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CHAPTER 1
Diversity: the art of thinking independently together.
-Malcolm Stevenson Forbes
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1.1 Introduction
Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting thechallenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building
good governance.
Kofi Annan
The Indian workplace has undergone significant changes in the last two decades with the
opening up of the economy and its spin-off effects on the countrys social landscape. The
scenario in Indian workplace especially MNCs is undergoing a radical change. With the opening
up of the economy the prolific influx of international companies establishing themselves in India
has made Diversity a buzzword in Indian workplace. Today one can see widely diverse
workforce working together. Diversity is fast becoming a key metric for the organizations. Large
and small organizations alike are developing mandates to increase the diversity across gender,
ethnicity and culture. But when you talk about diversity in Indian workplace Gender diversity
is one of the critical elements. According to a survey by HR consulting firmMercer, around 90%
of the companies mention Gender as their main focus of the diversity programmes.
In a one day conference organized by the American Chamber of Commerce, India in association
with the U.S. on 7th
February 2013, U.S. AmbassadorNancy Powell said, Companies gain by
recruiting the most talented employees, irrespective of gender. She also said, Research shows
that creating a gender-inclusive work environment yields concrete positive results. If you
systematically eliminate half of an available pool of contributors to business, government and
broader society, you will also lose half of the potential. And that half could have included the
next Bill Gates or Albert Einstein, not to mention Marie Curie or Hillary Clinton - if they had
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been given the same opportunities at education, advancement, nurturing, mentoring and access to
opportunities."
Over a period of few years the inclusion of women or having a gender diverse workforce has
become an important matter. Organizations compete for human resources and if they restrict
themselves to hiring only male workforce because of some traditional stereotypes they will
have a very small pool of talent to choose from, hence shortage of workforce. Therefore to
bridge the gender gap and to have access to a wider and a highly capable pool of talent the
organizations are trying to breakaway the restrictions and hire both the genders.
There are advantages galore in having a gender diverse workforce. A gender diverse workforce
brings together a mix of experiences, opinion, talents and skills that help an organization to
succeed. Both men and women offer unique contributions to the workplace. By promoting and
employing without respect to gender, a workplace earns not only professional acclaim but
employee and customer loyalty. It also helps in better decision making.
But as said everything has its pros and cons, managing a gender diverse workforce poses a lot of
challenges like stereotypes in the society, work-life imbalance etc.
Statistics: Representation of Women:
As per a survey conducted by TCS, In the global context, India is one of the countries with the
lowest percentage of female employees along with Japan (24%), Turkey (26%) and Austria
(29%). In industries like the Service sector and the IT sector, while women are well-represented
overall, they are mostly concentrated at the entry levels. Service sector shows a more
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heterogeneous picture with 42% of respondents having less than 30% women in their workforce
and 17% of respondents having up to 50% women. 70% respondents from the IT sector claimed
to have up to 30% women while 17% respondents claimed 50% women representation in their
workforce. Other industries have an even lower representation of women in their workforce in
Finance sector, 73% respondents claimed 15% women representation; in manufacturing non
durable sector, 50% respondents claimed up to 15% women while 13% respondents said they
had more than 50% women. In the manufacturing non-durable sector, 80% respondents claimed
to have up to 15% women in their workforce.
The representation of women across organizations drops as the seniority of the role increases.
The overall numbers of women are mostly found at the entry level and drop dramatically in
senior and board level roles; 67% respondents claim having no women at all at these levels
respectively.
Therefore this research intends to identify these challenges and the ways to manage the gender
diverse workforce
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1.2 Scope of study
This study aims at understanding that why the situation of women representation atworkplace is still so bleak i.e. to identify the barriers in managing gender diversity in MNCs.
It also tries to find out the most effective ways or measures to overcome the challenges beingfaced.
The most voted or chosen method can then be recommended to the organizations beingsurveyed for their betterment.
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1.3 Background of the study
Diversity in organizations is much talked about phenomenon nowadays. In todays scenario it is
believed that organizations which are tolerant to diversity in terms of culture, skills, gender etc
are more successful than homogenous organizations. If organizations have to thrive in such a
volatile and fast-changing global environment, they have to learn to welcome and manage
diversity. At workplace, one encounters different kinds of diversity- Diversity of age, education,
language, culture and gender. Existence of such wide variety of diversity ranging from age to
gender, definitely poses challenges galore to the organizations. The inevitability of diversity is
getting validity and so is the challenge for the leader to successfully manage and lead such
teams.
