Page 5 - InTheLoop(Jan-Mar,2021)

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Tackling Childcare Pakistan – Creating Family Friendly Workplaces

Pakistan Business Council (PBC) collaborated with Interloop
and 12 other companies to form a partnership regarding
Tackling Childcare Pakistan: Creating Family-Friendly
Workplaces, in Jun 2019. The initiative was built on IFC and
PBC’s 2018 partnership focusing on the business case for
investing and enhancing women’s employment, tackling
childcare, and establishing anti-sexual harassment
mechanisms. This peer-learning collaboration (PLC) with
IFC-PBC, emphasized on employer-supported childcare,
leading to recommendations for public and private sector action,
as well as opportunities for multi-stakeholder dialogue to
accelerate progress in these areas.

Children busy writing alphabets during an English lesson

motivation, engagement, and retention, further improving the
workplace culture. Every now and then, feedback is taken
from the working mothers. The liberty of meeting their kids
during the day, and witnessing children's development needs
being taken care of, proves to be motivation booster for the
mothers.”
Interloop’s Love and Learn Daycares focus on stimulating
children’s abilities and follow a curriculum implemented in a
fun and learn way, by teachers trained in the Montessori
methodology. Children at the daycares also benefit from
monthly health check-ups by the company’s medical officer.
The three Love and Learn Daycares at Interloop are equipped
Daycare staff guiding children during a painting session with breastfeeding facilities, and can host 200 children aged 2
months to 6 years.
Interloop Limited: Expanding Quality Childcare Support
to More Employees In addition to childcare support, Interloop provides various
complementary policies including a Returnship program for
Hosiery manufacturer and multi category full family clothing mothers coming back from maternity leave, safe transport for
company, Interloop strongly believes that diversity holds the all employees, four-month paid maternity leave, flexible working
key to a vibrant and sustainable economy. Hiring, training, options for new mothers, on-site family accommodation, a
and promoting more women are important aspects of achieving scholarship program for employees’ children, house-building
gender parity at the workplace. Recognising that women are finance support, opportunities for family visits to the workplace,
less likely to enter and more likely to leave manufacturing-based and welfare assistance schemes.
careers, Interloop prioritised its workers’ well-being by
instituting a family-friendly workplace, making it easier for According to Sabra Kanwal, Deputy Manager Interloop Way
women to stay in the workforce and relish a better – People, “I was expecting when I joined Interloop in 2013 as
employment experience. The requirement for on-site daycare it had a daycare facility and that made the decision easier to
centers at Interloop arose when analytics showed that a be a part of this company. My son was raised under the
significant number of women leave their jobs, or are reluctant expert attention of the daycare team for three years. I was
to join due to inadequate childcare support facilities. This working with peace of mind that he was in good hands, and
insight motivated the company to start offering on-site daycare so was my daughter born after him. A company that maintained
facilities at all its factories. During the PLC, Interloop revamped an international standard daycare with professional staff is a
the childcare facility at the Lahore Plant, which is now complete dream for a working mother.”
with modern infrastructure and equipment, following international
standards and providing a healthy, progressive, and welcoming
environment to the children of female employees. When
making the decision about extending childcare support to its
Lahore Plant, Interloop leadership considered the benefits it
would bring to the company and its employees, and allocated a
dedicated budget along with a team for speedy execution.
Interloop seeks feedback from its employees regularly for
improving facilities to make them comfortable, and the working
environment safer for children and working mothers.

According to Urva Til Wusqa, Sr. Officer Corporate HR Interloop, Kids exploring their creative skills during a painting activity
“Investing in childcare certainly has a positive impact on employee”

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