DRMumbai: Taking a cue from the global buzz around gender equality and women empowerment, Taj Hotels has announced its plans for a new health and referral programme for its female employees. Its parent company, Indian Hotels Company Ltd. (IHCL), said the company has decided to reimburse female employees’ “expenses for family expansion”. The new policy intends to retain and promote female staff in the company.
Taj Hotels plans on paying for expenses which include In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF), freezing eggs, embryos and sperm, and artificial insemination. These medical procedures are not usually found in medical insurance packages. In addition, Taj Hotels will also have an internal incentive programme for referring women applicants. The hotel will offer a higher referral amount if the chosen reference happens to be a woman.
These plans are aimed to encourage women to find and retain work, despite the huge pressure from their families to leave their jobs to have children. It’s one of the country’s growing challenges and the programme looks to help working women when it comes to family planning and finding long-term careers.