In context of Indian organizations, a survey reveals that Gender is the main focus of diversity
efforts in India. Traditionally the corporate workplace has been a male dominated one but the
situation is not the same anymore. Increasing number of organizations is moving towards
inclusion of women due to their competence at the workplace and diversity in organization is
slowly becoming a rule than an exception.
Paradoxically, in Indian Inc the situation is still bleak and traditional stereotypes can be blamed
for under representation of women in organizations. Off late, many surveys have brought out the
importance of presence of women on boards not only for the sake of equality but also for the
betterment and success of organizations and also because of the unique qualities in the way
women lead.
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This topic has been chosen to study the reasons and apprehensions of recruiting women on board
and also what initiatives have been taken up in this regard.
This research will also help in comprehending the challenges posed and ways/measure to
manage such a diverse organizational environment.
1.4 Objective of the study
To identify the barriers to gender diversity in any organization. To identify the measures being adopted to overcome the barriers
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CHAPTER 2
Diversity is not about how we differ.
Diversity is about embracing one another's uniqueness.
-Ola Joseph
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2.1 Literature Review
Cox and Blake (1991) argued that diversity can be a source of competitive advantage. They
claim that managing diversity promises advantages concerning marketing and distribution as a
diverse workforce is in a better position to respond to desires and needs of culturally diverse
customers in the market.
According to Carrel et al (2000), Diversity can improve organizational effectiveness.
Organizations that develop experience in and reputations for managing diversity will likely
attract the best personnel.
Managing diversity means enabling the diverse workforce to perform its full potential in an
equitable work environment where no one group has an advantage or disadvantage, (Torres and
Bruxelles, 1992).
According to one study (Watson et al., 1993), culturally diverse groups relative to homogeneous
groups are more effective both in the interaction process and job performance; these benefits
occur after a diverse group has been together for a period of time.
Hiring women, minorities, disabled, etc. will help organizations to tap these niche markets and
diversified market segments. As all the segments of society have a stake in the development and
prosperity of society as a whole, creating and managing a diverse workforce should be seen as a
social and moral imperative (Mueller, 1998).
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Svyantek and Bott (2004) reviewed nine diversity studies (published during 1989-2003) that
investigated the gender diversity-performance relationship. Out of nine studies, four studies
found no main effects, two studies found positive effects, two studies found negative effects, and
one study found a nonlinear effect.
Clare Rigg, John Sparrow, (1994) in their research work on "Gender, Diversity and Working
Styles", say Generalized differences were identified in the approaches of women and men to
definition of the job, overall style, decision making and interpersonal relationships. Men had
greater visibility to other men, while a broader insight was offered by women interviewees into
the women managers' approaches. The research further amplifies that in the context of
patriarchal power relations, in which masculinity is defined as opposite and superior to
femininity, feminine working styles are perceived as less effective in organizations, while
masculine attributes tend to be regarded as normatively the way to manage. Such values can
imbue recruitment, selection and development practices with gender bias. Recent management
and leadership theory has advocated the value of a people-centered approach, which traditionally
and stereotypically has been associated with women. This might appear to open up opportunity
for women. The study concludes that there is a need to be alert to a redefinition of patriarchal
relations as men seek to maintain status.
Kevin Campbell , Antonio Mnguez-Vera, (2008), in their study Gender Diversity in the
Boardroom and Firm Financial Performance, say, that the monitoring role performed by the
board of directors is an important corporate governance control mechanism, especially in
countries where external mechanisms are less well developed. The gender composition of the
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board can affect the quality of this monitoring role and thus the financial performance of the
firm. This is part of the business case for female participation on boards, though arguments
may also be framed in terms of ethical considerations. Their study suggests that investors in
Spain do not penalise firms which increase their female board membership and that greater
gender diversity may generate economic gains.
Catalyst (2004) showed that more diverse companies achieved better financial results. Since
then, interest in the business case for recruiting, developing and advancing women has been
growing.
Within a corporate governance framework, the composition of corporate boards is crucial to
aligning the interest of management and shareholders, to providing information for monitoring
and counselling, and to ensuring effective decision-making (Becht, Bolton and Roell 2002;
Hermalin and Weisbach 2003)
A major argument in support of management diversity is that a more diverse board of Directors
may take decisions while considering a wider range of alternatives. Carter, Simkins and
Simpson (2003) and (2008) enumerate several positive propositions of the business case for
board gender diversity, among which this is a central one.
Smith, Smith and Verner (2006), say, women directors may better understand particular market
conditions than men, which may bring more creativity and quality to board decision-making. A
more gender diverse board may generate a better public image of the firm and, through this,
improve firm performance. It is possible that the external talent pool for board members
increases once women have been appointed to particular executive positions.
