A discussion from our Warp & Weft group on Linkedin

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A long way to go for the Indian woman to shatter the glass ceiling in the corporate world re-iterates the recent article in the Times of India. Extensive surveys and research in the report indicate that the percentage of women in corporate boards or executive boards is a mere six percent. This is at least ten times lower than the percentage found in our global counterparts.

This survey raises very vital questions some of them being:
1.       Is having a handful of women at the top like Chanda Kocchar (Head of ICICI Bank), Vinita Bali (CEO of Britannia) and a few others, enough to represent the power of Indian women.
2.       What happens to the several women graduates who pass out each year?

The Mc. Kinsey survey reports that at least 45% of Indian women leave the workforce each year citing needs of wanting a better work life balance or quoting family problems. Many women succumb to the pressure of juggling the priorities of work and family and tend to quit their jobs or stick to entry level or mid-managerial roles. The survey put out these facts and numbers painting a very bleak picture for Indian women in the corporate sector. Makes one wonder if the Indian woman is being punished for nurturing or taking the role of primary role giver in the family too seriously. These facts also reflect poorly on the dynamics of the society. Questions that arise from this survey are worth a thought and will make a lot of difference to our approach to a mutually inclusive society at the workplace

1.       Is this imbalance in numbers a good example for our little girls? Are we depriving them of role models? Are we teaching them that it is a norm to give up their career or ambitions of being gainfully occupied to bring up a family?

2.       Why is care-giving or looking after a family so gender specific? Why is society imposing such biased stereotypes? How do we change the cultural influence and the traditional mindset?

3.       How can we empower women to stay on in the corporate world and excel in their chosen profession? How do we feed the corporate pipeline with more women leaders who are happy individuals with happy families?

Join our discussion group, Warp & Weft: Threads of Diversity & Inclusion in India on Linkedin and share your thoughts.

Interweave in news: Knowledge @ Wharton

A Bullish Outlook for India’s Female Entrepreneurs

Nirmala Menon, founder and CEO of Interweave Consulting, a Bangalore-based firm that focuses on diversity management and inclusiveness in the workplace, points out that there is a lot of visibility and acknowledgement of women entrepreneurs as reliable partners and vendors. “Some organizations are encouraging them as part of their corporate supplier diversity programs. This is spurring other women to enter the space as well.”

Menon adds that Indian women inherently have an important entrepreneurial trait — resilience. “Women in India have had to traditionally manage with limited resources and that native intelligence helps them manage creatively with frugal resources available,” she notes. “They reuse, save, negotiate, find alternatives — all of which contributes to their success as an entrepreneur.”

But what are some of the challenges that they face?

Menon suggests that women find it more cumbersome than men to navigate the regulatory and procedural complexities. She attributes this to “a fairly complex process managed mostly by men.” Menon adds that while women entrepreneurs have domain expertise, they often lack profit and loss experience and by consequence could struggle with the “business-side” of an enterprise. However, the biggest challenge for women entrepreneurs in India, she says, is coping with societal expectations. “These are changing, but still have some way to go.”

Read full article at http://knowledgetoday.wharton.upenn.edu/2012/06/a-bullish-outlook-for-indias-female-entrepreneurs/



Is being a yes girl the right strategy? - by Monalisa Das (Mail India, Feb 2nd edition, Pages 24 & 25))

Meenakshi Nayar had the right mix of talent and dedication to take her places in the advertising world. After graduating from a leading media institute, Meenakshi took on a job with full zeal at an ad agency. She didn't mind the 14-hour days or work-filled weekends. No matter how over-burdened she was, she never refused work. "Saying no to boss was unthinkable," she says.

While her strategy seemed to be a good one initially, over time it backfired. Despite several promotions, Meenakshi feels she is treated like a doormat in office. "My team members and boss just keep dumping work on me but never ask for my opinion. I can't recall the last time I went home for Diwali or took a day off," she declares. "It really hurts that despite my initiative and dedication, I haven't earned respect. Even my juniors have a bigger say in matters than me," she says. Meenakshi admits that being a "yes girl" has been a big mistake.

Speak your mind
Experts say Meenakshi's frustration is shared by most working professionals, especially women, in the Indian corporate world. "Blame it on cultural upbringing or the pluralistic society, women haven't yet learned to speak up. They may be extremely hard working but don't claim credit for their work or negotiate properly. They also find it difficult to say no," says Srimathi Shivashankar, associate vice president, diversity & sustainability, HCL Technologies.

Nirmala Menon, founder and CEO of Interweave Consulting agrees. "Most women have a tendency to please others. Unlike men, they want to be seen as "nice" and are scared of confrontations or upsetting their colleagues with a no. But they need to unlearn this trait once they step into the corporate world, especially if they intend to assume leadership roles."

