This Actually Happened A Quarter Century Ago

Have you been in a workplace where women feel empowered, safe and valued?

I have. But not just that!

NDTV, the company I worked in, was well ahead of its time in many ways.

Sample just a few examples:

• It offered a fully-paid six months maternity leave when it was unheard of.

Legally, Indian workplaces were required to offer a 12-week maternity leave policy then. The Maternity Benefit Amendment Act 2017 revised it to 26 weeks for those with a minimum of 10 employees.

Imagine a company doing so voluntarily almost 25 years before it was statutorily mandated.

There’s more:

• It had a creche in the office where a working mom could leave her child at peace while she pursued her day job.
• It ensured an armed guard would accompany a lady employee when she returned home after work late in the night. The office cab driver and the guard had clear instructions not to leave before ensuring she was safe inside her home.

I know I am repeating, but it’s worth reiterating that such measures were in place in the 20th century. Not just these, you could sense it even as a visitor – that’s how ingrained it was in the work culture.

 A former colleague Tanuja recently shared an incident from those days when she, along with a few other female colleagues, proceeded to watch a film late at night after work. Our then boss happened to be there. The next day, she sent them an email that it was not safe for girls to go for late-night movie screenings and if they made plans in future, they could ask her to schedule their shifts accordingly.

Yes, that really happened!

• NDTV fostered an environment at work where women not just felt safe and protected but empowered and enthused to excel at work; where they had ample opportunities to grow, to lead, and to earn their place at the high table.

Believe-it-or-not, all my bosses and most seniors were women. So were the majority of colleagues in my team.

You believed that! Try this:

A few men in the team felt disadvantaged compared to their women counterparts. They argued how they had to be outstanding to be noticed and for a male to rise then to the top or a leadership position there, meant he was good enough to lead anywhere in the industry.

I am not making this up.

If you’ve followed my writing, you will know I reflect on my lived experiences.

Now, if this is a reality that occurred at a workplace in the 20^th century, by now such practice should be commonly prevalent, right?

Sadly, not!

There has been much progress now in many sectors, but still more needs to be done.

Do note that diversity, inclusion that are liberally used in the professional world now, were not buzzwords then.

How Was That Possible?

The answer lies literally in “the heart” of the matter.

Prannoy and Radhika Roy, the promoters, knew in their heart that this was the right thing to do. They practised what they believed in. It did not matter to them if the measures that they followed inflated their company’s costs or were unheard of in the industry.

They did what they felt was right.

If you worked there, you would notice, even in the smallest of things.

Dr. Roy – the big boss – would hold the door open for any and every lady before or after him, to pass through. Doesn’t matter if he knows her or not.

He once caught me walking up the stairs empty handed behind a lady colleague carrying a box of tapes. He looked at me in disbelief and offered to carry it for her. Anasuya, my colleague then, was neither seeking help nor showing the slightest tinge of discomfort walking up those stairs. She was an athlete and perhaps had more stamina than I. It did not occur to me – even for a second – to offer help.

His expression said it all, and left me embarrassed. A quarter century later, when I think of it, I still am.

Being a part of the company then taught me lessons that have served me well all these years. More so, when I was promoted as a team lead, and later as head of department (HOD). It opened my eyes to a way of thinking I am not sure I would have, on my own, or working elsewhere.

What You Can do as a Male  

There are some things that only an organisation can do. But then there are others that you can do as a male to make your women colleagues feel safe and valued.

This applies to all males, irrespective of their position in the official hierarchy.

If you’re a head of a department or a team lead, your actions can influence and inspire your team or even other teams at your workplace to follow suit.

How you engage with your female colleagues can have far-reaching consequences not just in how they feel around you but how your workplace is perceived outside by the industry and the society at large. And that can encourage more women to join the workforce.

You can make a big difference in your own small way, if you aren’t already.