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A heterogeneous board may slow down decision-making as the likelihood of reaching consensus
may be smaller. The result will be a less efficient decision-making body, which may turn out to
critically impede a firms competitive behavior (Hambrick, Cho and Chen 1996).
Dulop, Venkoff (1999) say, even when women occupy similar positions and have similar
educational levels, they earn just 80 per cent of what men do, though this is better than in most
developing countries.
According to (Haq,2010), MNCs use affirmative actions and diversity management practices
within their operations; this has improved opportunities for women.
Despite the initiatives by MNCs to improve female employment status, women at management
level India face inequality of opportunity, (Gupta et al, 1998).
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CHAPTER 3
Life lies in diversity, not in monotony.
-M.K. Soni
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3.1 Research Methodology:
Type of study: The study is descriptive in nature. The relevant data is collected with the helpfrom questionnaires from respondents. This research work is limited to various MNC
organizations in service sector like banking, insurance, telecom etc.
Sources of data collection: It involves both primary and secondary research:Primary: Questionnaires and personal interviews.
Secondary: Research works, internet, books & articles.
3.2 Sampling Techniques:
Sampling unit: The research is conducted on MNCs located in Delhi and NCR Sample size: Sample size for this study is a total of 100 respondents. Sampling method: Random Stratified Sampling.3.3 Data analysis Technique
Data is analyzed on excel spreadsheet with the help of pie charts and graphs and SPSS is also
used.
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CHAPTER 4
Creating and managing a diverse workforce is aprocess, not a destination.
R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr.
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4.1 Industry Overview- Multinational Corporations (MNC):
As the name suggests, any company is referred to as a multinational company or corporation
when that company manages its operation or production or service delivery from more than a
single country.
Why MNCs in India?
There are a number of reasons why the multinational companies are coming down to India. India
has got a huge market. It has also got one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Besides,
the policy of the government towards FDI has also played a major role in attracting the
multinational companies in India.
For quite a long time, India had a restrictive policy in terms of foreign direct investment. As a
result, there was lesser number of companies that showed interest in investing in Indian market.
However, the scenario changed during the financial liberalization of the country, especially after
1991. Government, nowadays, makes continuous efforts to attract foreign investments by
relaxing many of its policies, latest being the green signal for the entry of FDI in India in the year
2013. As a result, a number of multinational companies have shown interest in Indian market.
Reasons why multinational companies consider India as a preferred destination for
business:
Huge market potential of the country FDI attractiveness Labor competitiveness
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Macro-economic stability
These reasons are very much evidence that prove the growing entry of MNC in India. And as
they grow so would be the need to employ more people.
Advantages of growing MNC are in India:
Initiating a higher level of investment. Reducing the technological gap. Utilizing the natural resources in true sense. Reducing the foreign exchange gap. Boosting up the basic economic structure.
MNC and Diversity:
Diversity will help organizations to develop a flexible mindset that rewards performance andmerit regardless of nationality.
Organizations need to extend beyond the traditional sub sets of diversity race, gender,religion and must become a way of life embedded in the organizational culture.
Leadership must express and communicate their belief in diversity through vision andmission statements.
Inclusion of women at Board level changes the dynamics of meetings.
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CHAPTER 5
If we are going to see real development in the world then our best
investment is WOMEN.
-Desmond tutu
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5.1 Analysis & Findings:
A survey was conducted by taking a sample of 100 employees working in various MNCs which
includes Banking, Insurance, Telecom, IT and others. The total sample constituted 50 per cent
male and 50 per cent female employees to evince a balanced gender response Originally
questionnaires were administered to 100 respondents, out of which 20 were either half filled,
badly filled or casually filled hence not included in the data analysis. Only 80 out of 100
questionnaires were subjected to analysis using Microsoft Excel. The data was studied on four
parameters i.e. Overall, Gender, Designation (Level) and Years of experience with a view to
meet the objectives and reach a good justified conclusion.
Out of the 80 respondents, maximum numbers of male and female employees were between the
age group of 26-35 years.
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
Male Female
Percentage
Gender
Gender & Age
Below 25
26-35
36-45
45-55
Above 55
Fig: 1.1: Showing the %
of both the gender in
each age group.
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The designation of all the respondents was categorized into Senior, Middle and Lower level on
the basis of hierarchy for the purpose of analysis. Maximum of the sample surveyed falls into the
Middle level category.
Majority of the sample population i.e. 31% has a work experience of 2-5 years, followed by 22%
with a work experience of 0-2 years.
