BENGALURU : Giving a fillip to careers of women who have taken a break, SAP Software Solutions has come up with ‘Back-to-Work’ — a platform for women to gain re-entry into the workforce.
The initiative aims at offering “project-based” job opportunities. "SAP recognises that many of the women who may have stepped back from the paid workforce to focus on personal commitments are highly-qualified and experienced," said an official statement from SAP India.
SAP India Vice President Human Resources Vlasta Dusil added that the initiative was targeted at eliminating gender disparity in the country and to tap into a high-potential female work force.
To be eligible for the programme, applicants need to have at least three years of prior work experience before taking a break. They also need to be able to show a minimum of two years’ break from work.
Candidates would be provided with an opportunity to work on projects with a maximum duration of six months.
The work could either be virtual or onsite and through Back-to-Work, SAP will offer flexible work arrangements too. Further, depending on the nature of the project, possible extensions to full-time work will also be considered.
Welcoming the move, Rituparna Chakraborty, Executive Vice-President, TeamLease stressed upon the need for such initiatives to be broad-based and not get restricted to certain cities or a small section of people.
“These initiatives definitely help give a push to the careers of women who have taken a break from work. The most important thing for women is to get back to their careers after a break instead of comparing themselves to their former colleagues.”
However, the downside, she said, is that such initiatives are usually restricted to the IT sector. “Women across different fields require such initiatives and there is a huge need across sectors. A lot of women are not even aware of such options.”
Aditya Mishra CEO and MD of CIEL HR Services said that without a platform to bridge the gap, people who take a break from their jobs find it difficult to get back on track.
“Many people look at your application with a bit of doubt. People will doubt whether the applicant would be able to give full attention to their jobs. Initiatives like these will help women start their careers again. In fact, there is also a need for such initiatives to be extended to men. There are several people who might have taken a break to study or for any other personal reasons.”