Menon's 20 years of experience in HR roles in India and the US have taught her that saying yes to every request may not always be right. "If you keep compromising on situations, the time will come when co-workers start treating you like a pushover," she says. Being over-burdened will ultimately affect your performance, which will end up being the company's loss too.

Assertiveness helps
Speaking up when faced with an unfair situation-be it the inequitable distribution of work or uncalled for comment-is crucial. "If you have gained the organisation's confidence and can clearly articulate your rationale, people will be willing to listen," says Mumbai-based Kanika Bhutani, senior manager, FIDS, Ernst & Young. Failure to speak up is often mistaken for a lack of competence or knowledge. "Women must learn to showcase their own competencies, abilities, achievements or simply just speak up more often in meetings," says Archana Bhaskar, global HR lead, OTC, Shell. While most women hesitate to speak up, those who assert themselves may go over the top. Hence, women come across either as yelling and dominating bosses or as submissive employees.

"You need to consciously practice how to express yourself politely but firmly without offending others. Another person's age or position should not bar you from speaking your mind," points out Meena Suri Wilson, senior enterprise associate, Center for Creative Leadership who comes with 15 years of work experience in the US and Asia. And if you have to say no, do it after careful consideration. "Saying no must be based on some facts, evidence or rationality else it will sound arrogant and unconvincing. People respect you when you sound reasonable," says expert on diversity issues, Shivashankar.


Glass ceiling exists
Another concern is the subtle bias that exists against women. "You are made to feel excluded in subtle ways. Organisations start giving you lighter roles after marriage and kids, assuming that you won't be able to deliver," says Menon. "This makes women so insecure that they hesitate to say no even when they need to. They end up committing beyond their capacity. Hence, confusion about where to draw the line prevails," says Priya Chetty-Rajagopal, vice president & partner, Stanton Chase International. It's the confusion that makes them either over commit, under commit or quit.

There is no denying the fact that women are under more pressure than men to strike a work-life balance. As a professional, however, a woman needs to be extremely clear about her priorities and stick with them. "Women must try to shift attention from gender issues to performance and work delivery because ultimately their talent really matters," says Bhaskar.

The best way to say no
Striking a balance between between agreeing to take on tasks and turning them down is very important. Gaining courage to say no to tasks in the workplace doesn't translate into shirking your professional commitments.

Also, if you have just taken on a job and start saying no to assignments right in the beginning, this won't be acceptable. You first need to prove yourself and create a reputation before you start raising objections. "It's about striking a balance between being naïve and saying yes to requests, and being arrogant and say saying no. You should be able to assess the situation and the relevance of your response to your career," suggests Shivashankar. The following tips will help.

Avoid responding immediately to requests to take on a new project, role or opportunity. It's best to sleep over it since a quick response doesn't ensure long-term foresight.

Next step is to create a mind map. "Assess if the new project is going to move you up in the career ladder. It could be in the form of new learning, networking with the senior management, better experience or simply a feel-good factor," says Shivashankar. If you decide to say no, frame it constructively with clarity and vision.

Acknowledge the good work you have done as this helps build your reputation and also makes it easier for your boss to deal with your no. "After every assignment, analyse how it helped you grow as a professional and how it contributed to the company's success," advises Wilson.

Share your learning with your boss- thank him for assigning you the task. "This will create the image of a proactive responsible professional. Saying no to certain things one off will become much easier if you appreciate a lot of other things regularly," she says.


Mail India 2nd Feb edition

August 2011 Newsletter

Is pregnancy sure to deter our career advancement? How much is this up to us and how much support can we expect from our company? How do we handle employees from different generations working together? How do we manage employees who are change-resistant? All this and more!
Presenting our August 2011 newsletter - We welcome your thoughts and ideas!

http://interweave.cc/newsletter/aug2011/newsletter.html

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Whose concern is it?

The article “Let Us Continue Work in Bar, Say 3 Women” in the July 8^th issue of The Times of India talks about how these 3 women have petitioned to let them continue working as bar stewards. Now, safety of employees, according to the law, is the responsibility of their employer. So how does the government, being the upholder of the law, have the right to suddenly decide that women can work at five- star hotels but not bars? Especially when the women themselves say that accommodation and safe transportation have, in fact, been given to them by their employer.

On one hand, the government claims to have the safety of these women in mind while on the other hand, it has unfairly pushed them out of this space of employment while they want to continue working in it.

Should there be a line that the government should not cross, between ‘protective’ and ‘stifling’? Or should the women be grateful that someone finally has their welfare in mind?