Women and the Leadership Alley

Women And The Leadership AlleyTel: +91 8010772772 , [email protected], http://www.cornerstone.co.in

Women And The Leadership Alley

Women have always been associated with supportive and nurturingroles. Despite it being the 21st century, women still do not aboundin leadership positions compared to the menfolk.

According to surveys only six per cent of all top executives of fortune500 companies, are women. Additionally only 2 per cent of thesefirms have women CEOs.

There are a number of career barriers that women executives face.One of them is the traditional Prejudice which abets the fasterpromotion of male executives compared to the women even intraditionally women settings such as education.

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There is also a general resistance to women leadership. Employeesgenerally view women managers as more pushy and abrasive.There are also a number of issues with leadership styles thatwomen are supposed to sport. The compassionate and softernature associated with women often clashes with the leadershipdemands for control and assertion.

These barriers to women’s entry and progress must be diffusedand tackled if organisations want women employees to advance inranks and membership. Companies can undertake a lot ofmeasures to encourage the fairer genders’ participation.


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To begin with organizations should amply reward women’s productivityobjectively and not just by the number of hours put in. Firms shouldalso design performance management systems in such a way thatevaluators biases cease to creep in.

During recruitment drives, firms should exclusively take the aid ofexecutive search agencies to procure women talent. Encourage womento be mentored by well-esteemed senior members of the organization.



Also firms should ensure a god critical mass of women employeesin executive positions. Another positive move would be to grantwomen challenging and developmental work assignments todevelop leadership potential. Encourage family friendly HR policiesto aid women employees for whom family roles are demanding.

Even alumni programs may help women stepping away from workto return back when possible. Marriage and parenthood bringhigher pay packets and bigger roles however for women it is theother way round. High time, we changed this prejudice.



Zeroing our attention on professional women we often talk aboutwork-home conflicts, women’s career breaks and the gender gap inleadership. Today women exhibit a high need for achievementbreaking away from the traditional need for affiliation.

Highly educated men and women do not differ too much on whatthey find meaningful and satisfying in work. The number of womenenlisting for top B schools is steadily rising. Perhaps giving hope,that the gap in leadership and the paucity of women at the helmwill gradually be diminished.



Striking a balance between work and family and contributing to thesociety are goals both men and women agree with. When we speak oftalent management, we recognize that the fairer gender too is highlysought after for many skills and competencies such as organizationalawareness and relationship building.

Many Executive search firms have active women partnerships andwomen in dominant roles. Some retained search firms such as JBKinternational are certified “woman owned”. Some such as the Swedenbased women executive search are exclusively led by women.



Sure enough the war for talent has sizeable women inclusion.Another firm Chadick Ellig touts itself to be a premier provider offemale executive talent. Various forums address the issue ofwomen’s participation; brainstorm and uphold that genderdiversity leads to good governance and may actually boost thebottom line.

Despite the evolving situation and the increasing role of womenin even family businesses, a yawning chasm still breathes. It is anassumed idea that family responsibilities keep women away fromthe leadership pipeline.



In the past this was the case but today many women jugglecareers with family and yet we have far less women in seniormanagement. Organizations need to be watchful about unspokenyet powerful perceptions that constrain women’s opportunities.

Many misguided assumptions and biases against womenprimarily arising from the judgment handed out to them viatraditional society are responsible for curtailing women’s part insenior leadership. Decisions about family and relationships aredeeply personal and yet sadly women are often judged harshlyfor their decisions in this territory.



The traditional idea of the male as the “breadwinner” and thewoman as only a supportive role still finds acceptance. Many atime women may lean back on family and child rearing and familyresponsibilities as they hit an obstacle in their careers.

In our own country, India, the government has rapped boards ina bid to increase women’s board membership. However, at timesthe primary obstacle to women’s less powerful presence may beshe “herself”. Many Top Executive search firms in India haveactive women involvement.


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Women and the Leadership Alley

Business

Transcript of Women and the Leadership Alley