace – policies and processes. We
runs its perspectives on inclusion and stronger gets reinforced a flexible working culture through ‘My
our will to open it to every dimension. Life’ – flexible working arrangements enabling our
people to balance their personal and professional
Rewriting the workforce make up: It’s not just priorities. This complements the EY@work program
about adding more women in the workforce. It is introduced last year, which did away with

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
about making them count. The company designated seating, allowing people to work as
strengthened its focus and effort on on-boarding needed. We introduced inclusive measures giving
more women and growing them across the adoption and commissioning leave of 26 weeks to
leadership spectrum. The marquee program on match maternity leave, for women adopting babies
building the leadership pipeline – Career Watch and under the age of 3 months, and 12 weeks for men
Power Presence Purpose scripted its own success, who are primary care-givers. The commissioning
50% of our Career Watchees have transitioned to leave is now available for men and women alike to
leadership roles, 26% of participants from the first extend the benefit to same-sex couples.
batch got promoted to take on leadership roles.
Through the sponsorship program ‘Career Watch’, a EY continues to customise our policies to meet
Senior Partner of the firm (Career Watcher) is vibrant and diverse needs of our people. We have
allocated to each ‘Watchee’. Career Watchers now extended spousal benefits like same-sex
sponsor their career and work towards partner insurance, relocation/transfer policies and
understanding the Watchee’s aspirations, help her bereavement to domestic partners of our
define career goals, design an action plan and employees. The medical coverage now includes
sponsor her career growth. gender affirmation surgery.

Learning to unlearn: EY has made conscious efforts EY is also integrating mechanisms to frequently hear
to fight bias by educating employees especially from people to ensure the company is on the right
those in decision making roles through unique and course. EY has also integrated dashboards to
effective interventions like ‘Theatre style gender systematically measure the impact of programs. But
sensitization’ which is designed and driven in-house. more than anything, the company is driven by
Yet another flagship program on digital certification commitment to build a workplace where people feel
– EY Badges has an exclusive module on they belong.

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CHAMPIONS OF INCLUSION

IBM India Pvt. Ltd.

Various forums, events and meetings are being held beautiful, small or big. Only then, instead of
these days to discover how organizations can be suppressing, can we start to find constructive ways
more inclusive. Affirmative steps are in process but it of expressing ourselves. This requires continual
is taking longer than what was imagined. self-awareness.

Because humans, unless extremely conscious, tend To be inclusive of the other comes as a natural next
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

to include only people who are like themselves. The step after we are inclusive of ourselves. It starts from
moment we interact with people who are different self – being aware of ourselves. Now is time for all of
from us, we tend to put ourselves in a shell. Perhaps us to be truly inclusive of ourselves. That way we will
we don't understand them, perhaps we disagree soon see ourselves being more inclusive of
with them, perhaps we fear them or perhaps we others too.
simply feel uncomfortable with them.
At IBM, apart from various inclusive policies for all
The key reason for being non-inclusive is that we diversity constituents, the company also enables
tend to exclude a lot within ourselves. There are managers on how to engage with women
corners within us where we keep things in the dark, returning from maternity, with LGBT+ people
away from our own attention to avoid pain or fear. and mindfulness.
We don't want to face what we think is bad in
ourselves. Self-exclusion is the prime reason for Mindful meditation has helped managers be more
excluding others. What we suppress or don’t like or aware and alert of their thought process and actions
don’t even recognize in ourselves is what we most towards employees. Awareness itself becomes a key
reject in others. For example: - I am an angry person to continue or change behaviors.
but do not want to appear so therefore I keep a calm
and smiling face. However, sooner or later the mask Our minds are trained differently. All of us come
will slip and the stored-up anger will explode with with our own unconscious and conscious bias.
magnified force. Mindfulness help us recognize those biases and take
the right action despite them.
The very first step towards inclusion is to include
everything inside oneself, good or bad, ugly or

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CHAMPIONS OF INCLUSION

The ‘localization’ pillar of the Infosys business


strategy enables strengthening the participation of
diverse nationalities in the workforce. This effort
focuses on hiring, nurturing and retaining diverse
Infosys Ltd. skills and celebrating culturally diverse work pools
across the world. Cultural collaboration leadership
interventions help global teams and clients work
Infosys was founded to leverage the power of together effectively to deliver solutions. Infosys is
globalization. As a signatory to the United Nations also a proud signatory to the UN Standards of
Global Compact, Infosys is committed to respecting Conduct for Business for tackling discrimination
and supporting the fundamental principles against Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans, & Intersex People. A
contained in the Universal Declaration of Human founder member of business disability international
Rights. The company’s Code of Conduct governs the (bdi), Infosys has championed the Rights of People

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
inclusion strategy. A key tenet of the code of with Disabilities Act in India and is focused
conduct is “respecting each other through creating on building accessible workplaces which
an equal opportunity workplace free of accommodate the aspirations of employees with
discrimination and harassment.” Infosys’ inclusion disability. The Practice Guidelines provide valuable
efforts span a wide spectrum of spaces and guidance to internal departments to build an
strengthening the participation of women in the inclusive workplace for employees with disability. A
leadership of the organization is a key facet of the special transport allowance enables employees to
corporate diversity strategy. Women leaders organize transport facilities to support their
comprise one third of the non-executive individual commute requirements based on their
independent Board. A strong governance disability. Apart from a slew of policies and
mechanism headed by the Board guides the programs, Employee Resource Groups provide a
implementation of actions and periodically review force multiplier to D&I efforts on the ground.
progress on diversity commitments to and Leveraging technology to provide an immersive
strengthen the participation of women in the experience through Infy TV, Infy Radio, the intranet,
executive leadership of the company. Some blogs and personals stories has helped
initiatives and policies focused on strengthening the institutionalize D&I efforts across the organization
talent pipeline of women include a robust Return to globally. Dedicated leadership support,
Work post maternity program, accelerating careers communication and action, a strong focus on
for Women in Technology and Enabling Women building organizational competencies in D&I and a
Leaders in Business programs. Restart with Infosys special category of awards for diversity and inclusion
launched in 2018 provides women who have in the coveted Annual Awards for Excellence are
dropped out of their career due to any reason, a new some efforts that have contributed to building and
Launchpad to renew their career aspirations sustaining an inclusive culture at Infosys.
with confidence.

