Second career innings by women altering workplace culture

Chennai:

Second career innings by women is altering the workplace culture and the female workforce, which is only 28 per cent, is expected to rise, according to women entrepreneurs.

During a roundtable discussion on Women and Entreprenuership organized by US Consulate General, the panelists on Thursday said that workplace is undergoing a major change and women are set to increase in white collar jobs.

Saundarya Rajesh, founder and president of AVTAR Carrer Creators, who was one of the panelist, said that three major trends are shaping the workplace culture, which also includes the rise in second career women.

She said more women who have taken a break after marriage or pregnancy want to re-enter the workplace. This will increase the percentage of women who comprise only 28 per cent of workforce.

Another trend which is shaping up the work culture is Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend among women. This is catching up in IT enabled services where women have fair measure of control over time and this is also beneficial for the company whose spending on capital investment is coming down.

Thirdly, the workplace is becoming multi-generation with freegens, GenX, e-gen and Gen-y working side by side.

Usha Srinivasan, founding member and advisor of eWIT (empowering women in Information Technology) said women are undervalued in workforce and stressed on the need for women to take up entreprenuership. She also said women should create a ‘Brand You’. She said women could judge a company on the basis of how they are treating the women instead of fat pay packages or brand name.

Singer Chinmayi Sripada, who is founder and chief executive officer of Blue Elephant Translation Service highlighted on the importance of ethics and selecting a brand name for entrepreneurial entity.

Vasantha Kumari Selvam, founder and director of the Institute of Career Development (INCAD), stressed on the need for perseverance and never give up attitude. Susan Dunathan, vice consul with US Consulate in Chennai, highted her experiences in the United States.