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Breaking The Glass |
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Gone are the days when we hardly could see any women in the core management of organizations. Women are increasingly taking up superior positions in the corporate world, thereby turning down all the male bastions. In the corporate world women have shown true perseverance and determination to break the glass ceiling. There are women who have taken on the entire world-Indra Nooyi, CEO, Pepsico, Naina Lal Kidwai, MD, HSBC India, Lalita Gupte, COO, ICICI, Pragya Raman, group executive president of Aditya Birla Group- to name a few. It is also estimated that women entrepreneurs presently comprise about 10% of the total number of entrepreneurs in India, with the percentage growing every year. If the prevailing trend continues, it is likely that in another five years, women will comprise 20% of the entrepreneurial force or even more.
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Some of India’s top companies are now giving specific mandates to head-hunting firms to fill middle and senior management roles with women candidates. Bharti Enterprises and American Express have mandated their recruitment agencies to have a certain percentage of women candidates at the interview stage. While American Express asks for at least one-third representation among those appearing for job interviews, it is 25-30% for Bharti Enterprises. These efforts of promoting diversity are being appreciated in the corporate world.
Does the ceiling still exist?
Despite all this feel-good news, Indian companies seriously lack women in senior management roles. There are stunning statistics which elude the corporate world. According to a recent study, only 26.1 percent of the listed companies (392 of 1,500 firms) have a woman on their boards. Out of the 278 directors on the BSE Sensex companies, there are only 10 women directors. Apart from this, women executives in India earn 40 percent less than what men earn over their entire career. Even when compared to global counterparts, corporate India stands below average. Over 77 percent of the 200 largest companies in the world, as ranked by Fortune, had at least one women director on their board as of 2006. Only 36 percent of Indian companies have women holding senior management positions as compared to 91 percent of companies in China. These figures force us to ponder on how successful women have been in breaking the glass ceilings.
Glass ceiling is an invisible barrier that determines the level to which a woman can rise in an organization. It prevents women from occupying leadership positions in the organizations. It is generally based on attitudinal or organizational biasness. There are many signs that make the glass ceiling visible in the organizations. A major sign of the same is the difference in compensation of women. Women executives are paid far less that their male counterparts. Another indicator of the glass ceiling is when women's advancement is hampered by the corporate culture. For example, corporate policies and practices can maintain the status quo by keeping men in positions of corporate power. Stating that women outperform in care taking qualities while men outperform in taking charge qualities, is how the corporates vindicate this biasness. Despite better performances, women receive less approval and recognition from their male bosses and are slower to be promoted. Such stereotypes act as main reasons of why women fail to reach to the top in an organization.
Barriers to growth
An increasing number of women are proving that when it comes to taking up the corporate challenges, they have much more than just a pretty face to show. However, there are factors that hamper their growth within the organization. Firstly, work-life balance challenges impact women's advancement and, if not dealt with at the right time, may contribute to the glass-ceiling phenomenon. Assumptions are often made regarding women's availability to do a job without interference from family responsibilities. Secondly, higher roles ask for higher commitments, which may include working more than 40 hours of work per week. Those who put in longer hours generally rise faster, leaving those behind who are unable to dedicate more hours to work due to family responsibilities. Another issue is the double bind that women face when it comes to leadership behavior. The research shows that when a woman is assertive and takes charge, people often react negatively, but if she fulfils the prescribed stereotype of being a kind and gentle woman, she may be regarded as a poor leader. These factors often act as obstacles thereby barring women from climbing up the corporate ladder. Finally, women's entrepreneurial success in smaller companies has been ignored and appears to carry less value in comparison with senior roles in traditional and larger corporate settings.
Self created ceiling
Many corporates believe that these glass ceilings are self created. They argue women would have to push themselves out of this self-imposed ceiling. The first argument is that women can get to senior-level positions on their own merit, through hard work and ambition only if they want to. However, the number of women entering the corporate world has increased considerably. There might be some women who choose not to pursue more ambitious career goals but there are more female aspirants who look forward to a long career in private organizations. The second argument states that it is work family challenges that get in the way of women's advancement. As they climb the corporate ladder, many women discover that family is more important to them. So they quit playing senior roles in the management. However, the families of ambitious women are fully supporting them in pursuing their careers. The so called family burden is being shared by both the partners equally.
The fact remains that the glass ceiling no longer applies to most workplaces. In fact, for most women there is no absolute barrier stopping them from progressing to the top. The change is underway, albeit slowly.
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