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CHAMPIONS OF INCLUSION

Constantly build inclusion as a way of life within


the culture.

Focus on policies and processes that create and


Wipro Ltd. reinforce inclusion.

Execution: Walking the Talk


At Wipro “Inclusion is about integrating diversity
effortlessly into everyday working; encouraging all to Commitment: The entire organization, beginning
participate and be their authentic selves. An with the leadership, is aligned with the I&D vision.
inclusive workplace respects uniqueness among Wipro’s CEO is the Executive Sponsor of the I&D
individuals and nurtures an overall sense of Council.
belonging. We celebrate and learn from diverse
Collaboration: Wipro encourages participation
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

ideas, backgrounds, perspectives and experiences.


This provides us with an opportunity to realize our from cross-functional teams. Senior leaders anchor
true potential. The essence of co-creating, guided by individual pillars of inclusion and in turn collaborate
our values defines Inclusion & Diversity at Wipro.” across business units/geographies.

Wipro has been built on an unflinching Continuous Improvement: Wipro constantly sets
commitment to values, better known as the “Spirit of higher benchmarks to improve performance on
Wipro”. These values are the cornerstone of their inclusion.
Inclusion & Diversity (I&D) practices. The key focus
areas for I&D at Wipro include Gender, Persons with Key indicators impacting diversity representation/
Disabilities, nationalities, underprivileged unconscious bias at various stages of the employee
communities, suppliers, and more recently, LGBT lifecycle are monitored by the Board as well as the
community. Wipro encourages plurality of ideas and I&D Council.
the elimination of unconscious bias.
Employee perception of I&D within the organization
Strategy: Beyond Diversity of Identity, toward is measured through biennial employee
Inclusivity for All: engagement surveys. I&D has been rated as the top
engagement driver in their employee engagement
Wipro’s strategic focus today is to become more survey for years.
inclusive rather than merely representing diversity
through numbers. They have a two-pronged Public Annual Report & Sustainability Reporting- Key
approach toward achieving this goal: organizational metrics on I&D are voluntarily
disclosed in public domain.

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16
Exemplars of Inclusion:
2019 Most Inclusive
Companies Index
EXEMPLARS OF INCLUSION

ABB India Ltd. Empowered helps their people achieve personal


and professional success; ultimately driving ADP’s
Business Results. It is done through strategic
partnerships with their associates in a gender
inclusive environment to enhance a stimulating
career, while complementing personal &
professional life. They sponsor, organize, and
provide opportunities for their associates to learn
and share best practices; all of these help them
sustain real inclusion at their workplace.

As a global pioneer with a 125-year history, ABB AstraZeneca India Pvt. Ltd.
strives to create an environment that brings the
power of diversity to life; where people with
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

different backgrounds and experiences thrive in


both their professional and personal lives. With a
robust Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) strategy, ABB
has inculcated a gender diverse and inclusive
culture in offices across the globe.

With about 20% lateral female recruits and 60%


female university hires in the last one year, ABB
saw an increase in diversity representation from
9% in 2017 to 11.1% in 2019. To prepare leaders for
tomorrow, a Women Leadership Development
Program ‘RISE’ was launched and to recognize and At AstraZeneca India, it is expected that everyone
acknowledge individual/teams that passionately observes the highest standards of integrity and
drive diversity within teams, a Trailblazers Award honesty and to act with care, diligence and
for Diversity was announced. fairness. The company’s Code of Ethics
emphasises company values and guides
With proactive programs that ensure a full range employee conduct. The policies and procedures
of support policies, benefits and flexible work help protect against discrimination on any
options, ABB strives to foster an inclusive and grounds and cover recruitment and selection,
representative workplace where all employees performance management, career development
feel wholly welcome. and promotion, transfer, training, retraining
and reward.
ADP Pvt. Ltd.
In alignment to the company’s vision, at Chennai,
ADP is an equal opportunity employer and commitment is based on AstraZeneca’s core
believes that highly engaged, diverse associates strategy:- Influence – Uplifting women’s work-
are the foundation for building an inclusive force through learning, networking, mentorship
company – and a better world. They believe in the and policy changes: Inclusive – Creating inclusive
power of diversity and emphasize on considering events that nurture mutual respect and Inspire –
every associate’s perspective for the progress of Bring awareness of our biases and building a
both the organization and the associate. They sustainable work environment.
include diverse minds in decision making
processes, and this practice enables them to Events are held regularly to promote Inclusion and
complete the crucial connections that attract Diversity across our site and some of the key
diverse talent, encourage their participation, foster events with maximum participation in 2018
innovation, and lead to business growth. Their included self-defence, Speed mentoring and
commitment towards ensuring that their Masterclass with key leaders and networking
associates are Engaged, Equipped, and forums and unconscious bias training.

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EXEMPLARS OF INCLUSION

AstraZeneca Pharma India Ltd. and promotion paths and processes. Focus is on
building internal capability and infrastructure
across the company to support diverse culture
and workplace.

Citi India has a multitude of forums such as Citi


Pride Network, Citi Generations Network and
multiple Citi Women’s Networks. Policies and
Infrastructure form the most important pillar of
Citi’s strategy as it impacts the employees'
experience significantly.

The company has a three strategic levers to build

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
an Inclusive Culture wherein Diverse Talent can
thrive and contribute to the organization.

