Cos get sensitive to women back from sabbatical

NEW DELHI: Nupur Gurbaxani, 33, joined Godrej Group as a manager and in four years rose through the ranks to became general manager, international business marketing. However, after a career break of 6 months post pregnancy, she received a call from her exemployer to join them back for a more challenging project of developing business in Africa. “After a successful stint I was promoted to associate vice-president in only a a year-and-a-half post my career break,” Gurbaxani added.

There is a revolving door in Corporate India now to help women stay or return to the workforce, and the pressure to increase gender diversity in offices has mounted after rent legal pressures to mandatorily appoint women to the boards of listed companies.

Women who had personal aspirations or family responsibilities used to find it difficult to return to work. No longer.

Companies are turning more sensitive, thanks to the guidelines issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India, which mandates all listed companies to appoint at least one woman director on their respective boards.

Indian cor porate giants such as Axis Bank, Dabur, RPG Group, Tata Group and Godrej Group are drafting policies to build women-based talent pipelines by re-hiring female executives who went on sabbaticals.

Axis Bank, for example, has launched “Re-connect”— a programme that offers jobs to former women staff who have left the bank in the last 10 years. “In another policy, our interview panel will comprise male and women panelists in equal proportion. Then, we have told our HR consultants to send resumes of male and female candidates in equal proportion,” said Rajesh Dahiya, HR head, Axis Bank.