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The powerpuff girls couldn't have it better. They might not be exactly shattering the glass ceiling but they are slowly making their way to the top – at both work and play.
Now, companies are openly wooing women to balance the sex ratio in offices and also fitting women in professions that they do beautifully.
And women are also being given preferential treatment in the otherwise 'old boys only'clubs to relax and de-stress after a long day at work.
At work
Top companies are doing all they can to have a fair proportion of women employees, and even initiating practices to make sure the workplace is congenial for them.
And if that's not enough, they are being offered packages that can make their male colleagues go green. As a representative of Hindustan Lever Limited reveals, "Over the past two years, more than 40 per cent of all the business leadership trainees we hired were women."
Says Leena Nair, General Manager, Human Resources, "This is part of a conscious attempt to increase the number of women leaders that we could groom for the future. We have as much as 16 per cent of our middle management positions being occupied by women, and this percentage is increasing steadily. We are proactively focusing on increasing these numbers."
Most of the companies understand that women create a positive and friendly atmosphere in the office. There are certain tasks and job profiles that can be carried on better by women.
Manju Malkani, General Manager, HDFC Bank, says, "Almost 25 per cent of our staff comprises women. We understand that they have a role to play in the house as well, so we try to balance the two by not keeping them late after office hours or give them travelling jobs."
Even IT firms like Infosys are witnessing an increase in the number of women joining the organisation. The company spokesperson at Infosys says, "There has been an increase in the number of women joining the IT workforce. We have a 29 per cent women workforce. Women have the ability to multitask, which is a very important to possess especially in IT. We try to help them balance work and home by giving them flexi hour options."
At play
If you are a woman, your chance to become a member of the oh-so-snooty clubs – previously a male bastion – is much brighter than the not-so-fair sex.
For instance, India International Center makes an effort to ensure that when they take new members, at least 30 per cent are women.
An official at the IIC says, "We like to encourage single ladies and take in a fair number of women when a new batch is chosen. This time, we made sure that at least 30 per cent were women."
The Delhi Gymkhana club also has a special category for single women. Dr Charu Wali Khanna, a committee member of the club, says, "I am a member in my own right as I inherited the membership.
Earlier there was a rule that only the husband inherited the membership but now this has changed as it created a lot of problems. The club encourages single women to join because a this is a relatively safe place. A single woman can't go to a pub or disc all alone but she can come to the club."
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