Apple has been sued by two female employees. They have accused the company of being sexist. Molly Gambhir gets you the complete story. Watch in for more details!

Women employees sue Apple over pay bias

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.&nbsp;

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.&nbsp;

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.&nbsp;

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."&nbsp;

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/india-nine-tata-steel-workers-hospitalised-after-steam-leak-in-odisha-plant-603973">Nine Tata Steel workers hospitalised after steam leak in Odisha plant</a>&nbsp;

"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.&nbsp;

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.&nbsp;

Watch:&nbsp;India tops digital payments ranking&nbsp;

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<h2>WFH: A blessing for women?&nbsp;</h2>

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.&nbsp;

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.&nbsp;

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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.

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." Also read: Nine Tata Steel workers hospitalised after steam leak in Odisha plant "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. Watch: India tops digital payments ranking × WFH: A blessing for women? 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. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

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

The return of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan was never good news for the country’s women population. Over the years, the Taliban were infamous for their oppressive rules for women and the new regime is trying to implement similar restrictions once again. The finance ministry of the country has asked its female employees to nominate a male relative to work in their place. The women employees were earlier barred from working in public sector jobs and this announcement reasserted the position taken by the government. According to The Guardian, the Taliban sent the female employees home soon after taking power last year and have been paying reduced salaries.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/global-recession-incoming-three-wall-street-leaders-enlist-possible-reasons-for-the-economic-doomsday-498373" hreflang="en">Global recession incoming? Three Wall Street leaders enlist possible reasons for the economic doomsday</a>

This is the latest decision taken by the Taliban regime which is a painful reminder of how things were in Afghanistan during the early 2000s. In May, the government once again passed a decree on women’s clothing and made it mandatory for male “guardians” to accompany women in public.

An employee of the Afghanistan finance ministry, on the condition of anonymity confirmed the developments to The Guardian and said that the justification given for the exclusion was that the “workload in the office has increased and they need to hire a man instead of us”.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/south-asia/sri-lanka-acting-president-ranil-wickremesinghe-declares-state-of-emergency-498307" hreflang="en">Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe declares state of emergency</a>

&nbsp;“I was asked to introduce a male family member to replace me at the ministry, so I could be dismissed from the job. How can I easily introduce someone else to replace me? Would he be able to work as efficiently as I have for so many years?” she said according to The Guardian.

It has been a tough period of time for Afghanistan as the country was rocked by a number of earthquakes and according to the United Nations, a huge portion of its population is currently facing acute hunger after farming was disrupted by the civil war and natural disasters.

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The return of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan was never good news for the country’s women population. Over the years, the Taliban were infamous for their oppressive rules for women and the new regime is trying to implement similar restrictions once again.

The return of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan was never good news for the country’s women population. Over the years, the Taliban were infamous for their oppressive rules for women and the new regime is trying to implement similar restrictions once again. The finance ministry of the country has asked its female employees to nominate a male relative to work in their place. The women employees were earlier barred from working in public sector jobs and this announcement reasserted the position taken by the government. According to The Guardian, the Taliban sent the female employees home soon after taking power last year and have been paying reduced salaries. Also read | Global recession incoming? Three Wall Street leaders enlist possible reasons for the economic doomsday This is the latest decision taken by the Taliban regime which is a painful reminder of how things were in Afghanistan during the early 2000s. In May, the government once again passed a decree on women’s clothing and made it mandatory for male “guardians” to accompany women in public. An employee of the Afghanistan finance ministry, on the condition of anonymity confirmed the developments to The Guardian and said that the justification given for the exclusion was that the “workload in the office has increased and they need to hire a man instead of us”. Also read | Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe declares state of emergency “I was asked to introduce a male family member to replace me at the ministry, so I could be dismissed from the job. How can I easily introduce someone else to replace me? Would he be able to work as efficiently as I have for so many years?” she said according to The Guardian. It has been a tough period of time for Afghanistan as the country was rocked by a number of earthquakes and according to the United Nations, a huge portion of its population is currently facing acute hunger after farming was disrupted by the civil war and natural disasters. WATCH WION LIVE HERE

'Asked to introduce male relatives': Taliban look to remove women from public sector roles

The government today announced a reduction in women employees&#39; contribution to EPF to 8 per cent for first three years and extended the fixed-term employment facility to all sectors to create more jobs.

