Glass Ceiling – Myth Or Reality

What lacks is productivity and the compensation part getting a direct hit! Though we see a lot of support for networking and co-working units there is not much of uplift happening.

What lacks in this culture is productivity and the compensation part getting a direct hit! Though we see a lot of support for networking and co-working units there is not much of uplift happening.

In this new age of management, are we still living with the ghosts of our past? The Glass Ceiling is a topic, many have discussed the innumerable number of times and kept it aside. We demand gender equality for anything and everything; be it at school, workspace, home, etc but we have never achieved the results.

Inequality Exists

Right from education, inequality exists. Even in this digital era, there are remote places where educating a girl child is not considered important. Even basic education is denied for many.  The thought that has got into the mind is the thought that the end of the day the girl is married off and what’s the use for her to study if she is going to be a full-time homemaker.

Even those parents, who had the privilege of receiving a good education, choose institutions nearby aiming for the safety of girl child. Thereby, denying the chances to get into any institution of excellence for even basic or higher education.  From the beginning, safety concerns played a higher role in her life! As she could have evolved and got into a better career path, marriage and maternity created roadblocks. But still, we see a lot of women who have struggled in their ways and toiled up to reach whatever great heights they have reached today, I am sure we can get a lot of contemporary names.

Today we can see that many Corporates have tried to fix the gap by giving flexible hours for women restarting their careers. They give work from home options too, which look more convenient and help women to have a work-life balance. But what lacks in this culture is productivity and the compensation part getting a direct hit! Though we see a lot of support for networking and co-working units (for work from home women), there is not much of uplift happening.  Still, the first question most of the HR’s ask while interviewing a woman candidate is when are you planning for marriage(if the candidate is single), when are your plans for kids and will you be accompanying your spouse if he gets onsite (If the candidate is married)

Not Many Changes Have Happened

Looking back, there are not been many changes that have happened post-independence, if keenly observed, pre-independence was far better as agriculture and core industries in those days. Women had equally been working in the fields and also were physically and emotionally strong. We see a weaker gender nowadays, emotionally and physically drained.

Where is the gap? Doing a root cause analysis we can discover that at the core of the glass ceiling is the issue of safety for the woman. Let us recollect a well-known story of how the Legendary Tata gave company to Mrs. Sudha Narayanamurthy while she waited alone after work, for her husband to pick her up. The safety of his lone woman staff was a concern even for the Legend. This is an old story; now in this new millennium, the situation in India has only become more complicated.  Therefore, if the glass has to be broken, it has to be done by the gatekeepers of society.

Image Source: Pexels

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About the Author

Anila Varrier

Anila is an HR by profession, who took a break from her career to take care of her kids. Later she started as a Freelance Recruitment Consultant. Photography is her passion, and she takes small read more...

1 Posts | 1,096 Views

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