Educating and building Awareness: The


nation-wide India Empowerment Week, has
created a discussion & education platform on the
subject. The Program includes Leadership Talk
Series, External Expert Speak, panel discussions,
Skill drills fun & engagement on the subject of The Special Ability Affinity at Citi is focused on
Inclusion. This is also an occasion to launch and enabling progress by championing an inclusive
recognise the ‘Inclusion Champion’. culture that embraces and advocates for people
with disabilities (both visible and invisible),
Transforming people managers as Champions through inclusion, representation and access.
of Inclusion: By driving theatre-based workshops Over the past few months, we have engaged with
and reinforcement through online curriculum, our employees in building awareness and
managers are educated & sensitised on ‘Managing education to foster engagement.
Unconscious Bias’.
The culture of inclusion has become a part of the
Building a secure and flexible working Citi DNA. Citi India continues to look at ways and
environment: There are several policies, avenues of enhancing existing policies to the
guidelines and practices in the organization to maximum benefit of our employees one of which
enable inclusion of the employees, such as flexi is a barrier free infrastructure for the
working hours, working from home, employee specially- abled.
assistance program, policy on prevention of
bullying & harassment, sabbatical, parenting Credit Suisse
benefits, policy on prevention of sexual
harassment, working guidelines for field Credit Suisse is committed to providing equal
based employees, safe hotels for travelling employment opportunities and creating an
employees etc. These address not only the office inclusive culture where everyone, irrespective of
based employees, but also the large field their differences, feels valued and supported in
based employees. their professional development, resulting in better
business results. Actively seeking diversity and
Citibank inclusion is a key tenet of the company’s Conduct
& Ethics Standards and an integral part of strategy.
To ensure that Citi is a more diverse and inclusive
workplace where all employees can reach their full At Credit Suisse India, there is a well-functioning
potential, they are focused on three key areas: and active Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) committee in
targeted recruitment, development and retention, place covering the bank’s Pune, Mumbai and

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EXEMPLARS OF INCLUSION

Bangalore offices, with strong support from local, Cyient Ltd.


regional and global management. The India team
collaborates on implementing initiatives to Inclusion is taken seriously at Cyient. The company
promote an inclusive culture and engages in organizes webinars for Disability awareness, panel
dialogue with external partners in the community discussions on other strands of diversity – gender,
on best practices and raising awareness. The generational to create mindfulness and awareness
volunteer-led India employee network, with more among employees. The Mind over Matter program
than 5000 members, focuses on different aspects that focused on gender diversity has enabled us to
of diversity and organizes panel discussions, open increase the number of women leaders in the
mic events and awareness campaigns to promote mid-management 12% to 15% which is an
an open and inclusive workplace. encouraging number and these women leaders
are groomed to mentor junior manager level
women associates as well.
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

In the ELP (Emerging Leadership Program) and


BLP (Business Leadership Program) women
represent 15% of the population of leadership
programs. One in every four women associates
move to a new role within a year. The CEO connect
with team member level associates at a specific
internal portal in the organization enables
associates to voice out their opinions
and suggestions.
Cushman & Wakefield
India Pvt. Ltd. Other measures such as flexible working hours/
place, infrastructure, equal opportunity, special
incentive structure for highly inclusive teams,
At Cushman & Wakefield India, Diversity and guidelines for diversity targets, inclusive language,
Inclusion lie at the very heart of the firm. It is the regular feedback mechanism for the PwD by the
guiding force behind the firm building a rich D&I team have helped us tap the PwD talent pool.
tapestry of cultures, backgrounds, and
experiences to create an enjoyable work HP Inc.
experience where innovation can thrive and
everyone celebrates themselves authentically. HP is committed to a diverse and inclusive work
With over 3000 employees across locations in the environment. The BIG (Belong, Innovate and
country, C&W does more than champion D&I - Grow) strategy is a critical component of HP’s
they live it. Diversity and Inclusion agenda, which focuses on
making HP the destination for diverse workforce.
This year once again saw single-minded focus on This includes the organization’s efforts to: recruit,
enhancing hiring and inclusion of PWDs (Persons retain and advance women; to provide flexible
with Disabilities), along with focused support on working arrangements, paid leave, development
smooth integration into the organization. interventions, executive sponsorship and
Similarly, active work was done to attract, develop commitment to a diverse and inclusive culture
and empower a deep pool of talent across that supports diverse workforce. The growth
generations, ethnicities, and sexual orientation. mindset that HP has adopted is critical to the
Some highlights from the year included the success of creating a place where all employees
celebration of Pride Week across all offices in India can bring all of who they are to work. HP actively
as employees expressed their support towards the promotes a “speak up” culture, enabling
movement, along with the leadership setting an employees to have courageous conversations on
organizational aim to increase the women ratio in barriers to their success. At HP, talent is the only
the workforce to 50% by 2022. criteria. Role modelling, along with tackling
unconscious bias in hiring and investing in

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EXEMPLARS OF INCLUSION

programs to strengthen the diversity at HP, is a you, don’t walk like you, don’t talk like you, don’t
part of a well-rounded strategy for levelling the have the same experiences as you, that’s when
playing field. new ideas are sparked and innovation happens.
This includes the vendors and partners that
Integra Software Services Pvt. Ltd. support us.

Integra is proud to be an organization that is truly The company’s approach to inclusion is built on
diverse, with diversity at multiple levels. Integra is the belief that diversity is critical, but it’s not
a potpourri of different cultures. There are enough. People at all levels must be equipped
employees from most states, spanning the length with inclusive leadership skills that help embrace
and breadth of India. Diversity is also across levels and activate the company’s diversity to spark
– non-managers to corporate executives. There is innovation. As such, Mastercard strives to develop
also generational diversity with employees as a deep understanding of the current and
young as 20 years to 59 plus again across levels. traditional barriers to diversity within the company

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
Integra also includes employees who are and continue to put into motion programs and
differently abled and have an equal representation support systems to overcome those barriers.
of women in the organization.
Omega Healthcare
Integra takes pride in being an equal opportunity Management Services Pvt. Ltd.
employer. The company believes that by being
inclusive and diverse Integra can bring out the
best in each one of us. Different cultures, genders,
age groups and abilities help give a holistic
dimension to how the company works. The
company’s commitment to inclusion is evident in
recruitment, retention and advancement policies
and with each passing year!

Mastercard Inc.

