Blog Post

Gender Diversity – A Must for Organizational Growth

The word diversity in any organization is of utmost importance - more so with the changing dynamics of modern trade. The word ‘diversity’ has to be ingrained into every single segment of an organization or businesses if you mean to succeed.

Diversity, be it in race, caste, gender or physical ability, is a reality. Including this diversity and leveraging the benefits that it gets into an organization is a premeditated choice. When it comes to gender diversity, statistics reveal that organizations with women at the directorial board fair way better than those dominated by men.

“Gender Equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance.”

Career Break among Indian Women

Research shows that 50 percent of Indian women with flourishing careers give up their jobs midway. Most of these cases include family priorities. Comparatively, this figure stands at 29% when it comes to Asia as a whole.

Having to strike a balance between family and workplace most women at some point of time prefer to take a career break. According to the World Bank India Development Report, the participation of women is declining in India’s workforce. Further, within the primary working age group out of five women three are not earning. Surprisingly, almost 1.8 million Indian women are on a sabbatical for a myriad of reasons. Majority of women have to go through this phase due to a cheer lack of a support system. This has increased over the years with the rise of the concept of nuclear families.

Chances of Recruitment after a Sabbatical Leave

The chances of being recruited after a sabbatical are drastically low for women. Within a gap of five years the working environment can go through a vast change. New ideas, new skills and new technologies take over in no time. Further, it is an additional challenge to compete with younger women with no career breaks.

Very few companies have been able to realize the potential these women hold and take them seriously. By skipping resumes just because of a career gap, companies are blocking out a huge talent pool. These women with a fierce urge to join mainstream job possess an unmatched calibre and motivation, which is an asset to any company.

These women strive for financial independence but most companies are ready to pay only a meagre salary.

Indians Rank on Gender Equality

“Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world”.

According to a report, India stands at 108 on the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap index. Especially, at work places the scenario is quite bleak. Further, India ranks second lowest when it comes to women in senior positions, as per the Credit Suisse report. The participation of women in the economic front is relatively low along with a low standard of wages.  Also, when it comes to women with career break most women have to struggle to be hired by any organization.

However, many organizations have opened up to the idea of recruiting women with mid career breaks. They have taken steps to create an inclusive culture where they implement various ways to foster a sense of equality by providing equal opportunities to both men and women.  Creating an environment of positivity for everyone is what matters the most to bring out the best in each individual.

For instance, the Tata Group has taken up an inspiring move by starting their Second Career Internship Program, which aims at enabling women to join the workforce again.

Needs for a Futuristic Organization

“Any serious shift towards more sustainable societies has to include gender equality”.

All companies need to aim at encouraging diversity be it in their processes, objectives or goals to bring about the much needed cultural change for “Strength lies in differences. Not in similarities”. The future lies in the hands of organizations that can develop women leaders and draw different talent.

Leaving aside a narrow perspective companies need to view the bigger picture and give women a chance to prove themselves after a sabbatical.

Organizations should create special groups to specifically concentrate on increasing gender diversity through various initiatives and actions.  Career coaches and mentors can play a significant role here by guiding and motivating women. Further, the presence of sponsors can open up new avenues for these women as they advocate their work before various companies. One such company which has taken a great initiative in creating a strong pool of women employees is Genpact. They have strategically planned various programs along with different recruitment and promotion goals to retain and draw women specifically.

Inclusion opens up various doors for a brand. It gets more recognition as a company that values diversity. Further, it gathers a genuine sense of respect among people as they feel that such companies value people and their feelings.

“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success”.

From

Sarla Sharma 

Pioneer Management Consultant Pvt Ltd