- Shefa Jawaid (Winner: Kairos- Article Writing Competition)
We have observed that women seem to be more successful in universities, better achievers and possess greater deal of tacit power and influence when compared to men. But then why is it that there still exist a huge gap in the percentage of women and men when it comes to being a part of the boardrooms of organizations? (See: Exhibit 1).
At homes, women play an upper hand in making purchase decisions, in influencing and in taking all the tough decisions. They possess optimum mental toughness and resilience so much so that they have earned the status of being a flag bearer of the society. Women perform leadership roles throughout their lives. Then why is it that they are under-represented in the boardroom all across the globe throughout various sectors? (See: Exhibit 2)
Women leaders are diverse in terms of their personality, nature and their way of function. Throughout history, women who have revolted against the society and achieved the roles of being great leaders have, in great deal, contributed to education, politics, women empowerment and social welfare. Their contributions have left an indelible mark in the world. Today, companies are realizing the importance of gender diversity in the boards and are striving to increase the representation of women in their organization at the top executive level. Even though they have been striving to enhance the female representation in the top management level the statistics show dismal results. As per a 2011 survey done by the Economic Times, only
4.8% of the 335 Indian people who hold directorship positions are women and among all the
Indian companies only 17% of them offer leadership development program exclusively for women. Let’s look at the numbers in the Exhibit 3
4.8% of the 335 Indian people who hold directorship positions are women and among all the
Indian companies only 17% of them offer leadership development program exclusively for women. Let’s look at the numbers in the Exhibit 3
What is the reason behind low women representation?
McKinsey & Company shared a report in “Women matters, 2010” when they conducted a survey consisting of 445 C-level women employees. (See Exhibit 4).They stated that 57% of the women suffered from the “double barrel syndrome”, the problem of handling work and domestic responsibilities efficiently. 42% revealed that they had problems with companies’ business models of “anywhere and anytime”, that is, to be available at anytime and at any geographical location as per the companies’ requirements. Some shared reasons for leaving the workforce as being a personal choice and some said they lacked internal support for childcare, parents, etc from their own workplace. Only a small percentage of the section revealed the reason for low top representation as having no zeal within them or lacking ambition.
McKinsey & Company shared a report in “Women matters, 2010” when they conducted a survey consisting of 445 C-level women employees. (See Exhibit 4).They stated that 57% of the women suffered from the “double barrel syndrome”, the problem of handling work and domestic responsibilities efficiently. 42% revealed that they had problems with companies’ business models of “anywhere and anytime”, that is, to be available at anytime and at any geographical location as per the companies’ requirements. Some shared reasons for leaving the workforce as being a personal choice and some said they lacked internal support for childcare, parents, etc from their own workplace. Only a small percentage of the section revealed the reason for low top representation as having no zeal within them or lacking ambition.
How do we attract more women to the boardrooms?
Before we start analyzing and answering this question let us look into the reasons why should women be a part of the boards, what are their innate qualities which qualify them to become a leader? Apart from the survey results displayed in Exhibit 5 that was conducted among men, some of the qualities of women are as follows:
• When compared with their male colleagues, they have a strong sense of dedication, commitment and loyalty
• They have the ability to multitask
• Their working style is mostly collaborative qualifying them to be a great team player
• They have good crisis management skills
• They are more sensitive towards people and in relationships
Before we start analyzing and answering this question let us look into the reasons why should women be a part of the boards, what are their innate qualities which qualify them to become a leader? Apart from the survey results displayed in Exhibit 5 that was conducted among men, some of the qualities of women are as follows:
• When compared with their male colleagues, they have a strong sense of dedication, commitment and loyalty
• They have the ability to multitask
• Their working style is mostly collaborative qualifying them to be a great team player
• They have good crisis management skills
• They are more sensitive towards people and in relationships
Additionally, a survey was also conducted by Zenith research in 2011, among 2250 adults to know which of the two genders form better leaders. Surprisingly, 6% of respondents said that women make better leaders than men, 21% said that men made better leaders, while the vast majority, 69% said that men and women make equally good leaders.
A comprehensive solution for increasing the percentage of women representation in the boardrooms can be formulated by a set of three integrated solutions that is depicted in the image below: (See: Image 1):
A comprehensive solution for increasing the percentage of women representation in the boardrooms can be formulated by a set of three integrated solutions that is depicted in the image below: (See: Image 1):
• Focused public sector attention: We know the concept of leadership by example and hence the government should have huge representation of women in the cabinet which would encourage the private sector companies to follow suit. Government should also set aside quotas for women representation in every company in the boards during the times of hiring as well as during promotions at every level.(Eg: In India, as per the Companies Act, 2013 there has to be a presence of at least one female board member for every five or more directors)
• Committed private sector leadership: Every private sector organization should constitute formal or informal policies that would promote women-friendly work culture. There should be flexible working hours, flexible locations for work as well as job-sharing opportunities.
• Corporate transparency: Every organization should have proper disclosures and reporting mechanisms with respect to gender diversity. This has proved to be a great mechanism to encourage greater diversity.
Thus, the corporate sector can choose from a variety of initiatives: conducting training programs to facilitate skill building in women, assigning mentors for providing guidance to the junior women employees, setting assessment parameters in the performance evaluation of senior executives for maintaining gender-diversity at all levels (eg: hiring, retaining, promoting and developing women) , having robust performance measurement systems that would mitigate the impact of flexible work location and maternity leaves and having individual leadership programs exclusively for potential women leaders. Thus organizations have to take innovative steps to motivate and encourage more and more women to have a bright corporate career
• Committed private sector leadership: Every private sector organization should constitute formal or informal policies that would promote women-friendly work culture. There should be flexible working hours, flexible locations for work as well as job-sharing opportunities.
• Corporate transparency: Every organization should have proper disclosures and reporting mechanisms with respect to gender diversity. This has proved to be a great mechanism to encourage greater diversity.
Thus, the corporate sector can choose from a variety of initiatives: conducting training programs to facilitate skill building in women, assigning mentors for providing guidance to the junior women employees, setting assessment parameters in the performance evaluation of senior executives for maintaining gender-diversity at all levels (eg: hiring, retaining, promoting and developing women) , having robust performance measurement systems that would mitigate the impact of flexible work location and maternity leaves and having individual leadership programs exclusively for potential women leaders. Thus organizations have to take innovative steps to motivate and encourage more and more women to have a bright corporate career