New Delhi and Bangalore, India - December 20, 2012:
Wipro Limited has pledged its support to strengthening women's role in the organization and has joined six other leading Indian firms as a signatory to the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs). CARE India, Global Compact Network and UN Women are leading the charge in India to encourage private sector companies to become signatories to these principles. The consortium will conduct research to identify gaps within current corporate policies that limit women's participation and involvement in the workplace.
"Equal treatment of women and men is not just the right thing to do - it is also good for business. To move forward, we must acknowledge the power of women, as contributors, market drivers and consumers, especially in the private sector," said Anne F. Stenhammer, Regional Programme Director, South Asia Sub-Regional Office, UN Women.
"We have always been in the forefront of promoting gender equality. It is imperative that organizations prove to be equal opportunity employers both in spirit and practice. At Wipro, we make sure there is no gender bias. And this helps us do business better," said T.K Kurien, CEO, IT Business and Executive Director, Wipro Limited.
The six signatories in India have committed to creating women friendly workplaces, ensure equal opportunities for women and invest in skills training. "The move will encourage others to follow suit and ensure better working conditions and opportunities for women. Today India has a strong glimmer of hope in successfully advancing the women's empowerment agenda in the private sector," added Ms Stenhammer.
It is essential that the private sector in India, along with civil society organizations and the Government play a role in advancing gender equality and women's empowerment nationally. According to a McKinsey report, Women Matter 2011: An Asian Perspective, Harnessing Female Talent to raise corporate performance, India has the greatest gender gap between university graduates and entry-level professionals: 42 per cent of graduates are female but only 29 per cent of entry-level professionals are female.
India's declining women's labour force participation rate, which is currently 24 per cent (NSSO, Govt. of India, 2009-10), is one of the lowest in the world. In such a scenario, businesses need to proactively implement policies that ensure the inclusion of women's talents, skills and energies - from executive offices to the factory floors and the supply chain.
Since the inception of the WEPs, over 466 companies globally have signed the UN Women CEO Statement of Support and have set their own priorities, goals and programmatic approaches to achieving their own mandates.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
About UN Women
UN Women is the UN organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established in South Asia to accelerate progress on meeting their rights worldwide.
For more information, contact Sabrina Sidhu, Communications Officer, +91-9818717522, sabrina.sidhu@unwomen.org
www.unwomensouthasia.org
www.facebook.com/unwomenindia
www.twitter.com/unwomenindia
For more information on WEPs: www.weprinciples.org
About Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT)
Wipro provides comprehensive IT solutions and services, including systems integration, Information Systems outsourcing, IT enabled services, package implementation, software application development and maintenance, and research and development services to corporations globally. Wipro Limited is the first PCMM Level 5 and SEI CMM Level 5 certified IT Services Company globally. Wipro also has a strong presence in niche market segments of Infrastructure Engineering and Consumer Products & Lighting. For more information, please visit our websites at stg.wipro.com.
Media Contacts
Vipin Nair
+91- 9845014036
vipin.nair1@wipro.com
Subhashini Pattabhiraman
+91 - 7760983975
subhashini.pattabhiraman@wipro.com
Forward-looking and Cautionary Statements
Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects are forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks, and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding fluctuations in our earnings, revenue and profits, our ability to generate and manage growth, intense competition in IT services, our ability to maintain our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which we make strategic investments, withdrawal of fiscal governmental incentives, political instability, war, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property, and general economic conditions affecting our business and industry. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. We may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf.
