Gender equality and women’s empowerment are fundamental pillars of just, equitable societies and is the bedrock of our values. At Distant Frontiers, we work at benefitting the local community, especially women. We are aware of its responsibility and take an active part in the design of sustainable development within its sphere of influence.
To encourage gender diversity and empower women, some of our policies and initiatives are:
Better recruitment practices to increase diversity and bridge the gender gap:
Our recruitment process is solely merit-based starting with a neutral language in our job descriptions and company documentation with an inclusive gender-diverse workplace.
In 10 years, we have managed to narrow down the gender gap from 5:1 to 3:1.
Building an enabling environment:
We follow flexible working hours that enable employees especially women to maintain a good work-life balance and still progress in their careers. We support mothers by working together to agree on a fair and balanced workplace that will promote productivity, while also allowing flexibility and the option to work remotely where possible.
We conduct regular learning, and training sessions for our employees which give men and women equal opportunities to grow in their careers and succeed.
Equitable Evaluation, Promotion, and Pay Scale:
We have achievement-based evaluation criteria to provide equal work opportunities and close the pay gap. Pay is reliant on job roles, and a regular pay structure is introduced to improve transparency and eliminate discriminatory pay rate issues.
Leadership:
We consider leadership roles for both men and women. We have female employees engaged in challenging and decision-making positions.
Safer and Healthier Work Environment and Respect of Work:
We have strict policies against harassment and workplace offenses. Our policy against Sexual Harassment (POSH) has been designed to prohibit, prevent, and/or deter the commission of acts of sexual harassment at the workplace and to provide the procedure for the redressal of complaints pertaining to sexual harassment. Women are involved at the different levels of POSH redressal procedure starting from the Grievance Officer, the Chairperson of Complaints and Enquiry committee to the Appellate Authority.
Signatory of UN Women’s Empowerment Principles:
As an extension of our Corporate Responsibility, we have signed the ‘Women’s Empowerment Principles‘ – A UN Women initiative to support gender equality in the workplace, marketplace, and the community in 2020. UN Women’s Empowerment Principles are a set of Principles for business offering guidance on how to empower women in the workplace, marketplace, and community. They are the result of collaboration between the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and the United Nations Global Compact.
Community Engagement:
We work with Literacy India, a non-profit organization, with the objective of empowering underprivileged children and women by making them self-sufficient. Literacy India provides diverse education support to children from underprivileged communities as well, breaking the cycle of poverty by building trust and awareness, teaching about personal grooming, providing role models, producing street plays, identifying local social problems, along with more traditional classrooms schooling, adult literacy classes, sponsorship and vocational training. Some of the projects that we have worked on with them include the creation of sacred Mouli thread used to greet our guests, jute and Denim bags used to hand over induction kits, miscellaneous paper bags for incentive purposes made from old recycled newspapers.
Through Her Eyes- A Women Only Initiative:
Through Her Eyes was conceptualized with a focus on creating exclusive immersive experiences for women who love traveling to faraway lands with ensured safety. We have designed women-only journeys for women explorers who want to escape alone or with like-minded women, build bonds, and share the joys of discovering new cultures. Every destination covered by Through Her Eyes offers the perfect blend of adventure and rejuvenation to give you colorful memories to cherish for a lifetime. Originally launched in 2020, we have re-launched the initiative on this occasion of International Women’s Day 2021. We have scheduled our all-women fixed departure itinerary – India through Her Eyes for September 2022.