0.00%10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
Male Female
Percentage
gender
Gender & Designation
Senior
Middle
Lower
22%
31%
8%
14%
12%
13%
YEARS OF EXPERIENCE0-2 years
2-5 years
5-7 years
7-10 years
10-15
years
more than
15 years
0.00%
5.00%
10.00%
15.00%
20.00%
25.00%
30.00%
Percentage
Gender
Gender & ExperienceBelow 2
2-5 years
5-7 years
7-10 years
10-15 years
more than
15
Fig: 1.2: Showing the % of both the gender at each level.
Fig: 1.3: Showing the % of years of
experience
Fig: 1.4: Showing the % of years of
experience, gender wise.
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5.2 The extent to which the workforce represents gender diversity:
The data that was collected and analyzed reveals that in every organization that was surveyed
maximum responded that their workforce represents gender diversity to a moderate degree (70%)
i.e. a mix of both the gender whereas only 30% answered Very much. This finding is also
justified as per the analysis done on the basis of gender and designation.
30%
70%
0%
To what extent do you think your workforce
represents Gender Diversity?
very much
to a moderate
degree
not at all
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
Male Female
Percentage
Gender
To what extent do you think your workforce represents
Gender Diversity?
Very Much
Moderate
Fig: 1.5: Showing the
overall percentage.
Fig: 1.6: Gender diversity representation of workforce by
Gender.
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The analysis tells all the organizations that were surveyed have a gender diverse workforce to a
moderate degree, which means that, the organizations today understand the importance of having
talented and skilled people in their workforce irrespective of their gender.
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
Senior Middle Lower
Percentage
Level
To what extent do you think your workforcerepresents Gender Diversity?
Very Much
Moderate
Fig: 1.7: gender diversity representation of workforce by Levels.
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5.3 Percentage of female employees at different levels in your organization:
According to the analysis the percentage of female employees is the highest at the lowest and the
middle level i.e. between the categories of 30%-40% to 40%-50%. As you go up the levels the
percentage keeps on decreasing.
As the graph above shows that 92% people have answered that at the senior level the female
representation isbelow 10%, this shows the presence of Glass Ceiling Effect and Leaking
Pipeline, which are explained further.
0.00%10.00%20.00%30.00%40.00%50.00%60.00%70.00%80.00%90.00%
100.00%
0-10% 10-20% 20-30% 30-40% 40-50% Above
50%
Percentage
Different levels in organization
What is the percentage of female employees at
different levels in your organization?
CEO
Board Member
Senior Level
Middle level
Lower Level
Fig: 1.8: Showing the percentage of female employees working at
different levels in the organization.
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5.4Should there be inclusion of women at the workplace:
89% of the total sample population says yes, there should be inclusion of women at the
workplace. On the basis of the analysis done individually for both the gender maximum of them
have responded positively.
89%
2%9%
As an individual, do you believe or think that
there should be inclusion of women at the
workplace?
Yes
No
Can't Say
0.00%
20.00%
40.00%
60.00%
80.00%
100.00%
Male Female
Percentage
Gender
As an individual, do you believe or think that there
should be inclusion of women at the workplace?
Yes
No
Cant Say
Fig: 1.9: Showing the opinion of
population regarding inclusion
of women.
Fig: 1.10: Showing the opinionof male and female regarding
inclusion of women
individually.
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5.5 Reasons for increasing the representation of women at the workplace:
According to the survey, majority of the people rated to genuinely avoid discrimination and to
access a wider pool of talent as the most important reasons. Whereas pressure from internal
and external bodies/stakeholders was rated as least important reasons.
0.00%
5.00%
10.00%
15.00%
20.00%
25.00%
30.00%
35.00%
40.00%
45.00%
50.00%
Percentage
Likert Scale
Reasons for increasing the representation of
women
To enhance corporate image.
Pressure from external
bodies/stakeholders
Pressure from internal
bodies/stakeholders
To genuinely reduce/avoid
discrimination
To access wider pool of talent
To improve performance
To be more responsive to market
Women bring in a different skill
set/qualities
Fig: 1.11: Showing the reasons for increasing the representation of women at the
workplace on a likert scale.
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5.6 Perception of men & women towards increasing the percentage of women ;
According to the survey 89% of the women and 71% of the men responded positively to this
situation. No women responded negatively but 7% of the men responded negatively who when
further interviewed said that this is because they cannot handle pressure and cant contribute
effectively due to their personal commitments.
0.00%
20.00%
40.00%
60.00%
80.00%
100.00%
Women Men
Percentage
Gender
If your organization is trying to increase the percentage
of women, how do you feel it is being perceived by men& women in the workplace?
