What’s forcing women employees to quit India’s largest IT firm TCS?

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), one of the largest IT firms in India, has been dealing with a tricky situation after the mass resignation of female employees. A report by Bloomberg mentioned that when the IT giant ended the work-from-home policy, more female employees decided not to return to the office as compared to male employees. 

Not just TCS, the work-from-home policy was implemented in various sectors during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic to curb the spread of the deadly virus. But the economies across the world gradually reopened when the lockdown measures were relaxed and many companies started to call their employees back to office. 

But the report shows that the attrition among women was reported to be higher at TCS when it called employees back to work, which was unusual for the company, where female attrition has historically been either lower or similar to their male counterparts. 

In the company's annual report last week, Chief Human Resources Officer of TCS Milind Lakkad said, "I would think working from home during the pandemic reset the domestic arrangements for some women, keeping them from returning to office." 

"It is a setback to our efforts to promote gender diversity, but we are doubling down on it," Lakkad said, further adding that women make up about 36% of TCS employees. He said that the company is trying to increase their representation, including in leadership roles. 

According to the report, the work-from-home scenario has provided the flexibility to work remotely. In recent years, it has helped companies to attract and retain talent. 

Work-from-home has helped women employees especially as several reports have claimed that they have managed to juggle office and home duties in a hybrid environment. Bloomberg said that the shift now is making them drop out of the workforce, worsening already low participation in the workforce. 

According to World Bank data, at 24%, India's female labour force participation is much lower than 61% in China. The report argues that's a risk for economic growth in the world's most populous nation, where women comprise about half of the citizens. 

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