Start-ups hesitant to hire women
In the start-up ecosystem which does not have deep pockets, entrepreneurs are hesitant to hire women. Are you getting married soon, are you planning a family soon, are questions women candidates are inevitably asked, as employers weigh maternity and other benefits they may have to extend.
"Start-ups cannot afford to pay salary (when the women are away) and they work on tight deadlines," said a male entrepreneur who preferred anonymity.
Start-ups need people to work long hours and with greater intensity, at least till they become profitable and sustainable and the assumption is that women will not be able to cope up with this. Mandatory maternity leave is another thorn for employers, particularly with early stage startups.
Women entrepreneurs don't buy these arguments. "Start-ups as such are dynamic and there are no contracts. The employees tend to move out whenever they get better opportunities. So holding off a potential woman employee just because of marriage or pregnancy is not good for a startup. Many entrepreneurs are highly educated and the last thing on their mind should be gender," said Ms Vaishali Neotia, CEO of Merxius.
Women may not be applying in large numbers to start-ups because of the long working hours. This is changing slowly due to initiatives like We-Hub.
"We-Hub is creating a women and children friendly environment and wants women to come back to work. We are setting up a childplay area, child friendly bathrooms, and rest areas to ensure women employees and entrepreneurs have a conducive environment to work in. We are creating open-collaboration area where any woman entrepreneur can reserve time and hold meetings in a safe environment," said We-Hub CEO Deepthi Ravula.
At WeHub we are working with banks, corporates and make the most of the policies provided by the government to get funding for womenfounders. With childfriendly environment, physical incubation, legal support, most of the hurdles that women entrepreneurs face will be satisfied. – DEEPTHI RAVULA,
CEO of We-Hub.