New Delhi, September 02, 2016: Jabong, India’s leading online fashion destination, has announced that it has introduced 6 months of maternity leave for its women employees. The initiative comes as a part of the etailer’s endeavor to enable a conducive working environment for young expectant mothers at Jabong and also reinforce its brand promise to represent the needs of its women customers. The move comes ahead of the Maternity Benefits (Amendment) Bill expected to be tabled in the Lok Sabha in the upcoming winter session. The Bill will impact an estimated 1.8 million women working in India’s organized sector, and is expected to encourage many more to join the corporate sector.
Deepa Chadha, CHRO Jabong said, “Women represent 30% of Jabong’s workforce and 60% of our revenue. We believe that making our culture more inclusive is an economic imperative for the success of our organization and the country. Known for its ‘Be You’ philosophy, Jabong has always aspired to be an opinion leader, and our leadership team decided that we should proactively adopt a longer maternity leave for our women colleagues, and address a genuine concern for them.”
A recent study undertaken by Jody Heymann, founding director of the World Policy Analysis Center, suggests that women who don’t receive paid maternity leave, are more likely to drop out of the workforce, therefore losing income for themselves and their families. The number of women drops sharply in the corporate hierarchy – from 25% at entry level positions to 16% at middle management and only 4% at senior management level. Inability to provide an enabling work environment for young mothers is undoubtedly one of the major root causes. Countries can either work with half of their workforce or compete with their full workforce, which requires paid maternity leave.
“I fully agree with UN Women representative Rebecca Reichmann Tavares that having a more generous maternity leave and flexible timing arrangement will not just be an economic investment but also a measure to ensure social justice. McKinsey estimates India’s women to constitute only 24% of the paid labor force compared to the global average of 40%. The corporate world must find innovative means to encourage women to join the workforce and contribute to the nation’s progress.” adds Deepa Chadha, CHRO Jabong.
Jabong already runs several women-friendly programs such as SHE which offers an in-house crèche, flexi-timings, work from home and so on. In line with its philosophy of ‘Be You’, Jabong provides its women employees the freedom to be what they want to be, and to speak their mind.
ABOUT JABONG
Jabong is a major fashion multi-brand e-store that offers a wide selection of over 350,000 products across footwear, apparel, jewellery and accessories categories. With more than 1500 international high-street brands, sports labels, Indian ethnic and designer labels and over 150,000 styles from over a thousand sellers, Jabong brings to its customers the latest trends from across the globe. Its “Be You” campaign highlights individuality, emphasizes the freedom to be a leader and promotes one’s own sense of style.