In a move that’s likely to delight its women employees more than any women’s day campaigns or discounts can, ICICI has just announced a Work From Home For A Year option for its women employees. The initiative has been rolled by Chanda Kochhar, CEO ICICI bank and a prominent woman in Indian business.
Women in all roles, except those in direct customer-facing ones, would be eligible for this initiative based on their life stage needs. These would include young mothers, expectant mothers, those suffering from medical conditions among others. The bank will provide for secure laptops to enable women to work from home in a secure and stable environment.
The rationale behind the initiative is attributed to lower number of women at the workplace and the many domestic challenges that plague women post marriage and childbirth. “To ensure that working women do not leave the workforce, there is a strong need for a robust support system, both at home and at work.”, says Kochhar.
Ms. Chanda Kochhar, MD & CEO, ICICI Bank shares her views on the new women centric initiatives. #ICICIWorkatHome (1) pic.twitter.com/HPLlixG8XF
— ICICI Bank (@ICICIBank) March 7, 2016
“Women who would have otherwise quit due to maternity, childcare or other reasons are now requesting for this option so that they can continue to work with the bank from home and are also progressing at the same pace in their career as other colleagues,” she added. The bank, which has about 30% women in its overall workforce, has also seen an increase in productivity where women have been enabled to work from home.
Kochhar is touted to have made for one of the progressive leaderships at the banking giant. Under Kochhar’s tutelage many women empowering initiatives such as women-friendly savings scheme, special debit cards and loan schemes and participation in MyCleanIndia programme have been launched.