The major push for female diversity in Indian corporations is gradually expanding to temporary employment during peak periods such as the festive season. In an effort to offset the employment surge brought on by the busiest time of the year, a number of industries, including e-commerce, logistics, retail, hospitality, manufacturing, consumer durables, banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI), are actively onboarding more temporary women workers. The hiring of diverse candidates has increased twofold from15 to 35 per cent in industries like retail and e-commerce.

Women workers have higher productivity during the festive season due to lower attrition and absenteeism rates. These factors have led the workforce solutions company to expand diversity hiring by 35 per cent compared to 19 per cent in the previous year.

Multinational corporations with clearly-defined diversity and inclusion policies and efforts are mostly responsible for the rise in the hiring of temporary women workers. However, in addition to individual businesses with a strong emphasis on social responsibility, businesses in industries known for their support of gender equality, such as electronics manufacturing, technology, e-commerce, retail, FMCG, logistics, tourism, hospitality, and aviation, are more likely to prioritise such inclusive practices.

Certain businesses that rely on assembly line workers only hire women, while businesses in the automotive industry strive for a gender diversity of at least 30 per cent. Hiring targets for women in promotional jobs have been set by the retail sector at approximately 40 per cent. Around 60 per cent of women are employed by e-commerce companies to work night shifts, demonstrating a deliberate attempt to increase the number of women in the workforce.
There’s a rising trend where organisations aren’t just focusing on diversity for temporary roles, but are also prepping these recruits as a talent pipeline for full-time positions. Flexible work schedules, accessible transportation, and increased pay for specific jobs are all being considered as ways to draw in more women. Additionally, several businesses are providing skill development programs to improve women's employability in these professions.
Due to the distinct advantages that women provide, a number of warehouse jobs that were formerly restricted to men—such as picking, packaging, loading, unloading, and logistics operations—are now available to women. Women are being hired for a variety of temporary positions, particularly in industries like supply chain management, customer service, and retail, as well as manufacture of electronics components (assembly line workers, packaging, etc). Women are also notably more prevalent in shopfloor functions, where there has historically been a smaller proportion of female employees.

Hiring women for temporary positions is becoming more and more important in industries like consumer durables, FMCG, retail, BFSI, hospitality, tourism, and real estate. To draw and retain female talent, these sectors are increasingly providing flexible work schedules and supplementary benefits. Companies are also greatly increasing safety measures in response to the current discussions regarding women's safety in the workplace. To make the workplace safer and more encouraging for women, steps are being taken - such as installing enhanced lighting in workspaces, enhancing security procedures, holding frequent safety training sessions, providing secure restrooms, and providing private changing areas.
Image source: HR katha, ETI, Tata.com