The Minister also said that the number of women pilots needed to increase in the country from 15 per cent to 50 per cent
PRAVASISAMWAD.COM
Would-be fathers working in aviation have found a sympathiser in Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia who said that airlines could consider giving male employees paternity leave so that they could share the responsibility of bringing up children. The Minister also said that the number of women pilots needed to increase in the country from 15 per cent to 50 per cent.
India passed the Maternity (Amendment) Bill in 2017 that increased the right to paid maternity leave for working women to 26 weeks from 12 weeks. While Indian airlines currently give paid maternity leave as per the 2017 law, most of them have no similar policy for men. “I believe that our airlines are doing a tremendous job in terms of creating a healthy workplace environment for our women, whether it is creches, maternity leave and other structures,” Scindia said in his speech during an event of non-profit organization, Women in Aviation. “I think we need to move beyond that. We need to create an environment which is not only gender neutral but which looks at an equal responsibility on men as well as women in terms of family environment,” he said and went on to point out, “A case in point is why do we look at the concept of only maternity leave. We must also look at the concept of paternity leave where men must also partake in the responsibility of bringing up children at home,” Scindia stated.
“Is 15 per cent good enough? My answer is flat no. The reason is that the odds that you have overcome, the stereotypes you have surpassed, the pressure of performance you have endured have been extremely daunting. You have pierced every glass ceiling.”
— Jyotiraditya Scindia, Civil Aviation Minister
That mental shift has to happen, he said, adding that we all must recognise the differences and re-imagine the fundamentals of ethics at the workplace. “I really believe that equity is more important than equality. It is a very nuanced approach but I think the time has come to recognise it. It is not a fight for equality. It is a fight for equity,” he said.
Today, 15 per cent of total pilots in India were women. Globally, the share of women pilots is even lower at around five per cent. Scindia asked, “Is 15 per cent good enough? My answer is flat no. The reason is that the odds that you have overcome, the stereotypes you have surpassed, the pressure of performance you have endured have been extremely daunting. You have pierced every glass ceiling,” he noted. But today, we need to shift the paradigm, he added. He said a day must come in India when this 15 per cent reaches 50 per cent of the country’s pilot strength.
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