Who says that the glass ceiling has been broken? Men have ruled the roost in the top echelons of the corporate world since the beginning and it seems that they are not ready to give even an inch away without a fight, a challenge that women have taken head on. Though boasting a healthy and growing number of women executives, the top slots in India Inc. are more or less devoid of women, something which many blame on the lack of a clearly defined strategy by organisations.
Human resource watchdog Mercer found in a survey that 73 per cent of organisations in the Asia Pacific region do not have a philosophy for the development of women into leaders. “Lack of support from the upper management when it comes to managing a work-life balance, shortage of role models and opportunities for career advancements have nipped women’s chances to lead in the bud,” says Nita Sharma, an HR expert with Kenexa. “Not being recognised for the contributions they make to the team and to the organisation as a whole, working harder to prove themselves within a company, attitudes and bias are other reasons that thwart wo-men to take up higher designations,” she adds.
Take Bharti Sharma, who once worked with a leading telecom company in Delhi. “I quit my job after I had my children, only to take up a new one when they went off to school,” she says, adding, “My family was nuclear where I had to do everything.”
However, Monika Dhole, once a project manager with Dun & Bradstreet, had a different experience. Her employer actually supported her when she raised her daughter but she had to give up the job when her work-life balance got really skewed. “Somehow raising a child all by myself made me give up,” she says.
After four years at home and hopeful of re-joining the office soon, Dhole has her reservations. “A woman prioritises her family over work. We also avoid taking transfers, which men take easily. Considering these moves are part of the leadership role package, we prefer to be at the mid-level rather than at the top,” she reasons.
HR managers also recognise the fact and are trying to make things work around this. “A manufacturing company like ours has a few line functions devoid of women workers. Most of our women workforce is at the corporate and regional headquarters. Though not boasting a dedicated progra-mme for them, we do everything to make them stay,” says the HR head of a well-known conglomerate.
But there are solutions to the problem. Flexible work arrangements, coaching and mentoring, diversity sourcing and recruiting are recommended to employers to cover the gap.
While ladies like Indra Nooyi (Pepsico) and Chanda Kochchar (ICICI) are held up as role models for working women, with these measures in place we will perhaps witness women moving to the top quicker than they ever have.