abstract: 'PurposeThe study aims to develop an in-depth understanding of challenges

  faced by Indian women professionals during the pandemic and the human

  resource (HR) initiatives like effective communication, taken by the

  organizations to mitigate the plight of these

  professionals.Design/methodology/approachA mix of two qualitative

  research methods namely focus groups in-depth and one-to-one in-depth

  interviews was used. A total of 32 females working with different

  organizations participated.FindingsThe thematic analysis revealed themes

  related to challenges faced by working women-gendered burnout, mental

  health issues, increased household responsibilities, job insecurity,

  work-life conflict, gender inequalities, reduced internal communication

  and financial independence, domestic violence and exploitation. The

  major themes that emerged for the organizational initiatives were

  flexible working hours, equal women representation in response to

  planning and decision making, driving transformative change for gender

  equality, paid leaves for family care, caregiving bonus, leadership

  development seeds, increased female recruitments, transparent

  communication and counseling sessions.Research

  limitations/implicationsThe study establishes a holistic understanding

  of the plight of Indian women professionals and the consequent

  organizational interventions accompanied by transparent communication.

  It adds rigor to the evolving literature on COVID-19 and enriches the

  theoretical narrative of policy adaptations by industry practitioners

  for aligning them with employee needs. This helps in routing the policy

  design and implementation in light of the challenges

  faced.Originality/valueThe study presents an in-depth understanding of

  challenges faced by women employees; and provides a foundation for

  identifying human resource management (HRM) interventions customized for

  working females. It also proposes a framework implementable in the

  recovery phase, deploying critical strategic shifts like reflection,

  recommitment and re-engagement of the women workforce in order to

  maximize their efficacy for rapidly evolving organizational priorities.'
affiliation: 'Sethi, D (Corresponding Author), Indian Inst Management, Kozhikode,
  India.

  Tripathi, Shalini Nath; Malik, Nishtha, Jaipuria Inst Management Lucknow, Lucknow,
  India.

  Sethi, Deepa, Indian Inst Management, Kozhikode, India.

  Mendiratta, Aparna, Jaipuria Inst Management Jaipur, Jaipur, India.

  Shukla, Manisha, Jaipuria Inst Management Indore, Indore, India.'
author: Tripathi, Shalini Nath and Sethi, Deepa and Malik, Nishtha and Mendiratta,
  Aparna and Shukla, Manisha
author-email: 'shalini.tripathi@jaipuria.ac.in

  deepa@iimk.ac.in

  nishthamalik3@gmail.com

  aparna.mendiratta@jaipuria.ac.in

  manisha.shukla@jaipuria.ac.in'
author_list:
- family: Tripathi
  given: Shalini Nath
- family: Sethi
  given: Deepa
- family: Malik
  given: Nishtha
- family: Mendiratta
  given: Aparna
- family: Shukla
  given: Manisha
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1108/CCIJ-09-2022-0107
earlyaccessdate: MAR 2023
eissn: 1758-6046
files: []
issn: 1356-3289
journal: CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS
keywords: 'Women professionals; Challenges; HR initiatives; Communication;

  Pandemic; India'
keywords-plus: 'INFORMAL COMMUNICATION; FAMILY CONFLICT; SOCIAL IDENTITY; BALANCE;

  OUTCOMES'
language: English
month: MAY 30
number: '4'
number-of-cited-references: '81'
pages: 544-563
papis_id: b9cdacae469f8c0f7ec9a9ec570591c8
ref: Tripathi2023pandemicimpact
times-cited: '1'
title: 'A pandemic impact study on working women professionals: role of effective
  communication'
type: Article
unique-id: WOS:000946918900001
usage-count-last-180-days: '5'
usage-count-since-2013: '5'
volume: '28'
web-of-science-categories: Business
year: '2023'