Why corporates are scared of hiring women - Women employment in Gujarat is less than 15%
Ahmedabad: Is it something like women do not have brains or they are less efficient? Then, why are women not being hired by corporates in Gujarat? The theme of International Women’s Day 2014 is Inspiring Change. It says that although women’s equality has made positive gains, the world is still unequal. Therefore, the industrial state of India, Gujarat, too, is unequal.
According to data available with the state government, the men-women working ratio in Gujarat is 100:15.
There are over 21 lakh people working with different sectors out of which just 3 lakh are women. Following the alleged rape of a journalist by Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal, industry associations and many corporate houses have started introducing anti-sexual harassment policy while some companies have decided not to hire women to avoid such circumstances that may tarnish the company’s image.
A couple of months ago, a meeting of members of an industry association was called in Ahmedabad where most of the promoters were seriously thinking of putting a full stop to recruiting women, said a member of that association. “If companies do not hire women, it will never come across any complaint of sexual harassment,” said the official.
There are few such corporate companies which have almost stopped hiring women. One of them is a pharmaceutical company while the other is a conglomerate. However, there are also some companies that have more than 50% women on the payroll. There are companies in education, healthcare, IT, telecom, hospitality and other service sectors where women employment is more than 15%.
In Vodafone Gujarat, the total employee strength is over 700 employees of which women’s share is 20%. “We have always laid great emphasis on equal rights and opportunities for our employees and our policies encourage women employees to aspire for and achieve their career ambitions,” said Brajesh Bajpai, business head of Gujarat, Vodafone India.
