'This is the best time to promote gender equality at home': Nandini Dias
Most of the narrative for gender equality has been around workplaces, but with work-from-home, this is a good opportunity to forge new cultural narratives too, says the Lodestar UM CEO
Image: Cohaan Dias
Nandini Dias, chief executive officer (India), at Lodestar UM says that with boundaries between the office and home blurring, she finds herself conducting a team meeting while juggling through the dishwasher or taking calls while putting off the pressure cooker. “Most people continue to work on both fronts late in the evening or night, causing a huge amount of stress,” she says.
While her company has taken various initiatives to look after employee mental and physical health—including subscribing to apps for 24/7 medical assistance, access to psychologists and so on—she says this is the best time to promote more constructive patterns in the social and cultural narrative as well. Edited excerpts:
Q. The narrative so far has been about achieving gender equality at workplaces. But what about equality at home?
At work, we have been progressively moving to a promising and equal future, with the world acknowledging the need for gender balance. But most of these conversations are about economic and financial benefits, a larger workforce. Nonetheless, as we are thinking hard about new norms at the workplace, this is the best time to promote more constructive patterns in our societal and cultural narrative as well. Making it acceptable or visible may make everyone more conscious.
