Notwithstanding the upsurge of debates and measures to promote gender equality in workplace, experts say around 60 per cent of the women drop their career in the middle.

At the entry level, most organisations do well in hiring and training women, but the struggle with retention begins when women reach mid-managerial levels.

Greater gender balance in the workplace helps companies to improve their organisational performance, operational results and overall market status.

“Some of the factors that companies can adopt in order to bring in more women into their payrolls are by maintaining a better work-life balance for female employees and by mentoring and grooming them for bigger projects and promotions,” Ritu Mehrotra, VP Global HR and Talent Management of Bristlecone, a Mahindra Group Company said.

According to GlobalHunt MD Sunil Goel “more than 60-70 per cent of the women drop their career at mid, due to their personal and family liabilities or been not given adequate support and space within the organisation to grow further.”

Experts are of the opinion that these trained women are valuable assets to a company and they need to see how to retain them, sometime even go the extra mile and ensure that all the investment made on the women employees is realised.

According to PwC India Consulting leader Satyavati Berera “organisations need to have more pro-gender diversity policies and ensure equal participation of women and men in decision making process at all levels.”

Gender equality at the workplace can help in propagating a sense of equality in society as well, experts said, adding that companies today are carrying out various innovative initiatives that empowers women to secure a better future for themselves.

“Tata Steel believes that empowerment of women ultimately benefits society at large,” a company spokesperson said, adding that the company has an initiative called Tejaswini, that trains women for jobs which were earlier considered suitable for ‘men only’

“To achieve sustainable change, a focus on women in leadership is not enough,” PricewaterhouseCoopers International Global Diversity and Inclusion Leader Agnes Hussherr said, added that companies must understand how to attract, develop, and retain “millennial women”.

According to a Grant Thornton research report, the representation of Indian women in senior company positions remains a cause of concern at 14 per cent, below the global average which was around 24 per cent.

Moreover, in an average year, 13 per cent of the graduates that Indian businesses hire are women, while the corresponding global figure is 21 per cent.

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