Leaning into Flexible Work for Women in India

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently voiced his strong support for increasing the participation of women in the workforce.

“We have to think what more can we do for our women workforce, particularly in the emerging sectors. We can make good use of the women power by adopting flexible work hours, which is the future need,” he stated in an address to labour ministers and secretaries of states and union territories.

The Indian government has set lofty goals for its economy and infrastructure in their ‘Vision India @ 2047’ and it appears that the government is putting words into action by pushing for more social security measures and workplace welfare initiatives to support reaching their goals.

The India government recognises that encouraging the female population to participate in the workforce through initiatives like flexible workplaces, a work from home ecosystem, and flexi-work hours, are important ways to achieve their vision.

We are likely to see more government-supported initiatives like these in the coming years, and it’s important that companies adjust their hiring processes to accommodate this influx of female candidates and support increased diversity in their hiring.

Improving hiring processes to increase diversity

Just as workplaces need to become more inclusive to attract a diverse workforce, hiring processes also need to be made more flexible to retain diverse and top-quality candidates in hiring pools.

One way in which companies can offer a flexible hiring process to candidates is by incorporating digital and remote background screening and identity verification options.

Offering digital background screening options enables candidates to conduct their background screening requirements in a manner that is convenient and suitable for them.

For example, remote background screening offers candidates the option to supply their identity documents via photo capture on the weekend or weeknights, instead of during business hours. This type of convenience can be an extremely appealing factor for working mothers and women who provide other types of care during business hours. In fact, it may be the difference between retaining them in the hiring process or losing them to competitors.

Facilitating flexible hiring processes that recognise candidates may be time-poor and have other obligations demonstrates that a company values flexibility and inclusivity from the outset. In the current climate of high talent demand, it is a distinguishing feature that can mean securing the best talent and signifying your company’s values in all aspects of business.

Sterling RISQ offers a variety of digital and remote background screening solutions to facilitate a flexible and efficient hiring process. Learn more about our range of services and solutions by contacting us here or drop us an email at info@sterlingrisq.com