Some functions where women can excel include human resources, corporate or marketing communications, and advertising.
India's largest lender SBI recently found its first woman chairperson
in Arundhati Bhattacharya. And many Indian companies now have women at
the helm. ICICI Bank has as its CEO, Chanda Kochhar. India's largest
stock exchange National Stock Exchange (NSE) is headed by Chitra
Ramakrishna. Axis Bank's CEO is Shikha Sharma and Naina Lal Kidwai is
Country Head, HSBC India, and President of the Federation of Indian
Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), an industry body.
With the trail already blazed, there's no reason why you shouldn't
aim for the top as well. So, if you want to rise to the top of the
corporate ladder, what career choices could you make?
PREFERRED AREAS
To start with, your chances are better in sectors, such as
professional services, pharmaceuticals, FMCG and banking. Companies in
these sectors are more likely to have institutionalised gender
diversification programmes that ensure a certain proportion of women are
hired at each level of management, say experts.
Take Chennai-based iNautix Technologies, a subsidiary of Bank of New
York Mellon. Thirty per cent of the company's 6,400 staff members are
women. Women also account for 50 per cent of its senior leadership.
One of the reasons for the presence of so many women in the company's
executive pool is BNY Mellon's 'gender diversity affinity group', which
actively encourages and nurtures talented women.
Recruitment specialist Michael Page India's Regional Director,
Nicolas Dumoulin, says there is an increasing awareness among companies
that diversity is important for them to adapt for the future.
"These companies tend to give more flexibility to women in their
jobs. This flexibility helps them build their career without
compromising on their family life," he adds.
CULTURE COUNTS
However, it is not just the industry you work in that allows you to
rise to the top. It depends a lot on the company culture, too. For
example, iNautix offers benefits such as flexi-timing and work-from-home
to women employees. It has a strong anti-sexual harassment policy,
besides a mentoring programme. Women associates of the company aren't
merely restricted to "women-centric" roles such as HR; its quality and
risk management teams are also headed by women.
Teamlease Services Co-Founder and Director Mohit Gupta says that
women find a better fit in some companies than others. "An
organisation's culture needs to be conducive for women to join, stay and
grow in their careers and their jobs. Culture includes promoting
diversity through actions in hiring, allocating of work and rewards,
focus on development, retention and recognition plans," he says.
There are specific functions where women may excel. These include PR,
corporate communications, marketing communications, human resources,
advertising and legal.
But don't rule out unconventional roles that rely on specific
skill-sets related to finance, brand-building or project management.
"The fact of being a woman has no specific advantage. However, generally
the available talent pool of qualified women for these positions is
larger than in other roles. This means the likelihood of selecting a
woman as the successful candidate is higher," he adds.
NO SHORTCUTS
But there is no shortcut to ascending the ladder. Being a woman is no
guarantee that you will secure a highly qualified role, says Gupta,
adding that all roles need minimum criteria of qualification, experience
and knowledge. If these skills are already proven and evaluated, the
softer aspects come into play on deciding between a female or male hire,
such as empathy, communication and team play.
Dumoulin agrees. "There is no real difference in how we look at the
resume of a woman or a man. The main elements we look at when reviewing a
CV are education, experience and stability."
ADEQUATE COMPENSATION
Queried about the general perception that women are often paid less
than their male counterparts for equivalent work, Gupta had some good
advice -- negotiate.
"No comments without specific data. But yes, women do not negotiate
as hard and are conscious about asking for a raise for the same or a
better job done than their male counterparts. Hence, it is possible that
they lag in benefits if they do not explicitly ask for it," he says.
"Some instances of less pay may occur if the person joins back the senior role after a break," he adds.
On why a woman might get a lower salary than a man for the same
senior position, Dumoulin says women (more than men) will look at the
total picture of the position. Besides the salary and job description,
they will look at the flexibility, colleagues and location. Therefore,
they often compromise on the salary to get a more balanced opportunity.
But there are exceptions. "We see some clients today who have a
global agenda in hiring women and would give a higher salary to a woman
compared to a man with the same skill set," he says.
About the Author
Some functions where women can excel include human resources, corporate or marketing communications, and advertising.
www.teamlease.com
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