Positively
Negatively
Indifferent
Fig: 1.12: Showing the Perception of men & women towards %
increase in the women workforce.
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5.7 Barriers/Challenges that prevent women from entering the organization:
The survey and thereafter the analysis clearly indicate that issues in maintaining work-life
balance is the most frequently encountered challenge as it is rated the highest in Important and
Most Important category.
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
Percentage
Likert Scale
Challenges that prevent women from getting into the
organizations
Stereotypes in the society
Attitude towards womens
capability
Lack of supply i.e. fewer
women in the talent pool
Women undervaluing their
skills/capability
Biases in
recruitment/selection
Issues in maintaining work-
life balance
Male dominated culture
Absence of female role
models
Fig: 1.13: Showing the most frequently encountered barrier.
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5.8 Measures taken up by organization to overcome the challenges:
As per the survey and analysis the most highlighted measure taken by any organization or should
be taken by any organization is top management support and flexible work arrangements for
better management of Gender Diversity.
0.00%
5.00%
10.00%
15.00%
20.00%
25.00%
30.00%
35.00%
40.00%
45.00%
Percentage
Likert Scale
Measures taken by your organization to overcome the
issues relating to gender diversity
Top management support
Gender diversity training
programme
Training/Coaching
Flexible work arrangements
Mentoring
More rigorous
selection/recruitment
procedure
Development of policies
relating to inclusion of
women
Fig: 1.14: Showing the measures taken by any organization to overcome
the challenges.
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5.9 Impact of improving gender diversity on Employee retention, Team performance,
Employee engagement, Companys performance:
It was found out that overall it the Team Performance that gets affected to a great extent because
of gender diversity. Employee retention is also impacted to some extent.
Individually men say the same, whereas women say that team performance and employee
engagement both equally get affected to a great extent.
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
Not at
Total
Not much To some
Extent
To a great
extent
Percentage
Degree of impact
Do you think improving gender diversity will have
an impact on any of the following?
Employee retention
Team performance
Employee engagement
Companys performance
0.00%
20.00%
40.00%
60.00%
80.00%
Not at
Total
Not
much
To some
Extent
To a
great
extent
Percentage
Degree of Impact
Do you think improving gender diversity will have
an impact on any of the following?
(by men)
Employee retention
Team performance
Employee engagement
Companys performance
Fig: 1.15: Showing the
impact on few issues in
an organization
Fig: 1.16: Showing the
impact on few issues in
an organization (by
men)
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0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
Not at all Not
much
To some
Extent
To a
great
extent
Percentag
e
Degree of Impact
Do you think improving gender diversity will
have an impact on any of the following?
(by women)
Employee retention
Team performance
Employee engagement
Companys performance Fig: 1.17: Showing the
impact on few issues in
an organization (by
women)
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5.10 Hindrance in career progression due to gender:
Out of the total sample population 86% says that their career progression was not hindered due to
their gender and 14% of them say yes it was hindered which includes male-female both.
14%
86%
Do you think your career progression is hindered because
of gender?
Yes
No
0.00%
20.00%
40.00%
60.00%
80.00%
100.00%
Male Female
Percentag
e
Gender
Do you think your career progression is hindered because
of gender?
Yes
No
Fig: 1.18: Showinghindrance of career
progression due to
gender.
Fig: 1.19: Showing
hindrance of career
progression due to
gender. (by gender)
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5.11 Reasons for hindrance:
According to the analysis it was found that for men the most common reason for hindrance of
career progression is unfair work assignment/allocation compared to colleagues of opposite
sex and for women the most common reason is personal commitments interrupted my career.
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
90.00%
Male Female
Percentage
Gender
Reasons for hindrance of career progression
Lack of support from manager
Unfair work
assignment/allocation
compared to colleagues of
opposite sex
Not getting the sane
opportunities as that of
opposite sex
Personal commitmentsinterrupted my career
Fig: 1.20: Showing reasons for hindrance for both men and women individually.
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5.12 Reasons for no hindrance:
It was found that for both men and women their own drive/determination was the reason that
did not let anything else come in their way and hinder their progression.
0.00%
5.00%
10.00%
15.00%
20.00%
25.00%
30.00%
35.00%
40.00%
45.00%
Male Female
Percentage
Gender
Reasons if career progression not hindered
Support from manager
Good coach/mentor
Flexible work opportunities
Own drive/determination
Fig: 1.21: Showing reasons for no hindrance for both men and women individually.
