SAURABH GADGIL – MD & CEO, P N GADGIL JEWELLERS WINS THE MD OF THE YEAR FOR WOMEN EMPOWERMENT INITIATIVES

PNG Jewellers is seen as a legacy brand which cares! The brand is known for its long-term vision instead of short-term gains or profits. Besides customer loyalty, which has been a core area of work and innovation for the brand, the brand nurtures a deep family bond with all its employees.

The brand stands out for its unique way of looking at profitability from the lens of the happiness quotient of its stakeholders and above all its women employees. Today nearly 43% of the entire PNG Staff is represented by women.

The company pays special attention and takes extra care to ensure that its women employees get to work in a safe, friendly and learning environment, where they can craft their careers to the best of their abilities.

One of the most important things it does is to continuously run POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) Awareness Programs within the organisation.

Being in the retail industry, it often gets late at the end of the day. The company ensures that one staff member accompanies the concerned person at home. In case the employee travels on the bike, the staff member rides parallel till the woman employee is safely home.

Some of their female employees come from an economic stratum where they not only have to work and earn money for the family but also ensure that they are themselves doing the smallest of domestic chores. For such employees, PNG gives a 15-20 minutes rest time at the start of the day. The company has special ‘Rest and Relaxation’ rooms for women who are keeping unwell, are undergoing menstruation or need to rest during the day for any other reason.

For female staff members who have kids with special needs, PNG allows them in the office whenever there is no other facility available. There is an area in the office which is specifically designated for these children where they can move around freely, play with other kids and are well taken care of. Retail employees seldom get the time to celebrate festivals and special occasions. At PNG, every festival is celebrated at the stores and back offices to ensure that their women employees get to enjoy these festivals.

PNG also arranges gynac sessions regularly as a part of its preventive healthcare measure for women. Most importantly, the company deeply engages with its training partners on a regular basis to ensure that all women employees are upskilled for career growth. PNG hopes to take the male-female employee ratio by 1:1 in 2024.

Courtesy: Retail Jeweller India