Besides, it also proposed to extend the facility of payment of 12 per cent employers&#39; contribution by government towards social security schemes run by Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) for new employees for first three years of their employment to all sectors.

&quot;To incentivise employment of more women in the formal sector and to enable higher take home wages, I propose to make amendments in the Employees Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provision Act 1952, to reduce women employees&#39; contribution to 8 per cent for first three years of their employment against existing existing rate of 12 per cent or 10 per cent with no change in employers&#39; contribution,&quot; Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in his Budget Speech today.

&quot;The government will contribute 12 per cent of the wages of the new employees in the EPF for all the sectors for next three years. Also the facility for fixed-term employment will be extended to all sectors,&quot; he said.

At present, the fixed term employment facility is available to sectors employing large number of workers like textiles, leather and footware under the the Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY).

The government pays 8.33 per cent of basic wages as employers&#39; contribution toward Employees&#39; Pension Scheme (EPS) for other sectors and the firms are paying 3.67 per cent as their share of contribution towards Employees Provident Fund under the PMRPY.

The government claimed that such measures in the past have been paying dividends and would result in creation of 70 lakhjobs this year as per an independent study.

&quot;Proposed changes to PF scheme by way of Government PF contributions for new employees and reduced PF contributions by employers for women for first three years will help in promoting employment growth, and more so for employment of women,&quot; said Alok Agrawal, Senior Director, Deloitte Haskins &amp; Sells.

The Budget 2018-19 also proposed to bring in liberalised scope of employment generation incentives available under 80JJAA of the Income Tax Act.

Currently, a deduction of 30 per cent is allowed in addition to normal deduction of 100 per cent in respect of emoluments paid to eligible new employees who have been employed for a minimum period of 240 days during the year under section 80-JJAA of the Income-tax Act.

However, the minimum period of employment is relaxed to 150 days in the case of apparel industry.

The minister said, &quot;In order to encourage creation of new employment, I propose to extend this relaxation to footwear and leather industry. Further, I also propose to rationalise this deduction of 30 per cent by allowing the benefit for a new employee who is employed for less than the minimum period during the first year but continues to remain employed for the minimum period in subsequent year.&quot;

Commenting on these budget proposals, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh ?Zonal Secretary Pawan Kumar said, &quot;This budget is a total disappointment. The proposal to reduce women&#39;s EPF contribution to 8 per cent from existing 12 per cent of wages would be possible only after the amendment in the Employees&#39; Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act.&quot;

He further said that the government had earlier decided to make provident fund contributions optional for employees in apparel and made-ups sector under a policy but it could not be implemented because the Act was not amended for the purpose.

Similarly, he said that the proposal to reduce women&#39;s EPF contribution would require an amendment in the Act and seems more like populist announcement in view Lok Sabha polls due next year.

Under the social security scheme run by the EPFO, the employees contributes 12 per cent of their basic wages which goes into their Empoloyees&#39; Provident Fund account.

Employers also makes a matching contribution of 12.5 per cent out of which 8.33 per cent goes into Employees Pension Scheme and 3.67 per cent is deposited into employees&#39; EPF account. The employer also pays 0.5 per cent of basic wages towards Employees&#39; Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme.&nbsp;

The government claimed that such measures in the past have been paying dividends and would result in creation of 70 lakhjobs this year as per an independent study.