Omega Healthcare, a leading services and


solutions provider in the healthcare offshoring
space, is an equal opportunity employer. ROSHNI
is the banner under which women at Omega have
multiple opportunities to develop and
demonstrate their talents, showcasing the
recognitions they get from external and internal
bodies. Omega has 50% women as part of its
At Mastercard, inclusion and diversity are about workforce and it prides itself on women-friendly
more than bringing together people with different policies and developmental opportunities. The
backgrounds. It’s an understanding that when one proof of this conducive work environment rests in
creates meaningful connections, inspires 82% of women re-joining work after maternity
acceptance and cultivates a culture where leave. She-Works has been a flagship program, for
everyone belongs, a company is a better team — women to upskill and utilize the special feature of
one that makes better decisions, drives innovation counselling, for their personal and professional
and delivers better business results. issues. Omega has always followed the mantra “Do
the Right Thing” in its endeavors which has
When it comes to diversity, Mastercard resulted in a diverse workforce. A differently-abled,
understands that all the things that make us multigenerational workforce without any bias to
different and similar are assets. When you gender, have been welcomed at Omega.
surround yourself with people who don’t look like Continuous awareness programs on Inclusion and

125
EXEMPLARS OF INCLUSION

Diversity, training sessions dealing with Tech Mahindra


unconscious bias and other employee
engagement activities, are some ways by which
inclusion is embedded in the DNA of Omega. Supporting women-owned, minority–owned
companies: Avion and Tech Mahindra decided to
Standard Chartered form a new venture called Avion Networks Inc.,
which will offer engineering services to compa-
Global Business Services Pvt. Ltd. nies transforming their networks to a virtualized,
cloud-enabled and open-systems driven network.
Gender diversity is critical to Standard Chartered’s
success as a business and fundamental to helping Diversity Vendors: TechM has empanelled
achieve the purpose and valued behavior approximately 40 Diversity vendors in the US with
#BetterTogether to life. The bank is 100% whom TechM works for more than five years for
committed to creating an inclusive workplace various delivery engagements. The company is
culture for women and those with special needs committed to engage subcontracting professional
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

so that they are appreciated for who they are and services through these Diversity vendors.
for what they bring to the organization.
Corporate Social Responsibility: Tech Mahindra
As a conscientious employer, SCB continuously Foundation’s SMART (Skills-for-Market Training) is
strives to curate holistic policies and programs the model vocational training program designed
that will attract a greater pool of talent and for women from under privileged background
practices that would cater to varied aspirations socio-economically deprived youths and enabling
and needs of women employees, persons with them to actualize their potential in a career of
disability or of varied sexual orientation to better their choice.
their professional and personal competencies.
LGBT: There are several unique LGBT+ initiatives
Target Corporation India Pvt. Ltd. that have been rolled out over the last year and
will spur open dialogue and storytelling as a first
Diversity and inclusion is more than just a goal, at step towards inclusion (Culture collaboration,
Target it’s at the very core of its beliefs. Being Sexual Reassignment Surgery Policy, Same Sex
inclusive empowers Target to embrace diversity Partner Insurance, and so on.)
and they believe inclusivity makes teams, and the
company as a whole, better. D&I is integrated into ThoughtWorks
every aspect of the business - from team
composition and business councils, to the Technologies India Pvt. Ltd.
shopping experience offered to guests.
ThoughtWorks actively encourages heterogeneity
Target.com is also completely accessible, for the
of thoughts, perspectives, ideas and solutions. The
differently abled guests. A dedicated accessibility
company believes that no matter who you are or
team sitting out of the India office ensures each
how you identify, you deserve respect, empathy
item is accessible online, making the experience
and equal opportunity to succeed.
seamless for guests. This team has differently
abled team members that understand what the
ThoughtWorks culture is synonymous with an
guest would be expecting. Each team member
inclusive & equitable workplace. Open
can leverage their unique talents and
mindedness, transparency and shared values
high-performance standards, to drive innovation
encourages ThoughtWorkers to bring their whole
and success. With intentionally set goals like
selves to work. Our affinity group
gender diversity, inclusive culture, community
Women@ThoughtWorks and Mitra Collective - for
welfare and an ecosystem for the differently abled,
LGBTQA+ inclusion, drive change. Initiatives like
Target aims at delivering an equitable experience
Vapasi, a free technical training program for
for all team members.
women technologists who want to re-enter the
world of tech, internships, involvement with
women networks and customized unconscious

126
EXEMPLARS OF INCLUSION

bias workshops, Women in Leadership programs, Zensar Technologies


STEP programs for students from non-engineering
backgrounds are some of the initiatives of TWI. The
#TalkTechToHer campaign helps promote gender With over 10,000 associates spread across 47
equity in Tech and ongoing sensitisation and nationalities, diversity has helped foster an
awareness sessions are all reflective of the culture atmosphere of mutual understanding and respect
of inclusion. and enabled us to generate innovative ideas.
Currently, the percentage of women in the
US Technology organization stands at 30%, with a healthy mix
across levels and 50% at an entry level.
International Pvt. Ltd.
Zensar strives to build a culture where associates
feel comfortable working and expressing
themselves. The company has a strong work
culture where associates from various cultural

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
backgrounds come together to create exciting
new offerings. Zensar believes that Inclusion does
not work in isolation: aligning it to the business on
one hand and societal impact on the other, can
lead to true inclusion. Thus, the company has an
‘include and impact’ philosophy – aligning
Business Goals, Diverse Talent and Societal Impact
UST Global is recognized as a brand where goals. Zensar has a representation across the
diversity and inclusion are imperatives, ensuring board, people of – diverse cultural backgrounds,
diversity not only in its workforce but also in its generations, cultures, race, sexual orientation, and
culture and values. With a workforce from diverse gender. Zensar is a proud equal opportunity
cultural backgrounds, UST has an inclusive festival employer and ensures that associates are not only
calendar, celebrating 3 to 4 festivals for each represented, but also developed, feel valued,
region across the 9 centers in India. UST also leading to innovation, hence making the diversity
introduced sign language in the video series – ‘60 work through inclusion.
Seconds’, a video highlight of organizational
events, to ensure active engagement of its
differently-abled workforce.

