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Women in the workplace 2016 is a comprehensive study done by LeanIn.org and McKinsey & Company to study the state of women in corporate America. Though the study was done in the US, the findings are relevant to the state of women in corporate India as well.
The research report headline itself tells what details we can expect inside, “In corporate America, women fall behind early and continue to lose ground with every step.” I must admit that as somebody who believes in championing the cause of women’s advancement at the workplace, I did feel depressed on reading those lines. Its 2017, we are talking about leisure trips to the moon, driverless cars, cutting edge technology in every aspect of life and women are still struggling to get ahead at the workplace.
I wonder, if this is the situation in a developed country, what can we expect in developing countries like India? Though we can see some women leaders in India specially in the Banking industry – Chanda Kochhar, Arundhati Bhattacharya, Naina Lal Kidwai to name a few – these are a handful of women out of the 1.8 million women working in the organised sector in India. What’s happening to the rest of the women working in corporate India?
This study throws some light on why we are not seeing more women at the top in the corporate world. The major reason is the decreasing percentage of women in the pipeline with an increase in the hierarchy level, as depicted by the graph below.
For every 100 women promoted to manager, 130 men are promoted
Very few women are in line to become CEO
Women are negotiating as often as men—but face push back when they do
Women get less access to senior leaders
Women ask for feedback as often as men—but are less likely to receive it
Women are less interested in becoming top executives—and see the pros and cons of senior leadership differently
Here are some of the key broader themes as per the Women in the Workplace 2016 study.
Promotion rates for women lag behind those of men, and the disparity is largest at the first step up to manager—for every 100 women promoted, 130 men are promoted.
“Compared to women, almost twice as many men are hired from the outside as directors—and more than three times as many are hired as SVPs.”
By the time women reach the SVP level, they hold a mere 20 percent of line roles. This hurts their odds of getting the top job because the vast majority of CEOs come from line positions.
“In 2015, 90% of new CEOs were promoted or hired from line roles, and 100% of them were men.”
An expected reason behind this would be that women with children would find the dual responsibilities of a CXO position and home challenging but the startling finding that even women without children are not interested in top jobs suggests that there are far deep-rooted beliefs women have about themselves and how they see the top job and its challenges.
– Women anticipate a steeper path to the top. Women who aspire to become a top executive are less likely to think they’ll get there than men with the same aspiration—and more likely to worry they won’t be able to manage work and family commitments.
– Women may not think their ideas and contributions carry the same weight as men’s. This could be rooted in the different experiences women and men are having in the workplace.
At every stage in their careers, women do more housework and child care than men—and there appears to be a link between the amount of work people do at home and their leadership ambition.
“Women in senior management are seven times more likely than men at the same level to say they do more than half of the housework.”
It is a very important study and companies across the world should look at it carefully and design their gender equality strategies. Actually, more than the plan, the bottleneck as always is implementation of the plan. Though gender equality at the workplace is high on priority of CEOs, it slips away from the list when it comes to implementation.
Companies have an important role to play in enabling society at large to achieve gender equality by working sincerely towards achieving gender equality at workplace. A fairer, more inclusive work environment will lead to more engaged employees. A more diverse workforce will lead to stronger organizations which would lead to better business results. The longterm benefits of gender equality at work go beyond companies and employees by not only strengthening the world economy but also making the world a fair and just place for half of its population. It is a worthy goal to go after!
You can read the complete report at link below: https://womenintheworkplace.com/
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I am an enterpreneur, a writer and a mother. I am passionate about women empowernment and equality for women. I write about inequalities and challenges women face in our socitey and career. I believe words read more...
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Neena was the sole caregiver of Amma and though one would think that Amma was dependent on her, Neena felt otherwise.
Neena inhaled the aroma that emanated from the pan and took a deep breath. The aroma of cumin interspersed with butter transported her back to the modest kitchen in her native village. She could picture her father standing in the kitchen wearing his white crisp kurta as he made delectable concoctions for his only daughter.
Neena grew up in a home where both her parents worked together in tandem to keep the house up and running. She had a blissful childhood in her modest two-room house. The house was small but every nook and cranny gave her memories of a lifetime. Neena’s young heart imagined that her life would follow the same cheerful course. But how wrong she was!
When she was sixteen, the catastrophic clutches of destiny snatched away her parents. They passed away in a road accident and Neena was devastated. Relatives thronged her now gloomy house and soon it was decided that she should be married off.
Women today don’t want to be in a partnership that complicates their lives further. They need an equal partner with whom they can figure out life as a team, playing by each other’s strengths.
We all are familiar with that one annoying aunty who is more interested in our marital status than in the dessert counter at a wedding. But these aunties have somehow become obsolete now. Now they are replaced by men we have in our lives. Friends, family, and even work colleagues. It’s the men who are worried about why we are not saying yes to one among their clans. What is wrong with us? Aren’t we scared of dying alone? Like them?
A recent interaction with a guy friend of mine turned sour when he lectured me about how I would regret not getting married at the right time. He lectured that every event in our lives needs to be completed within a certain timeframe set by society else we are doomed. I wasn’t angry. I was just disappointed to realize that annoying aunties are rapidly doubling in our society. And they don’t just appear at weddings or family functions anymore. They are everywhere. They are the real pandemic.
Let’s examine this a little closer.
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