Helping Women Lean Into The Workplace

Across the globe there is growing awareness of the need to increase gender diversity in the workforce. Corporate India is no exception, and there are some very noteworthy instances of women in leadership roles, but Grant Thornton’s International Business Report in March 2014 actually stated that the proportion of women in senior positions in the Indian workforce got reduced from 19% in 2013 to 14% in 2014. Indian organizations have been rather slow to accept this new situation.

- Charu Thapar

According to a study conducted by the Pittsburgh-based human resources consulting firm, DDI, the companies that perform best financially have the greatest numbers of women in leadership roles.

In 2012, a Harvard study found that “at every level, more women were rated by their peers, their bosses, their direct reports, and their other associates as better overall leaders than their male counterparts — and the higher the level, the wider that gap grows.” And if this is not sufficient reason to want more women in leadership roles in organizations, we must also recognize that women leaders can foster a better environment and introduce a strong team orientation into organizational culture. There have also been studies to show that women leaders are more loyal to the organization. They bring in greater stability, and are less prone to attrition.

Studies around the world have shown that companies that have a greater number of women in their senior management are able to tap into a fuller spectrum of creativity and innovation.

Never mind nurturing and sensitivity. The fact is that women are now essential to the bottom line. That alone is the reason why Indian organizations need to be proactive in employing more women and promoting - or holding on to - the ones they already have to positions of leadership.

WHERE DOES INDIA STAND ON GENDER DIVERSITY?

Good news is that in the 1980s only 10% of the students in engineering colleges were women and now that percentage has jumped to 40. Indian women are entering formerly male-dominated professions in ever-increasing numbers – and are making visible marks.