Through focused self-paced D&I eLearning


courses and encouragement of C-level executives
to sponsor/drive D&I initiatives, employees across
regions continue to take an active ambassador
role organically ensuring improvement in
awareness and a cultural shift towards an
inclusive environment.

UST also ensures diversity of thought among its


associates through the annual technology
conference, and Women Unlimited forum giving
them a platform to engage with customers and
industry thought leaders.

127
17
Highlights from
2019 Most Inclusive
Companies
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

130
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

131
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

132
18
2019 Male Ally
Legacy Award

Male Allyship in Inclusive


workplaces
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

To implement the business imperative of gender business case for gender equity and the impact they
mainstreaming at workplace with a frenetic pace, can have as male allies.
the concept of allyship is very crucial. The concept of
men as allies has become a focal point of gender As organizations move towards engaging more
diversity initiatives, gaining ground both in the male allies, it is important to find ways to share
corporate and societal lexicon. The men as allies stories of success by leaders. Over the past 4 years,
trend is also driven by several changes in the through Avtar’s observations on a culture of allyship,
business world. In an uncertain political, business we have seen that male allyship is fundamentally a
and social atmosphere, many corporate leaders are continuum. From being a passive supporter to an
opening their eyes to shifting public opinion. Many active associate, to an ally and advocate, male
of them are embracing the increasingly strong employees actually evolve through the male
allyship continuum.

Active Associate
Passive Supporter Aware about the Ally & Advocate
Interested in gender issues importance of gender Proactively champions
but clueless on what steps equality & equity at gender inclusion.
to take to become an ally workplace but Is driven by both
engages actively intention and action
only when asked

134
The Male Allyship Continuum
As male employees traverse through the male allyship continuum in order to make a more equitable world, they
go through an interesting journey. Perhaps, the biggest realisation is that being an ally is all about living that role
by taking action through self-reflection and taking charge of one’s own mind-set and behaviour. As they slowly
move on to become active associates, many male employees start understanding the patterns of inequality,
including biases and micro inequities. As an ally, they start taking responsibility to end such patterns of disparity
and inequity by supporting women. They start using their positions of privilege to bring more awareness, visibility
and noticeable change to the systemic issues that adversely affect workplace inclusion. They realise that being a
male ally is a role, a verb, and not an identity.

Multiple research studies have proven that gender parity efforts at the workplace are most effective when men
believe that they have an important and dignified role to play. The motivation to play the role of a male ally is often
linked to an innate sense of fairness, impactful personal examples and inspirational role models.

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
The 2019 – 100 Best Companies for Women in India consciously curates a culture of male allyship, through
multiple initiatives. For e.g., 68% of these companies have formal programmes for men to mentor/sponsor women
employees and 85% of them train their managers on how to help hire and advance women. In order to recognise
the efforts of role model male allies at these organizations, Working Mother & Avtar instituted the Male Ally Legacy
Award in 2017. Over the past two editions of the award, it has recognised 6 senior male leaders from the best
companies, who relentlessly championed the cause of gender inclusion and mentored women to leadership.
They were from industries as diverse as IT, FMCG and Pharma. This year too, the eminent jury panel chose to award
a title winner and two Choice of Jury Awardees, whom we feature in the next segment.

As more and more male leaders, like these inspirational role models, start taking the responsibility for making
changes, both in their individual and organizational capacities, they are invariably helping others gain access to
equal opportunities to succeed. Thus, male allyship can be seen as the stepping-stone to being allies to all
marginalized groups or minorities. When allies share their social capital, influence, information, knowledge, and
organizational resources, they make their privilege, work for others. That is the key towards creating a more
inclusive workplace where every individual can thrive.

135
Male Ally Legacy
2019 Male Ally Legacy Award
Award - Winner

Mr. Mohan Sekhar is an exemplar of promoting and embedding a strong culture


of Inclusion and Diversity at the Accenture’s Advanced Technology Centers in
India (ATCI). He has continuously focused on strategic interventions and
leadership commitment to multiple programs to drive the diversity agenda
across ATCI and grow the percentage of women MDs to 25 percent by 2020. As
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

a champion of catalysing greater learning and growth for women technologists,


he has spearheaded several women-centric strategic initiatives with exceptional
results across ATCI. Different tailor-made programs have been designed relevant
to different levels addressing different business needs. As a sponsor and mentor,
Mohan has enabled several path-breaking initiatives to attract, retain, develop
and grow women leaders.

Mr. Mohan Sekhar Mohan has been instrumental in developing a path-breaking certification
Senior Managing Director, program for ATCI women in technology, the Master Technical Architects (MTA).
Lead, Accenture Technology The program enables women to develop differentiated IT skills, foster strong
Centers in India (ATCI) alliances and co-innovate with clients. He’s also continuously invested in
devising enabling structures that help Accenture’s women employees achieve
their short- and long-term career and personal milestones. An example is the
Returning Mothers Program, where women professionals at Accenture
successfully transition back to work post-maternity with guidance from
Inclusion remains a critical
experienced coaches who help them in making the right career decisions.
building block to unleashing
innovation. For businesses to
achieve the promise of As the chairman of the Campus Diversity Council, he has shaped innovative
inclusion and diversity, programs that help identify the Best People with diverse and unique strengths to
people from all backgrounds, complement Accenture’s culture of Inclusion & Diversity. As the sponsor of Men
genders and orientations, as Advocates Gender Diversity Program, he is leading the way in eliminating
should partner to work unconscious gender bias. Mohan truly demonstrates the tenets of inclusive
together as allies, as each leadership by anchoring the Inclusive Leadership Training that aims to enable
bring unique skills, ATCI managers to embrace conscious decision making and eliminate
experience and creativity to a unconscious bias. A believer in the power of creating shared values with society,
task and when combined, can
he leads initiatives such as the Accenture Innovation Challenge and digital
be a powerful multiplier of
innovation and growth.
learning symposiums that work with prominent forums to create skill
Being each other’s allies in development opportunities for the Indian youth.
this journey will not only help
achieve a more inclusive and In addition, Mohan drives the design and implementation of the “Right role,
comfortable environment for Right client and Right sponsor (3R) approach, the foundation of the Women
all, but also help create and Leadership Program. Today, Mohan stands tall in creating an equal opportunity
sustain a culture of equality workplace of choice, where meritocracy and individual differences are
where everyone can advance respected, and a Truly Human environment promotes a greater sense of
and thrive. belonging among people.