The government today announced a reduction in women employees' contribution to EPF to 8 per cent for first three years and extended the fixed-term employment facility to all sectors to create more jobs. Besides, it also proposed to extend the facility of payment of 12 per cent employers' contribution by government towards social security schemes run by Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) for new employees for first three years of their employment to all sectors. "To incentivise employment of more women in the formal sector and to enable higher take home wages, I propose to make amendments in the Employees Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provision Act 1952, to reduce women employees' contribution to 8 per cent for first three years of their employment against existing existing rate of 12 per cent or 10 per cent with no change in employers' contribution," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in his Budget Speech today. "The government will contribute 12 per cent of the wages of the new employees in the EPF for all the sectors for next three years. Also the facility for fixed-term employment will be extended to all sectors," he said. At present, the fixed term employment facility is available to sectors employing large number of workers like textiles, leather and footware under the the Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY). The government pays 8.33 per cent of basic wages as employers' contribution toward Employees' Pension Scheme (EPS) for other sectors and the firms are paying 3.67 per cent as their share of contribution towards Employees Provident Fund under the PMRPY. The government claimed that such measures in the past have been paying dividends and would result in creation of 70 lakhjobs this year as per an independent study. "Proposed changes to PF scheme by way of Government PF contributions for new employees and reduced PF contributions by employers for women for first three years will help in promoting employment growth, and more so for employment of women," said Alok Agrawal, Senior Director, Deloitte Haskins & Sells. The Budget 2018-19 also proposed to bring in liberalised scope of employment generation incentives available under 80JJAA of the Income Tax Act. Currently, a deduction of 30 per cent is allowed in addition to normal deduction of 100 per cent in respect of emoluments paid to eligible new employees who have been employed for a minimum period of 240 days during the year under section 80-JJAA of the Income-tax Act. However, the minimum period of employment is relaxed to 150 days in the case of apparel industry. The minister said, "In order to encourage creation of new employment, I propose to extend this relaxation to footwear and leather industry. Further, I also propose to rationalise this deduction of 30 per cent by allowing the benefit for a new employee who is employed for less than the minimum period during the first year but continues to remain employed for the minimum period in subsequent year." Commenting on these budget proposals, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh ?Zonal Secretary Pawan Kumar said, "This budget is a total disappointment. The proposal to reduce women's EPF contribution to 8 per cent from existing 12 per cent of wages would be possible only after the amendment in the Employees' Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act." He further said that the government had earlier decided to make provident fund contributions optional for employees in apparel and made-ups sector under a policy but it could not be implemented because the Act was not amended for the purpose. Similarly, he said that the proposal to reduce women's EPF contribution would require an amendment in the Act and seems more like populist announcement in view Lok Sabha polls due next year. Under the social security scheme run by the EPFO, the employees contributes 12 per cent of their basic wages which goes into their Empoloyees' Provident Fund account. Employers also makes a matching contribution of 12.5 per cent out of which 8.33 per cent goes into Employees Pension Scheme and 3.67 per cent is deposited into employees' EPF account. The employer also pays 0.5 per cent of basic wages towards Employees' Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme.

Budget 2018: EPF contributions of women employees cut to 8% for first 3 years

In a case of leading by example, a Mumbai-based digital media company has decided to give its women employees a day off during their periods, Times of India reported.

Culture Machine came out with a video on its official YouTube channel Blush highlighting how women have to struggle at the workplace during their periods. At the end of the video, the company said that it will give a paid day off to all its women employees on the first day of their period.

Talking about the decision, the president of human resource development of the company said, &quot;This is part of life.&quot;&nbsp;

The company, through the video, has urged others to sign a petition put up by its women employees at Change.org to implement the decision in other companies as well.

Venkat Prasad, the co-founder and chief technology officer of the company, said that the idea behind the decision was to make the women employees &quot;feel appreciated&quot;.

