ICICI Bank launches novel women centric initiatives on International Women’s Day

The first initiative, iWork@home, will enable employees to work from home for a long period of time, up to a year, initially.

"This period is further extendable. Employees will be provided access to their required operating systems in a safe and secure manner, thereby creating a seamless office-like environment. The technology platform for this unique programme has been developed in-house by ICICI Bank in partnership with students from IIT, Delhi," the bank said in a statement.

"The innovative features of this programme enable the bank to roll it out across several functions and at the same time ensure that there is no loss of productivity. This has the potential to make ‘iWork@Home’ a highly scalable programme and also allow women managers to avail this facility for long periods of time, both of which make it totally unique," it said.

Announcing the launch of these initiatives, Chanda Kochhar, MD & CEO, ICICI Bank said: "Although women form 48% of the population in our country, their representation in the workforce is much lower than men. Many women who join the workforce are sometimes forced to take a break or even leave their jobs, due to various life stage needs like maternity and child care. Lack of support system due to predominance of nuclear families, inadequate infrastructural facilities like crèches and long commute time further accentuates the problem. To ensure that the working women do not leave the workforce, there is a strong need for a robust support system, both at home and at work."