August 26 is celebrated as Women’s Equality Day, reminding us to honour the long struggle for gender equality and motivating us to stride the long road ahead. While these days are significant to keep the conversations going around this topic, equally imperative is for the industry, employers and policymakers to bring structural changes to bring discernible transformation.

Myntra has always been a strong advocate of equal opportunities for all. Gender equality and inclusivity sits at the heart of the many initiatives we have in place across the organization because we recognize the many benefits empowering women brings to every business. With our continued efforts to foster gender equality into the workplace, we at Myntra have enabled a work culture that not only inherently sees women, that of the organization and the larger ecosystem, as equals, but also one that sensitizes gender bias and edifies inclusivity, as well as help them unlock their full potential.

Supporting women professionals rise above and beyond

At Myntra, we honour our people’s journey and believe in their talent and ownership to take businesses to great heights. At the helm of some of the pioneers and many industry-first, game-changing, innovative initiatives have been the women at Myntra who never shy away from taking bolder bets, challenging the status quo and making things happen.

How Myntra’s culture is empowering women professionals to grow above and beyond boundaries

Women’s Day: Meet some of the women leaders at Myntra who are shaping the future of fashion ecommerce in India

Meaningful structural interventions

With the new era of leadership drawing, nurturing, empathy and compassion are the most sought after additions. Our programs are mindfully designed for women leaders to re-examine and challenge traditional boundaries and develop a sense of aspiration for the next phase in their career. This includes Speed Mentoring, a series of short, focused conversations between women professional and leaders to help former get insights on topics from networking to influencing, to shape the leaders of tomorrow; Flying Lessons, a program that explores aspects of self-discovery, communication dynamics, networking skills, building their personal brand and much more to make them tenacious leaders and individuals, among many other programs.

Inclusive policies and conversations to bring cultural shift

An inclusive culture is the first step to bridging the gap in gender disparity. The various policies, training and initiatives at Myntra are aimed towards solving this, and help make smaller changes for the larger impact. This includes Unconscious Bias training, that aims to sensitize our people on how they can sidestep biases at every step of the employee lifecycle; workshops and resources for employees to understand various aspects of inclusion; and policies that ensure primary caretakers balance through their work and life responsibilities.

In addition, Leading with Empathy workshops, hosted for the people managers at Myntra centered around 5 themes—COVID-19 realities, superiority bias, in/out groups, communication focus, and gender perspectives.

Empowering women of the ecosystem

As an organization working with multiple partner brands, it’s our constant endeavour to empower and help them progress in their journey with our constant support and focus. We’re a proud partner to many women entrepreneurs we work with and are honoured to be a part of their professional journey.

Watch Anura Paraswani’s story | Watch Ragini Roy’s story

At the same time, we are also committed to sustaining the livelihoods of many women artisans who work with us by way of our association with them through our eco-friendly brand, Taavi. Through these initiatives, we aim to help support and uplift those who have the drive to create a positive impact through their passion, creativity and hard work.

Relevant Reads:

Taavi: A Beacon of Hope for Women Artisans During the Pandemic

Marrying Traditional Art Forms With A Modern Fashion Sensibility: Taavi

While August 26 does remind us that women, unfortunately, don’t have it easy in the workforce, the efforts to change the scenario shouldn’t narrow down to one day of the year. It is to be taken as a goal for both men and women to make the workforce and beyond an equal, enriching, and zealous space. We at Myntra, this Women’s Equality Day pledge to continue in creating, maintaining, and improving the workspace and industry gender-neutral, and to bring out the best in our employees to shape them as leaders in the space.