The second chance

Ashoka University’s Genpact Centre for Women’s Leadership (GCWL) today culminated the final phase of its ‘Breakthrough’ training programme for returning and working mothers. 

The two-day training conducted from 14th – 15th November in Gurugram focused on managing power & influences at workplace, building networks for career growth and navigating difficult conversations at home & work through the reintegration process. 

This year, 45 women participated in the programme taking the total number of women trained under Breakthrough to 70. Last year, GCWL conducted the training for 25 working mothers from various organisations. 

Dr. Harpreet Kaur, Director, Genpact Centre for Women's Leadership (GCWL), “In a patriarchal society, where women’s income is mostly seen as a supplementary household income and often prefers women to earn less than men, where employers make women feel guilty about their double burden and a society that does not value women’s contribution to the economy, the incentive for women to be ambitious is low. Dropout among women due to maternity and childcare is one of the manifestations of a woman’s unequal world. 

The Breakthrough programme provides women the skills to effectively navigate these interdependent demographic, cultural, economic, and social factors that make maternity an exit gate for women. With an excellent mix of experts on subjects discussed, participatory methodology, and peer learning, the programme offers an enabling environment where women’s own worth, shared value, and contribution to economy is realised.”

The trainings, conducted over three phases from August to November, have been designed to equip the participants with specific skillsets that are mastering key leadership behaviours and skillsets that propel participants towards the C-Suite career track, assess & re-engineer existing support systems for improved work-life balance, navigating professional hurdles through mentoring opportunities, and navigating tough conversations.

As part of Phase 3, GCWL has engaged subject matter experts and industry professional to facilitate different components of the training and offer mentorship through experience sharing. Some of the key speakers for the final phase of training include Vrinda Grover, Lawyer & Human Rights Activist, DipaliSheth, Vice President – People Strategy &Organisational Development, Ashoka University, Gagan Adlakha, Leadership Coach & Senior Partner – Vyaktitva, and Sonali Jain, Assistant Vice President, Genpact, Diversity & Inclusion.