A third of India's technology services labor force comprises
women, already a better gender ratio than most other industries in the country
The coronavirus
pandemic has hit women worldwide with job losses and closures of childcare
centers. Yet a surprising bright spot is emerging: India’s $200 billion
technology services industry, where new rules are expected to provide female
workers with a broad swath of flexible work arrangements and fresh employment
opportunities.
On the outskirts
of New Delhi, Teena Likhari, 45, quit her job running operations for the Indian
back office of a Silicon Valley company in 2018 because of a family medical
emergency. Looking to rejoin this year, she expected a market stunted by
lockdowns. Instead, the pandemic had made work-from-home
mainstream in her industry, which had long shunned the practice.
Not only did the
operations manager quickly land a job with Indian outsourcer WNS Global
Services, but working from her home in the city of Gurgaon, she began
overseeing a 100-member team in the city of Pune about 900 miles away.
Likhari is one of
the early beneficiaries of India’s decision to lift decades-old restrictions on
remote work in back office firms because of the pandemic. The tech services
industry -- one of the country’s most important financially -- can now allow
employees to shift from traditional offices to work-from-anywhere arrangements,
permanently if needed. Indian women, who have often had to sacrifice for their
husbands’ careers or other commitments at home, have much to gain from the
policy change.
“Even a year ago,
an operations leader working remotely would’ve been unimaginable,” said
Likhari, who has seen scores of women quit work after childbirth, marriage or
when a family member fell ill. “The change will allow so many career women like
me to do what we do from home, it’s a game changer.”
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