136
Male Ally Legacy
2019 Male Ally Legacy Award
Award - Choice of Jury

A champion of Diversity & Inclusion at Credit Suisse, Vikas Gupta is also Co-chair
of the bank’s India Employee Network. He leads the India Employee Network
with a top-down strategy focusing on ‘Moving from Diversity to Inclusion’. One
of his key contributions has been the launch of RISE, a unique mentoring and
talent development program for female employees at the junior level. The focus

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
of RISE is to develop junior talent through training, mentorship and manager
support, to minimize the potential departure of women from the workforce due
to personal commitments. Mr. Gupta also chairs and monitors the Real Returns
program for Credit Suisse’s Risk department. The bank’s Real Returns program
has made significant progress in attracting talented women back to the
workplace post career breaks and has been seen as an industry leading initiative.
He also drives the need for Unconscious Bias elimination for hiring managers via
Mr. Vikas Gupta a competency based framework, so as to minimize the presence of biased
Director, opinions in the hiring process and thereby increase the pipeline of female talent.
Credit Suisse He has mentored women across organizational departments, levels and
locations, with great impact visible in their career progressions, role expansion,
skills development and retention.

Kavita Kulkarni, Director, Chief Risk Officer Change, Asia Pacific, Credit Suisse, said:
"Working with Vikas has been an extremely rewarding experience for me in the
I strongly believe that gender
last two years. He is very open with his recognition and acknowledgement of
parity is not a women only
issue, it is for all of us. Men
work well done and equally prompt in giving constructive feedback when
have an equal role to play as needed. I also find him very inspiring for the role he plays in the bank’s
allies and advocates to philanthropy as well as diversity & inclusion initiatives. He truly lives the talk and
ensure that inclusion can be is a leader to emulate!"
embedded in the
organizational culture and
biases can be conquered
through compassion,
collaboration and action.

137
Male Ally Legacy
2019 Male Ally Legacy Award
Award - Choice of Jury

Cushman & Wakefield’s Managing Director and CEO, Anshul Jain has been
instrumental in building interventions in the space of D&I in the firm. It was his
sole focus and relentless pursuit of the movement of creating spaces that are
safe and oriented towards the recruitment, retention, and the development of
women that resulted in the policies we have today, that are now a part of the
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

company language and DNA. Anshul is focussed on the long term and envisions
the future of C&W as one that is ‘Built To Last.’ Unlike other CEOs, he recognises
the need of the hour being a gender balanced leadership pipeline, and actively
works in ensuring this is made a reality. It is his vision to have a 50% women ratio
in the firm by 2022.

He has changed the mindset of the leadership at the firm, and has ensured that
Anshul Jain it has trickled down to every last employee in the country, regardless of location
CEO and Managing Director, and hierarchy. Leading by example, he is always vocal in this endeavour across
Cushman & Wakefield forums, both personal and professional. The result of this strategy has been
India Pvt. Ltd. exemplary. Today, Cushman & Wakefield employs the most talented workforce in
the industry, has created a rich and inclusive environment, and furthermore, has
posted double-digit growth in EBITDA and revenue.

Suprita Kumar- Director, Tenant Advisory Group, has spent around 11 years
“Promoting diversity and
under Anshul’s mentorship. She is known for managing key accounts and
developing a global mindset
through cross-cultural building and nurturing relationships with clients. However, the journey from a
understanding is at the heart new kid on the block to a Director hasn’t been easy. Throughout, she has always
of everything that we deliver regarded Anshul Jain as her trusted advisor and go to leader for
as a firm. It is an imperative recommendations, especially when the going got tough. She says “I’m lucky to
for our growth as the diverse work under the leadership of Anshul. His thought leadership, decades of
thinking that comes from experience of the industry, keenness in developing talent through mentorship &
different spectrums of our coaching has helped me reach this far. I regard him as my role model and look
people supports better forward to working with him for a long time to come.”
decision making at all levels.
At Cushman & Wakefield we
have created a world of equal
opportunity, and an
environment that is open to
all and a workplace culture
that celebrates ideas and
personalities enabling
everyone to bring their
authentic selves to work.”

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2019
19
2019 PUTHRI Award
CS
R A ARD
S for Excellence in CSR
W

Best Companies on the eadership, financial planning and budgeting,


managerial skills and so on, and is critical for
path to Social Inclusion inclusive growth. Companies are providing direct
support and grants to non-profits apart from

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
A robust and thriving development sector is vital to sharing knowledge and operational expertise, so
India’s pursuit of sustainable growth. India’s that their full expertise and potential can be utilized
development sector has evolved substantially over to bring in change at the grassroots level. Employee
the last few decades and is now witnessing volunteering is a strong pillar of CSR at the best
unprecedented interest, initiatives and investments companies, and has been an integral part of the
across the entire value chain. Organizations on the culture at several organizations and they enable
growth path, realise their collective responsibility to employees to invest their time and skills at NGOs.
build a society that negates disparities and provides
equal access to opportunities. For impactful This year, the Working Mother & Avtar PUTHRI Award
implementation of social development initiatives as for Excellence moves into its second edition. As in
part of corporate social responsibility (CSR) the inaugural edition, companies participating in
commitments, organizations are increasingly BCWI, nominated their innovative initiatives aimed
renewing their focus on capacity building. at building employability of underprivileged girls
and economically empowering underprivileged
Although the practice of CSR in India still is driven by women, towards this coveted recognition. The
philanthropic interest, it has evolved from institution eminent jury picked the title winner and two Choice
building to community development, to capacity of Jury Awardees after much deliberation. While we
building initiatives. Besides, with global influences move into the winners feature in the next segment,
and communities becoming more dynamic, CSR it is heartening to note that, the CSR strategy of
activities are increasingly being strategized towards companies are moving towards a holistic approach
greater social inclusion. Organizations are and their initiatives are being integrated with the
intentionally focusing on efficiently developmental core business strategy for addressing social and
opportunities across the economic, environmental environmental impacts of businesses.
and social bottom line. From embracing health,
nutrition and education to women’s empowerment
to water conservation, solar energy, and combating
climate change, CSR initiatives have not only
touched, but has changed and transformed
hundreds of lives.

