This is a very important aspect of the growth of our country. Much as we talk about the talent crunch in the HR fraternity as a whole, we fail to recognize the aspect of increasing the number of women employees within our organizations. I want to ask each of you to let us know your thoughts on the topic if, according to you, women have been able to get a share in the corporate world ? If yes, please elaborate why do you think so. If you feel they have not got their due share, please tell us what according to you should be done to ensure that it is done. Feel free to disagree and debate.



My take on this :



I personally believe that there is a lot of potential in women that needs to be harnessed. Some are right when they say there are only a handful of women who have made it big in the corporate world and that too by sacrificing much of personal life, and when we take an overall scenario we wont find many in the top management. But there is a reason behind it.

We would have to understand the evolution of the careers of women as we try to unravel this. When we hire freshers (both men and women) from college, they are at the same level. In fact, my experience tells me that some of the best performing employees have been women. Their families are happy and support them totally. Once the initial euphoria goes off, the family starts pestering most of the women for marriage. I have known hundreds of top-performing women leaving their jobs to go marry someone who is in a different city or a different country. In most of the cases, parents do not even bother about killing her career. In the sense, marrying her off into a family which may or may not support her career ambitions. Or maybe she would have to relocate to a place where a suitable employment is impossible for her based on her skills. What happens to her career then ? Its killed just when she is about to embark on the middle-tier of the corporate.

She either quits working altogether or takes up something which is below par to her ability. Considering that she survives till that stage to marry someone who supports her job/shift, after a year or two they would be facing the big question of starting a family. Once this happens, her priorities are totally changed as is wont with nature. First priority would be the baby. Best case scenario, she might lose 6-7 months of the peak-performing period of her career. Worst case scenario (am talking about complicated pregnancies), she might end up losing more than a year and half. When she rejoins back, would she be in the state of mind that she quit ? Absolutely NO. Because she has been out of touch not just with her work, but with the work culture too. Suddenly people also start treating her differently. Major responsibilities are many times not given to new-moms because people think they would need an easy job which is stress free. I am not saying it shouldn’t be done, in fact they deserve as much of a lee-way as the organization can afford at that stage. Consider a second baby and then imagine where her career would be ? In the meantime, where is her peer (male) who joined work with her as a fresher by now ? He is at least 2-3 notches above her in the hierarchy. Apart from all these also, there are many other socio-economic situations which play a part in defining the career of women. To say that inspite of all this, some women make it to the top of the organization hierarchy is an achievement, is an understatement. I personally salute their spirit and their multi-tasking abilities.

The only way we can ensure that women get their due share in the corporate world, is by having a definite percentage as target (of course based on merit) for hiring women to maintain a healthy female:male ratio on the floor. I have been fortunate to work with such companies which not only believed in this spirit, but did everything possible to achieve it too. I feel more such initiatives would ensure equal gender parity at work.