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5.13 Perception towards womens ability to handle pressure:
Overall 80% of the sample population says yes women can handle pressure whereas 5% says that
women cannot handle pressure which when further questioned was answered that because
women have family responsibilities too and sometimes tend to breakdown they cannot handle
pressure.
80%
5% 15%
As per your perception do you think that
women are able to handle pressure?
Yes
No
Can't Say
0.00%10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
90.00%
Male Female
Percentage
Gender
As per your perception do you think that
women are able to handle pressure?
Yes
No
Can't Say
Fig: 1.22: Showing % of
perception towards
womens ability to handle
pressure.
Fig: 1.23: Showing % of
perception towardswomens ability to handle
pressure. (By men &
women individually)
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5.14 Best suited job for women working in organizations:
As per the analysis both men and women agree that women are capable of doing all kinds of jo
mentioned.
16%11%
10%
16%6%
39%
2%
As per your perception what type of job in an organization is
best suited for women?
Supportive
Collaborative
Decision making
Coaching/Mentoring
Developer
All of the above
None of the above
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
Male Female
Percentage
Gender
Type of job best suited for women
Supportive
Collaborative
Decision making
Coaching/Mentoring
Developer
All of the above
Fig: 1.24: Showing %
of the jobs best suited
for women.
Fig: 1.25: Showing % of the jobs best suited for women (by both male and
female)
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5.15 Some key findings:
As the analysis reveal that the workforce in every organization represents Genderdiversity to a moderate degree, this proves the fact that the situation in Indias MNC
industry is still very bleak. Efforts are being made to improve the situation but at a slow
pace.
As mentioned earlier that if any organization limits itself to hiring majority of maleemployees they have access to only a limited amount of talent, therefore the study reveals
that the major reasons for increasing the representation of women is to get access to a
wider pool of talent and to genuinely reduce discrimination.
The survey also brought out that organizations like Emirates and Sapient hire purely ontalent and skills irrespective of any gender.
The maximum number of female employees is present at the entry or middle level, but asyou move up the ladder this keeps on decreasing which shows the presence of Glass
Ceiling effect in the organizations.
In India the problem of Leaking Pipeline was also explored i.e. with few womenmaking it from junior to middle to higher levels the pool of women to move to senior
levels is much smaller, therefore the problem of leaking pipeline.
Though inclusion of women at the workplace is seen as a positive step by both men andwomen at the workplace but there is a few percentage that perceives it negatively,
reasons for which can be that women cannot handle pressure or they are not suitable for
some roles.
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Although almost all women had high aspirations, but everyone including men expressedthat the most often the barrier that stops women from entering the organizations or
performing to their best ability or to take up more responsibility is the issues in
maintaining work life balance. Similar results were found in GDBM 2011 report on
Gender Diversity and inclusion.
The above mentioned barrier is also one of the main reasons that hindered the careerprogression of women.
One of the very interesting revelation was that its not only women whose careerprogression is hindered even men have been facing the same problem reason being unfair
allocation of work.
Flexible work arrangements and top management support are the most effective ways toovercome the issue of work life balance. According to the survey few employees also
said there should be development of policies related to inclusion of women.
Performance of the team gets improved to a great extent according to the study.Employee retention and companys performance are also improved. This finding is also
substantiated by a remark made in a film Closing the Gender Gap made by Price
Waterhouse Coopers in the year 2008.
Women are considered strong enough to handle pressure and they are suitable for alltypes of roles like Supportive, Collaborative, Decision making, Coaching/Mentoring,
Developer
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In SAPIENT, they have a Women Leadership network which is to encourage women inthe organization to overcome their fears and take up multiple responsibilities. There is no
discrimination, everyone is treated equally.
In some other organizations there are diversity & inclusion team which is itself leaded bywomen i.e. there is high top management support.
It was also found out that women do bring a few different qualities along with them whilethey work in an organization like decision making ability as also mentioned by Joanna
Barsh, Director at McKinsey&Co, in a research Women Matter (2010), Men tend to be
more individual in decision making and better at corrective action; whereas women tend
to be better at collaboration and decision making and they make sure that everybody is in
it together, they have better organizing capabilities, relationship building, bring in better
team environments, are emotional and understanding and have higher degree of integrity.
Secondary sources also revealed that women who move to higher positions use a style ofleadership that is highly effective in todays turbulent times.
According to the secondary research, only 14% of the employees in MNC captive centersare women. This research also brought out that female representation drastically reduces
as the experience level increases. Further it also revealed that long work hours, limited
flexibility to work from home, high work pressures are some of the challenges.