Over the past two years, through the BCWI study, we


have observed that several organizations are
focusing on capacity building through CSR
initiatives. Many organizations are increasingly
focusing on capacity building through their partner
NGOs, while many do it forming a strong volunteer
network within themselves. Capacity building is
required at multiple levels including building

139
2019
2019 Working Mother & AVTAR
PUTHRI Award for Excellence
CS
R AWA R D S
in CSR - Winner

CRISIL Ltd.
Project: Mein Pragati
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Mein Pragati, CRISIL’s CSR initiative is aimed at empowering rural women from disadvantaged and excluded
communities by creating awareness, strengthening their financial capabilities and building last-mile access to
formal financial institutions. They believe in remaining invested with the program’s beneficiaries, the cohort of
Self-Help Group women, their households and beneficiaries across a long period of time so as to enable positive
long term behaviour change towards taking informed financial decisions. In a span of five years since the
program’s inception in 2018, CRISIL has established a robust scalable intervention through Mein Pragati –
strengthening the financial capabilities of over a lakh rural women, enabling financial linkages, encouraging
micro-entrepreneurship - thereby resulting in a better quality of life for women, their households and to the
community at large. As it stands today, Mein Pragati has enabled an ecosystem that encourages and sustains
behaviour change.

The programme caters to all components of the value chain - (a) creating a demand driven, self-sustainable and
well trained community cadre, the Sakhis based in the community, (b) driving financial literacy and capacity
building, (c) and door-step-based handholding services to enable linkages/informed financial choices, raise
awareness, and reinforce good financial habits. The grassroots level cadre is now active, self-sustainable, and
delivering outcomes. Through the program, CRISIL has also instituted financial inclusion committees at the
Panchayat level to continually oversee and guide the cadre. These have been largely possible through use of
evidence-based tools and methods for engaging with the women through a multi-touch point innovative
manner – through local examples, character-based case stories, and traditional games – and using adult learning
principles for maximum results, resulting in higher adoption and usage of financial products. More recently, they
have initiated roll-out of a technology-based certification programme (called GramShakti which uses an
interactive LMS platform) to elevate the knowledge and skills among the Sakhi cadre and build this cadre for
last-mile financial inclusion. The impact of the Mein Pragati program is already visible in terms of improvement in
decision-making ability of rural women and their extent of access to financial services. The program has also
helped in increased savings leading to more opportunities for revenue generation, access to formal financial
services, ability to share knowledge with family members and other women.

140
2019
2019 Working Mother & AVTAR
PUTHRI Award for Excellence
CS
R AWA R D S
in CSR - Choice of Jury

Infosys Ltd.
Project: Empowering Women to Empower the Community

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
The Devadasi tradition despite finding its roots in ancient Indian culture, has led to systematic exploitation of
women in several parts of South India. The Infosys Foundation has been working for the empowerment and
rehabilitation of the Devadasi community over the last 20 years. In 2003, the Nava Jjeevana Mahila Okkoota
(NJMO) was set up at Raichur by the Infosys Foundation. NJMO focuses on the education of children of the
devadasis, higher education of meritorious students, awareness against the devadasi system and child marriages,
and supports small scale livelihood projects for the women. Over the years, the efforts have expanded to cover a
wide range of issues related to community empowerment such as micro- finance, education, health and rural
development. Several children working as laborers have been rescued and put back in school. Many children have
been provided scholarship to complete their graduation, post-graduation and technical courses such as nursing,
engineering and medicine. A bank, SJVSSN, operated only by the devadasis was also set up with help from the
Infosys Foundation. The program prompted the state government to sanction a pension scheme for the
devadasis. The many targeted initiatives have over the years resulted in upgrading the standard of living and
putting an end to the exploitation of this community.

141
2019
2019 Working Mother & AVTAR
PUTHRI Award for Excellence
CS
R AWA R D S
in CSR - Choice of Jury

Standard Chartered Global Business Services Pvt. Ltd.


Project: GOAL programme
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Standard Chartered Global Business Services has supported 7500 adolescent girls through their GOAL
programme (GOAL combines sports with life-skills training to empower girls with the confidence, knowledge and
skills they need to be integral economic leaders in their families and communities) over the last three years. While
they ensured the girls continued school education and did not drop out, going over and above the remit of GOAL,
a small group of interested staff of GBS India wanted to take this to the next level and make a difference in the lives
of these girls by ensuring they don’t stop with college but take up jobs. The company embarked on a project
where they wanted to involve GBS staff to volunteer to empower these girls to get jobs. They started with
identifying 29 girls (Goal alumni) based on their academics, social and economic background and got 16 trainers
from across 10 Business units to sign up to volunteer, to design the curriculum covering business and soft skills
and deliver the same over 80 sessions through 9 months.

This community project was power packed and well thought through with dedicated people coming together
irrespective of their seniority or grade in the organisation just to ensure we make a difference in the community.
With their appointments in SCB the lives of these girls and their families are set to change in the most fantastic way
possible as they are each the first persons in their families to work in a regular corporate job earning a committed
annual income.

