Tanuja Chandra, one of Indian cinema’s first woman directors, shared an anecdote about her recent film’s premier event. She was standing for a photo with Anupama Chopra and Pooja Bhatt, when the photographer asked them to “smile the same way.”
Cultures across the country have their own ways of supporting women during and after childbirth. The new mother is often given special care and attention during this time. This care ranges from friends or family visiting to help with chores and keep her company, to specialised diets and medicinal regimes focused on her wellbeing and recovery.
Now, the support that new mothers get from their cultural or personal community is well-established. But what about the support she needs from her workplace?
A study conducted by Ashoka University in 2018 reported that 48% women left their jobs within 4 months of rejoining after maternity leave. Five years later in 2023, a report by a women’s platform, OfExperiences, identified the lack of flexible work options and bias within the organisation as two major challenges women face when rejoining after maternity leave.
Just as men, not all women can smile the same way. But there are certainly some strategies that can enable a company to retain working women across the board. Write to us at hello@serein.in to know how to effectively support parents working at your company.