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CHAPTER 6
Variety is the spice of life.
-American Proverb
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6.1 Conclusion:
Gender diversity in the workplace ultimately leads to better business performance for companies
because women leaders are able to bring different viewpoints and are able to understand the
perspectives of female staff members and the needs of female customers.
Women employees bring with them a different skill set altogether which definitely affects the
performance of the company.
They have great potential and the capability to achieve good results, therefore it is important for
the organizations to understand it and give women equal employment opportunities.
This research aimed at identifying the challenges in managing gender diversity and also
identifies the measures taken to overcome the challenges.
The findings indicate that the biggest challenge, today being encountered in Indian MNC
industry is the issue in maintaining work-life balance which has also been substantiated by
various other researches. Even after few measures being taken by some organizations this
problem still prevails.
Flexible work arrangements and top management support are considered to be the most effective
measures to overcome the above mentioned challenges. Though initiatives are being taken but
the results are not very impressive and the implementation is also very slow and seems half
hearted.
It can be seen that though Glass Ceiling is much spoken phenomena that stops women from
reaching the senior level positions but the research also brought out another much encountered
problem in India which is Leaking Pipeline.
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The study says that having women on board and in the organization at various levels improves
the team performance. Women are able to handle and pressure and are capable enough to
perform all kinds of roles in the organization from being a developer to trainer to everything.
Gender diversity has become the Need of the hour. Its like the Wind of Change, those who
accept the change will survive and those who dont will suffer economically, financially and
socially.
Its time that the top management understands that gender diversity should not just be a trend to
be followed, they need to be passionate about it, as said in one of the studies by McKinsey
numbers matter but belief makes the case powerful.
Underrepresentation of women on boards and various levels needs to be taken seriously if
companies want to survive and grow in the current times.
Gender diversity is an important policy for all businesses, increasingly acknowledged to
contribute to better management and higher profitability.
Therefore, the time is right to accelerate the change process.
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6.2 Recommendations:
Gender Diversity Programme: Every organization should have a special gender diversityprogramme to deal with related issues.
Work life balance: Work life balance being the issue of greatest concern companies shoulddevelop policies, programme and work culture that will address this.
Flexible Approach: Companies should remain flexible in their approach i.e. they shouldnot bind themselves by the initially formed policies; they should be flexible enough to
tweak them or change them in order to retain and develop talent.
Involvement of men: To improve the situation of gender diversity organizations shouldinvolve men and make them spearhead the cause of gender diversity. Men should be more
empathetic. They should come out of their egoistic mode and think and treat women as
equal instead of just reducing them to homemaker.
Encourage transparency: Organizations should encourage a transparent workingenvironment wherein the employees can easily share their problems so that proper
solution is found and productivity is not affected.
Rigorous involvement of top management: Countries like South Africa bounced back todemocracy from apartheid by involving women in every field of work. Almost 38% of the
women are working in South Africa and they aim to go up to 54%. Only with the support
and continuous involvement of top management. Therefore, the familial tasks like child
care etc cannot be performed by men as effectively as women, hence top management
should not dissuade them but support by providing facilities like crche facilities etc.
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Recognizing the skills and capabilities of women and giving them a fair chance to moveup the ladder so that the Glass Ceiling Effect diminishes.
Targeted Recruitment: Organizations should make an effort to follow a targetedrecruitment policy i.e. reserve a certain percentage of women to be hired at each level.
6.3 Limitations:
Education sector was not considered because data collected from this sector would haveskewed the results.
It was difficult to arrange interviews with people at senior positions, so I could talkpersonally to only a few.
Partially filled, badly filled, inattentively filled questionnaires limited my study to 80questionnaires.
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Chapter 7
Differences challenge assumptions.
-Anne Wilson Schaef
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7.1 References/Bibliography:
Andreoni J., L. Vesterlund: 2001, Which is the Fair Sex? Gender Differences in Altruism.The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 116, 293312.
Bridging the Gender gap, article Hindustan times. Closing the gender gap, film by PWC, 2008 Catalyst, 2004, The bottom line: Connecting corporate performance and gender
diversity.
Daft Richard, Leadership (2005); ChapterDeveloping Leadership Diversity, Pg 290-291.
Desvaux, G, Devillard, S & Baumgarten, P, 2007, Women Matter: Gender Diversity, acorporate performance driver, McKinsey & Company.
Earnest Friday, Shawnta S. Friday, (2003) "Managing diversity using a strategic plannedchange approach", Journal of Management Development, Vol. 22 Iss: 10, pp.863880.
