How Can We Successfully Integrate Female Designers into Our All-Male Factory Environment?

Hiring Female Designers in a Shoe Manufacturing Factory

Please suggest a solution for hiring a female designer in the factory. We are a shoe manufacturing organization. Last year, as part of a CSR initiative with an educational institute, our management sponsored two students for a foreign visit with Rs. 800,000. The institute also signed an agreement with us that the sponsored students, after completing their studies, would join our organization for one year at a salary of Rs. 30,000 per month. These students are female and had previously completed a two-month internship with us.

Currently, there are no female employees working in our factory. Consequently, accommodating two female designers and making the necessary administrative arrangements for them poses a challenge. The management now wishes to decide whether:

a) We should recruit these students for employment or not (this is at our discretion).

b) We should place them in the factory environment or allow them to engage in R&D while working from home.

Kindly provide guidance on this matter.

Regards,

Dear Tariq,

Your company has made significant investments in grooming students. Therefore, it makes sense to utilize their skills and knowledge for your company's advantage.

Addressing Gender Diversity

Your main issue is the gender of the students. Nowadays, workforce diversity is heavily promoted everywhere. In fact, MNCs keep track of the men-to-women ratio as well. All-male employees are a half-century-old notion. Why would you want to stick with that in the 21st century? The entry of two female staff members should be seen as a beginning. Start recruiting more female staff as well. Please remember the famous statement, "diversity breeds dynamism." As long as employees can meet the deliverables, gender should not be a concern. Additionally, these women may come up with better ideas in the future.

Facilities and Etiquette

Since these individuals are women (please avoid using the term 'female' as it is a biological description and business etiquette dictates not referring to individuals biologically), all that is required is to make separate arrangements for their restroom. If your company can spend Rs 8,00,000 on sending them abroad for studies, then providing a separate restroom facility should not be difficult.

However, I would like to caution you as well. Your employees are accustomed to working in an all-male environment. Loose tongues or inappropriate jokes could be made openly, which might embarrass new female employees. Issue instructions on how to behave in the workplace or even conduct training on "workplace etiquette." Additionally, the safety of female employees is crucial. Have a policy on sexual harassment readily available.

Regards,
Dinesh V Divekar

Thank you for your compliments. My focus is on other needy members of this forum. Instead of copying and pasting articles from other websites, I prefer to solve problems of the needy members by offering my divergent views. Like me, members such as (Cite Contribution), Tajsateesh, and Saiconsult also provide substantial comments on the topics at hand.

I am glad that you found "value" in my reply. I hope the original poster also sees the value.

Important Considerations for Women's Employment

I realized I missed two important points. First, when women enter an "all-men" company, they may often be treated with kid gloves. Tariq's company should avoid this mistake as it could set a negative trend. Women should be treated equally to men without any compromise on their performance or working hours.

Secondly, Tariq's company should provide equal opportunities for women. Spending money on CSR activities is not the sole way to serve society. True service to society occurs when women have the same level of authority as men. Therefore, promoting "women employment" is a step towards "women empowerment." I hope the management of Tariq's company considers this crucial factor.

Lastly, please share your contact details with me as I would like to engage further with you. You can find my contact details in the previous comments.

Thank you,

Regards,
Dinesh V Divekar

Hello Tariq,

Your situation reminded me of a letter from Sudha Murthy to the late Shri JRD.

She was an engineer and an exceptional student who outperformed most male students academically. However, she was disturbed by a placement ad from Tatas stating "Females need not apply." When she wrote to him seeking justification for the gender bias, she was called for an interview and received the following response:

"The workplace predominantly comprises male workers, and we have never had a female employee. We thought it would be unusual to appoint a female in such a working environment. However, if you are willing to take on the challenge, we have no objections."

You can read this letter on Letter to JRD Tata - by Sudha Murthy | Sulekha Creative.

The reason I mention this is that your case is quite similar. You have a workplace primarily staffed by males, and now you have two female sponsored students.

My Suggestions and Viewpoint

1. When you provided sponsorship to the college, you had requested that the sponsored students would work with you for a specified period at a certain salary. Likely, the same terms were communicated to the sponsored students, and they may be relieved to know they have a job secured after completing their schooling. Therefore, retracting the offers (especially based on their gender) for the sake of your reputation is not appropriate. Additionally, doing so would amount to gender discrimination. Thus, one must handle such situations with care.

2. I understand that working in a predominantly male environment could be challenging for a female. While you may be concerned for them, the reality is that we cannot prevent them from joining. Since they have already completed an internship at your firm, they likely have some understanding of your work culture, workforce, colleagues, office policies, etc.

I suggest that you have an open conversation with them to gauge their comfort level working in such an environment. Engage in a friendly discussion about their internship experience, any issues they faced, and how your organization can be a welcoming place for female candidates. After general discussions, inquire if they would be willing to join after completing their schooling and assure them that their response will not have negative repercussions.

I hope this advice helps.

Regards,
[Your Name]

I am neither an HR expert nor someone who knows the culture of Pakistan, an Islamic country. I am sure that even within Pakistan, it depends on where the organization is situated, reading the news in Dawn e-newspaper. As Ankita Shaw has pointed out, I would also like to know what happened in the two months that the students worked as interns. Did you make any special provisions for their needs? Did the male workers behave well?

It all depends on the culture of the organization and the management. I recall an incident from years ago. An Asian worker had applied for a Productivity Analyst role in a company. The job was in Glasgow, Scotland. In the interview, he was asked how he would manage as the workers were ex-dock workers who were prejudiced against foreigners. As he had not experienced prejudice before, he answered that he had not faced any in a different environment. In the end, they did not appoint him, for the fear that the workers may not accept him. Those were the days when there was no Equal Opportunity legislation.

I do not know the law of Pakistan, but if what happened to Malala is any indication, I would suggest that you have to tread carefully. Many organizations allow people to work from home. If they can deliver what is expected of them by working from home, that can be an initial solution.

Nice to know that you have taken the initiative to ensure women work in your factory. The factory is generally located outside the city. Women are not comfortable traveling long distances when they have other opportunities in the city or near their residence. Hence, you may need to look for women who are truly in need of a job or who reside nearby and train them.

A responsible officer of your factory should be entrusted to ensure their requirements are taken care of, such as washrooms, food, or snacks being provided on time. Check if they have any travel issues and resolve them.

Above all, they need someone who can listen to their problems and help resolve them, as this may be missing in your factory, resulting in them feeling isolated and suffocated. Many factories have one or two women employees, but the management takes proper care of them. Identify what is missing and how you can recruit the required female employees. All the best.