Gender at the Workplace: A Study in Inclusion

TLDR: In this paper, the authors examined the effect of a change in the gender ratio in a manufacturing organization in the Malwa region in the state of Madhya Pradesh in India to highlight these changes through the manner in which the organisation implements this change.

Abstract: The working class population in Indian society has been largely centred on the male members of the group. Being dominantly patriarchal in nature, Indian social systems promote the ascendancy of the male over the female in all spheres of personal and professional life and the working class environment has traditionally been no exception to this rule. Women, both married and unmarried, have been confined to homes while men have gone to factories and institutions to earn a means of sustenance for the entire family. As a result, the structures in the workplace have also remained constant with men dealing with men in most factories. This paper examines the manner in which a certain alteration in the gender ratio of an organisation can bring about positive change in terms of productivity, behaviours, attitudes and efficiency on the shop floor. This paper studies one manufacturing organisation in the Malwa region in the state of Madhya Pradesh in India to highlight these changes through the manner in which the organisation implements this change.