Earnest Friday, Shawnta S. Friday, (2003) "Managing diversity using a strategic plannedchange approach", Journal of Management Development, Vol. 22 Iss: 10, pp.863880.
Gender Diversity in the MNC captive Centers in India, study done atZinnov Gender Diversity Benchmark for Asia 2011 report. Konrad A. M., V. W. Kramer: 2006, How Many Women Do Boards Need?,Harvard
Business Review, December, 84(12), 22.
McKinsey Global Survey, October 2010,Moving women to the top. McKinsey Survey, 2010, Women Matterresearch.
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Rose C.: 2007, Does Female Board Representation Influence Firm Performance? TheDanish Evidence. Corporate Governance: An International Review, 15(2), 404413.
Shatter the Glass Ceiling: Women may make better Managers,Human ResourceManagement 33.
Smith N., V. Smith, M. Verner: 2006, Do Women in Top Management Affect FirmPerformance? A Panel Study of 2,500 Danish Firms. International Journal of Productivity
and Performance Management, 55, 569593.
Sebastian Reiche. May 09, 2013, Gender Diversity in the Workplace: Lessons fromGlobal Top Performers.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees,Report on Age, Gender and DiversityMainstreaming, 2 June 2008.
WEF (World Economic Forum) (2012), The Global Gender Gap Report.
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7.2 Appendix:
QUESTIONNAIRE
A study to identify the challenges faced while managing gender diversity in an
organization
Name of the Respondent: ___________________________________
Gender: Male1 Female2
Age: Below 25 years1, 26-35 years2, 36-45 years3,
45-55 years4, Above 55 years5
Type of Organization*:
Education1, IT2, Banking3, Insurance4, Telecom5, Others6
Designation (level): _________________________________
Year of Experience:
0-2 years1, 25 years2, 57 years3, 710 years4, 1015 Years5, More than 15
Years6
1. To what extent do you think your workforce represents Gender Diversity?Very much1 to a moderate degree2 not at all3
2. What is the percentage of female employees at different levels in your organization?0%-10% = 1, 10%-20%=2, 20%-30%=3, 30%-40%=4, 40%-50%=5, 50%-above=6\
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CEO
Board Member
Senior Level
Middle level
Lower Level
3. As an individual, do you believe or think that there should be inclusion of women at theworkplace?
Yes1 No2 Cant say 3
4. According to you, what are the reasons for increasing the representation of women atworkplace? (Rate the reasons on a scale of 1 to 5, 1least important & 5most important)
1 2 3 4 5
To enhance corporate image.
Pressure from external
bodies/stakeholders
Pressure from internal
bodies/stakeholders
To genuinely reduce/avoid
discrimination
To access wider pool of talent
To improve performance
To be more responsive to
market
Women bring in a different
skill set/qualities
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5. If your organization is trying to increase the percentage of women, how do you feel it isbeing perceived by men & women in the workplace?
Positively Negatively Indifferent
By women
By men
6. What according to you are the barriers/challenges that prevent women from getting into theorganizations? (Rate the reasons on a scale of 1 to 5, 1least important & 5most
important)
1 2 3 4 5
Stereotypes in the society
Attitude towards womenscapability
Lack of supply i.e. fewer
women in the talent pool
Women undervaluing their
skills/capability
Biases in recruitment/selection
Issues in maintaining work-life
balance
Male dominated culture
Absence of female role models
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7. What steps/measures, if any, have been taken by your organization to overcome theissues relating to gender diversity? (Rate the measures on a scale of 1 to 5, 1least
important & 5most important)
1 2 3 4 5
Top management support
Gender diversity training
programme
Training/Coaching
Flexible work arrangements
Mentoring
More rigorous
selection/recruitment procedure
Development of policies
relating to inclusion of women
Others, please specify _______________________________________________________
8. Do you think improving gender diversity will have an impact on any of the following?Not at all Not much To some Extent To a great extent
Employee retention
Team performance
Employee engagement
Companys performance
Others, please specify ________________________________________________
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9. Do you think your career progression is hindered because of gender?Yes1 No2
10. If yes in Question No. 9, then what do you think were the reasons?a. Lack of support from managerb. Unfair work assignment/allocation compared to colleagues of opposite sexc. Not getting the sane opportunities as that of opposite sexd. Personal commitments interrupted my careere. No ideaf. Others, please specify
11. If no in Question No. 9, then what helped you to progress in your career?a. Support from managerb. Good coach/mentorc. Flexible work opportunitiesd. Own drive/determinatione. Others, please specify
12. As per your perception do you think that women are able to handle pressure?Yes1 No2 Cant Say3
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