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20
BoB’18:
A look from the Past
The Best of the Best Conference (BoB) is designed to be the space for the community of Diversity & Inclusion (D&I),
HR professionals who are committed to creating inclusive workplaces, to converge on one platform for
thought-provoking conversations centered around D&I. Last year’s BoB had many event highlights including the
launch of Dr Saundarya Rajesh’s (India’s premier D&I expert and Founder-President of Avtar) book The 99 Day
Diversity Challenge. The Conference celebrated the winners of the third edition of Working Mother & Avtar’s Best

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
Companies for Women in India – Top 10 and Top 100 best companies. Successful best practices, strategic steps
conversations around the workplace, marketplace and culture were showcased at the BoB. A pictorial view of the
last year’s event:

Subha Barry, President, Working Mother Media, Mansi Tripathy, Country Dr Saundarya Rajesh, Founder-President of Avtar Group moderating the
Manager, Shell Lubricants, Dr Saundarya Rajesh, Founder-President, CEO Panel with Arindam Banerrji – EVP & MD, Enterprise Global
Avtar Group, Arindam Banerrji – EVP & MD, Enterprise Global Services, Services, Wells Fargo and Gwen M Ryan, Global Operations Leader –
Wells Fargo and Gwen M Ryan, Global Operations Leader – Global Global Delivery Services.
Delivery Services, EY after the release of the book, The 99 Day Diversity
Challenge, authored by Dr Saundarya Rajesh.

The go-to leaders on Diversity & Inclusion were an engaged audience. The involved decision makers, HR leaders, diversity practitioners.

143
Post the release of 99DDC, enthusiastic leaders thronged the book stall Subha Barry, President, Working Mother Media delivering the Inaugural
on display to buy a copy of the book signed by Dr Rajesh. address at the BoB 2018.
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

Sonia Bhatnagar, Sr Vice President & Executive Creative Director, ADK Priti Singh, Vice President, Head Human Resources South Asia at
Fortune, a JWT Company, Vasanthi Hariprakash, Journalist, Political Mastercard, Urvi Aradhya Chief Human Resources Officer, K Raheja Corp,
Commentator, Founder – Pickle Jar and Srinivasan R, Editor, The Hindu Sumer Dheri, Executive VP - Country Management Rx, GlaxoSmithKline
Business Line at the panel on Role of Media in Gender Inclusion. Pharmaceuticals Ltd and Pooja Shahani, Head – Diversity & Inclusion,
Goldman Sachs discussing the mindsets, skillset and toolkits required to
translate the D&I efforts into result.

One of the breakout sessións moderated by Kannan Hariharan, Chief Celebrating the winner of CSR Award with Project Puthri scholars.
Consultant - Avtar discussed at length how men can be effective Project Puthri is Avtar Human Capital Trust’s novel initiative in
advocates for change in their respective organizations. developing career intentionality among underprivileged girls.

144
Being a Male Ally is all about building and contributing towards an An interactive and a creative session with participants on discovering
inclusive culture within an organization. success factors leading to implementable solutions at workplaces.

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
BoB celebrated the winners of Working Mother & Avtar Best Companies Silambattam (Martial arts with Bamboo sticks) group with diversity at
for Women in India - Top 10 and 100 Best its best enthralled the audience with its performance.

145
21
Benchmarking:
Leveraging the Power of Data

&
LEVEL 1 REPORT:
BEST COMPANIES
THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

FOR WOMEN This report will contain:


Data comparison for each
diversity metric against
the 2019 - 100 Best and
2019 Top 10 companies

LEVEL 2 REPORT:

This report will contain:


All of Level 1 +
Customized Assessment
Report with recommendations

UNLEASH for each key policy cluster as


compared with the 2019 Top 10,
2019 -100 Best and 2019 Cluster Best

THE POWER
LEVEL 3 REPORT:
OF DATA This report will contain:
All of Level 2 +
Additional comparison against
industry peers in 2019 – 100 Best
Gain the Watch Monitor Presentation of key findings
competitive edge industry trends your progress for senior leadership, via an
online session

Gain insights, Get greater


strategize control over future

146
21
Benchmarking:
Leveraging the Power of Data

& LEVEL 1 REPORT:

This report will contain:

THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
BCWI Level 1 Report (Data comparison
for each diversity metric against the
2019 - 100 Best and
2019 Top 10 companies)
Data comparison for each metric
against MICI’s winning categories of
Champions and Exemplars of Inclusion

LEVEL 2 REPORT:

This report will contain:


BCWI Level 2 Report (Customized
Assessment Report with
recommendations as compared
with the 2019 Top 10, 2019 -100
Best and 2019 Cluster Best)

UNLEASH Customized Assessment Report


with recommendations that include
benchmarks against MICI’s winning

THE POWER categories of Champions and Exemplars


of Inclusion

OF DATA LEVEL 3 REPORT:

This report will contain:


BCWI Level 3 Report (Customized
Assessment Report with recommendations
as compared with the 2019 Top 10,
2019 - 100 Best, 2019 Cluster Best and
Gain the Watch Monitor 2019 Industry peers)
competitive edge industry trends your progress
Customized Assessment Report with
recommendations that include
benchmarks against MICI’s winning
categories of Champions and Exemplars
Gain insights, Get greater of Inclusion
strategize control over future

147
22
2020: Study Timeline

February 2020: 2020 BCWI & MICI LAUNCH


THE 2019 WORKING MOTHER & AVTAR BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA

February 2020 – May 2020: THE APPLICATION WINDOW


• Companies with over 500 employees in its Indian operations are
eligible to apply.
• All applicant companies will go through a mandatory 3-step
process of application, namely:
1. Registration
2. Confirmation of Participation
3. Application Filing
The last date for the receipt of a completed application
will be May 31, 2020

August 2020: WINNERS NOTIFICATIONS


2020 TOP 10 and 100 Best Companies’ and 2020 MICI – Champions
& Exemplars will be notified of their win status

September 2020:
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT OF 2020 BCWI & MICI winners

October/November 2020:
CELEBRATING THE WINNERS OF 2020 BCWI & MICI

148
& &

BEST COMPANIES
FOR WOMEN

To know more, write us at ek@avtarcc.com or login to www.avtarinc.com

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Material published can only be reproduced with permission.

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