Paternity Leave ‘Beneficial for Business’ at Indian Utility

Speeches Shim

BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL) improves parental leave for all employees. Improving work/life balance boosts performance at the utility.

USAID’s Engendering Utilities program supported BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL)—an Indian energy utility—to develop and roll-out a paternity leave policy; the first of its kind for the company. Research shows that parental leave benefits help companies attract and retain talent, improve retention, increase employee productivity, and promote diversity and inclusion; factors known to improve business performance. Parental leave is the right for employees, both women and men, to take paid or unpaid leave from an organization to care for children or other dependents, while continuing to maintain their employment status. A recent study by Promundo found that women conduct as much as six times the amount of unpaid work that men do, and that providing equal parental leave benefits can help equalize the care burden as fathers spend more time at home with their children.

USAID’s Engendering Utilities program works with organizations in male-dominated industries to increase economic opportunities for women, improve gender equality, boost business performance, and strengthen economies. Through a customized best practices framework, demand-driven coaching, and a Gender Equity Executive Leadership Program, Engendering Utilities builds the capacity of leaders to implement gender equality interventions that increase the professional participation of women and meet their core business goals.

Launched in 2015, the Engendering Utilities program demonstrates USAID’s commitment to promote a path to self-reliance and resilience in developing countries by fostering enterprise-driven innovation, inclusive economic growth, and gender equality and women’s economic empowerment. Engendering Utilities is a key activity under the U.S. Government’s Women’s Global Development and Prosperity Initiative (W-GDP), which aims to reach 50 million women by 2025 through innovative and effective programs.

Date 
Thursday, January 7, 2021 - 8:45pm