40-year-old Gurminder Kaur, a Talent Acquisition Specialist at Molecular Connections Pvt. Ltd., says, "After a 7-year hiatus, despite my lack of confidence in myself, I decided to return to work and told myself that it was time I did it for myself. I remember feeling so insecure and unsure that any company would even consider hiring me. I had given up at one point, but everything changed when I received a call from Molecular Connections Pvt. Ltd. I was ecstatic that this organisation believed in my abilities and welcomed me with open arms. So far, I've been working with Molecular Connections for 6 months, and it's been one of the smoothest transitions back into the corporate world."
Molecular Connections Pvt. Ltd., a Bengaluru-based data science and big data solutions company, has always prioritised gender diversity since its inception. In 2021, over 300 people were employed, with women accounting for 85 per cent of those employed. In 2020, prestigious groups “AVTAR & Working Mother, New York, named Molecular Connections as one of the 100 best companies in India for women to work.
Although the employment crisis in India predates COVID-19, the pandemic has further caused a decline, due to which it has become even more difficult for women in the country to find jobs. Also, due to the adverse effects of the pandemic, more women are dropping out of work and being let go as compared to men. Studies have found that many women drop out of their jobs in an increasing number when they are posed with tough decisions like marriage, family planning, and family. To prevent these harmful trends and set a meritocracy-driven culture within the organisation, at Molecular Connections, programmes such as the provision of flexible work hours, sabbaticals, unpaid time off to take care of ailing family members, and reduced work hours are all institutionalized to enable retention. Flexible ways of working are one of the most commonly followed practises at Molecular Connections, as this is highly effective in retaining female employees while they enjoy a balanced work life.
Although the employment crisis in India predates COVID-19, the pandemic has further caused a decline, due to which it has become even more difficult for women in the country to find jobs. The adverse effects of the pandemic have further worsened making more women leave work voluntarily or being let go, as compared to another gender. Recent studies indicate that more women drop out of their jobs when they are posed with tough decisions like marriage, going the family way, supporting aged, ailing parents and or nurturing their growing children.
Molecular Connections have always and continue supporting such women through institutionalizing programs Vis-à-vis. Flexible (work at your convenience); reduced work hours and short sabbaticals. This flexible environment supports women getting a proper work-family life- balance, in turn, continuing with the work.
Mr Jignesh Bhate, CEO of Molecular Connections Pvt. Ltd., tells us, "We are steadfast in our goal of making Molecular Connections a world-class enterprise that truly celebrates and prioritises gender diversity and inclusion. It gives me great pride to say that at Molecular Connections we have worked extremely hard over the years to implement several women-centric policies that allow our female colleagues to thrive and excel in a variety of disciplines."
Several research-based pieces of evidence have shown that organisations with more gender diversity, particularly at senior levels, outperform those with less diversity in terms of productivity, innovations, profits, and shareholder returns.
Dr Arathi Raghunath, Director at Molecular Connections Pvt. Ltd., tells us, "When I joined Molecular Connections in 2004, including me, there were ten members altogether. I remember feeling so inspired at the time to be led by two outstanding female scientists and to learn from them. Over the next 18 years, I grew and led as the team grew larger and larger with each passing year, and I groomed many people along the way. The "healthy tolerance" work culture of the organisation encourages individuals to perform to the best of their abilities, and the mutual care, respect, and support was shown to one another makes the organisation a commendable place to work. Furthermore, the policies in place for all employees are designed to ensure that each employee has a healthy work-life balance and that all possible barriers are addressed.”
Lately, because of the Indian press's scrutiny, there has been widespread awareness of gender diversity over the years. Many Indian businesses are catching up and making deliberate efforts to increase gender diversity. This trend must pick up at an even more rampant pace so that more workplaces are created that encourage women to rise in the ranks and go on to form a strong community of globally recognised leaders.
About Molecular Connections:
With over two decades of experience in Big Data and Data Science Solutions, Molecular Connections (MC) has been using AI-powered proprietary models to help customers achieve digital transformation. We have been able to successfully build a data-driven decision-making strategy for our customer’s digital transformational journey. MC leverages AI, ML, and the Linked Data Store to build efficiencies in various verticals and generate new revenue streams for its customers.
MC’s decades of industry presence and a strong focus on innovation have led us to work with the world’s leading pharma and STEM industries to offer end-to-end software development and data insights powered by proprietary workflows and platforms, enabling content engineering across multiple domains. With over 70% of its workforce being women, MC is ranked among the top 15 best companies for women to work for in India.