“In 2016, when I returned to work, my baby was two and a half months old. At that point of time, in the office, there were two other mothers like me with no alternatives for childcare. After researching several alternatives, we decided to choose KLAY as our onsite daycare centre. And it is a decision that I will never regret.

With staff that are extremely warm and highly trained, they offered a safe and reliable facility for children to go to. And now, I no longer feel guilty about working as I am convinced that not only is my little one safe but also happy and learning through the day.” – Mallika Ghosh, Executive Director, Parinaam Foundation, a non-profit organization that works with Ujjivan Financial Services.

In a country where high quality child care support and programs that encourage women to get back to work after a sabbatical or leave are not so far spread out, a challenge that most mothers face is how to balance their long term career goals and aspirations with their obligations at home.

Ujjivan Financial Services in the year of 2016, partnered with Founding Years to establish the Elaine-Marie Crèche, an onsite daycare facility managed by KLAY. This onsite facility is open to all its employees and has a full time centre manager and highly qualified and medically trained nannies to care for children. Operating at 70% occupancy, this centre encourages and supports its working mothers to pursue their careers while providing a home away from home for their little ones.

Ujjivan is a classic example of how a small yet growing organization can create a lasting and impactful difference by empowering women and providing them with an environment that helps them balance their work and life. With their women force being roughly a fourth of the entire workforce at Ujjivan, this initiative has hugely benefited the lives of the women employees.

The benefits of having an onsite daycare centre that provides uncompromised high quality care to their children are manifold. Not only does it attract and retain skilled talent, boost employee morale and add longevity to work life, but it also aides the career paths of women and encourages them to put in their very best while growing in their career.

With a spirit that is supportive to employee welfare and women empowerment, it is no surprise that for the sixth time in a row, Ujjivan has been ranked as one of the Top 25 ‘Best Places to Work’ by Great Place to Work, India. Further, it has also been ranked as number one in the domain of Microfinance Institutions.

Empowering initiatives like the daycare centre adopted by Ujjivan go a long way in setting an example for how happy employees lead to happy customers and happy investors. These initiatives also ensure that employees feel a sense of fairness regardless of gender, age or background and is one step closer in bridging the gender gap in the workforce!