In an industry where many notable female stars don’t know the meaning of feminism and more often than not give really stupid and WTF statements, Priyanka Chopra remains a standout example. The actress has carved a new-found path for herself in a largely male-dominated industry and is vying for change some way or the other. After becoming the third highest paid female actress by bagging a cool Rs 6.5 crore for her film Bharat opposite Salman Khan and signing a deal wherein she will get a percentage of the profit from her film The Sky is Pink, now Priyanka is sharing the goodies with her employees at her studio, Purple Pebble Productions.
Having established herself as a force to be reckoned with and standing up for women and child rights and feminism Priyanka is doing her bit in making life easier for her employees. After proving earlier last year that she is a woman of action and not mere words, the actor introduced pay parity to create a gender-neutral workforce in her company. The actor who celebrates her 36th birthday today has put into effect a new set of benefits for the female employees of her studio. PeeCee firmly believes that women should not have to choose between career and family and hence should not compromise on their life choices to achieve professional success. She has introduced flexible timings for working mothers and special benefits during maternity leave.
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Dr. Madhu Chopra, Priyanka’s mother, and business partner told a leading daily, “Since 80 percent of our female staff is married, we had to keep their interests in mind. The idea was simple - why should women's life choices become professional hurdles? The policy of flexible timings for mothers was set in place by Priyanka, but fine-tuned by senior members of our company."
Madhu also revealed that besides providing maternity leave, the company also offers monetary assistance. She said that the fierce feminist in Priyanka has propelled her to create an environment where women feel “safe and loved”. The company gives 12 weeks maternity leave and financial assistance for care too and is also working towards developing an in-house crèche for their employees. However, the perks don’t stop here, even the men get the benefits. When Madhu was asked whether the men also enjoy similar benefits, she said, “That's the rule of gender parity. One of our marketing executives took paternity leave for four weeks."
Now isn’t this something? We must praise Priyanka and her mother, who are doing their bit in making life easier for working men and women. Hopefully, the rest of the companies in the country will offer similar benefits and treat their employees as treasured workforce and not cattle to be herded.