He further said that the company wanted to walk the talk in a country where women empowerment is limited only to discussions and debates. &nbsp;

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The company allows its employees to take leave on the first day of their periods. It is a paid day off

In a case of leading by example, a Mumbai-based digital media company has decided to give its women employees a day off during their periods, Times of India reported. Culture Machine came out with a video on its official YouTube channel Blush highlighting how women have to struggle at the workplace during their periods. At the end of the video, the company said that it will give a paid day off to all its women employees on the first day of their period. Talking about the decision, the president of human resource development of the company said, "This is part of life." The company, through the video, has urged others to sign a petition put up by its women employees at Change.org to implement the decision in other companies as well. Venkat Prasad, the co-founder and chief technology officer of the company, said that the idea behind the decision was to make the women employees "feel appreciated". He further said that the company wanted to walk the talk in a country where women empowerment is limited only to discussions and debates.

Mumbai company gives women employees day off during period

Government investigators looking into how Google pays its employees have accused the tech giant of shortchanging women doing similar work to men.

A US Department of Labour official disclosed the agency&#39;s allegations during a Friday court hearing in San Francisco. 
&quot;We found systemic compensation disparities against women pretty much across the entire workforce,&quot; Janette Wipper, a Labour Department regional director, testified, according to a report published by The Guardian.

Google said it vehemently disagreed with the charges, which the Mountain View, California, company said it hadn&#39;t heard until Wipper&#39;s court appearance.

&quot;Every year, we do a comprehensive and robust analysis of pay across genders and we have found no gender pay gap,&quot; Google said in its statement.

Google and other technology companies have been trying to improve hiring practices that have historically doled out most of their technical jobs to white and Asian men. Their efforts to strike a better balance have been mostly unsuccessful so far.

For instance, only 19 per cent of Google&#39;s technology jobs are held by women. Overall, nearly one-third of Google&#39;s more than 70,000 workers are women.

The Labour Department&#39;s probe evolved from a lawsuit filed in January seeking to bar Google doing business with the federal government unless the company complied with an audit of its employee-compensation records. Google has said it has turned over some of the requested records, but withheld other information that it believes would invade its workers&#39; privacy.

While Google and its peers have been disclosing embarrassing sexual and racial imbalances in their workforces for the past few years, the technology industry so far has kept its compensation practices a closely guarded secret. 
The Labour Department is now scrutinising Silicon Valley for patterns of pay and hiring discrimination under its powers to vet companies that bid for lucrative government contracts.

Earlier this year, the Labour Department also sued Oracle, alleging that the business software maker routinely pays white male workers more than their female and non-white counterparts for comparable jobs.

(PTI)

Only 19 per cent of Google's technology jobs are held by women

Government investigators looking into how Google pays its employees have accused the tech giant of shortchanging women doing similar work to men. A US Department of Labour official disclosed the agency's allegations during a Friday court hearing in San Francisco. "We found systemic compensation disparities against women pretty much across the entire workforce," Janette Wipper, a Labour Department regional director, testified, according to a report published by The Guardian. Google said it vehemently disagreed with the charges, which the Mountain View, California, company said it hadn't heard until Wipper's court appearance. "Every year, we do a comprehensive and robust analysis of pay across genders and we have found no gender pay gap," Google said in its statement. Google and other technology companies have been trying to improve hiring practices that have historically doled out most of their technical jobs to white and Asian men. Their efforts to strike a better balance have been mostly unsuccessful so far. For instance, only 19 per cent of Google's technology jobs are held by women. Overall, nearly one-third of Google's more than 70,000 workers are women. The Labour Department's probe evolved from a lawsuit filed in January seeking to bar Google doing business with the federal government unless the company complied with an audit of its employee-compensation records. Google has said it has turned over some of the requested records, but withheld other information that it believes would invade its workers' privacy. While Google and its peers have been disclosing embarrassing sexual and racial imbalances in their workforces for the past few years, the technology industry so far has kept its compensation practices a closely guarded secret. The Labour Department is now scrutinising Silicon Valley for patterns of pay and hiring discrimination under its powers to vet companies that bid for lucrative government contracts. Earlier this year, the Labour Department also sued Oracle, alleging that the business software maker routinely pays white male workers more than their female and non-white counterparts for comparable jobs. (PTI)

Google accused of underpaying female workers

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