A Curious Case Of Workplace Inclusivity

Women employees always find themselves to be left in the lurch- be it workplace inclusivity, pay parity or leadership positions, women are always seen eating the humble pie. Though, initiatives towards gender diversity by organisations such as Google and Facebook have made the others follow suit, an Uber like incident tend to reflect the wrong sentiment about existing corporate practices. While every woman employee may not completely right when she claims wrongdoings by her employer, it is completely true that many organisations need to overcome their patriarchal mindset.

- Dr. Nina Jacob

Seated in her office, Deepika was in a state of predicament and was contemplating if she should leave her present job. Deepika Kumari is  a driven, competent manager in Bajaj Confabulation, one of the leading companies in the country. She is a MBA from a well-known institute and has earned the reputation as a person who delivers results. And yet, she is on the lookout for the ideal work place and had to quit several jobs since she had developed the feeling that she was at a disadvantage as a woman employee.

She began to recollect her first job as a management trainee with a Tata Group company. She was pleased as a punch when she had joined, and had even worked long hours to earn her spurs. Everything was going about very smoothly for her until Abhay came on board. Abhay was older to her, but was otherwise comparable in terms of qualifications and experience. Salaries were deemed as confidential information in her company. A mere Rs. 20,000/- in 2010, Deepika knew that her salary was nothing to write home about. She loved her work in spite of Abhay, who always behaved in a condescending manner with her. He sat at a desk near her and often referred to her as "my secretary," and would very quickly add, "just joking."