Women and the Leadership Alley

Women And The Leadership Alley Tel: +91 8010772772 , vijay@cornerstone.co.in, http://www.cornerstone.co.in

Women And The Leadership Alley

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

According to surveys only six per cent of all top executives of fortune 500 companies, are women. Additionally only 2 per cent of these firms have women CEOs.

There are a number of career barriers that women executives face.

One of them is the traditional Prejudice which abets the faster promotion of male executives compared to the women even in traditionally women settings such as education.

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Tel: +91 8010772772 , vijay@cornerstone.co.in

Women And The Leadership Alley

There is also a general resistance to women leadership. Employees generally view women managers as more pushy and abrasive.

There are also a number of issues with leadership styles that women are supposed to sport. The compassionate and softer nature associated with women often clashes with the leadership demands for control and assertion.

These barriers to women’s entry and progress must be diffused and tackled if organisations want women employees to advance in ranks and membership. Companies can undertake a lot of measures to encourage the fairer genders’ participation.

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Tel: +91 8010772772 , vijay@cornerstone.co.in

Women And The Leadership Alley

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

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

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Tel: +91 8010772772 , vijay@cornerstone.co.in

Women And The Leadership Alley

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

Even alumni programs may help women stepping away from work to return back when possible. Marriage and parenthood bring higher pay packets and bigger roles however for women it is the other way round. High time, we changed this prejudice.

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Tel: +91 8010772772 , vijay@cornerstone.co.in

Women And The Leadership Alley

Zeroing our attention on professional women we often talk about work-home conflicts, women’s career breaks and the gender gap in leadership. Today women exhibit a high need for achievement breaking away from the traditional need for affiliation.

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

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Tel: +91 8010772772 , vijay@cornerstone.co.in

Women And The Leadership Alley

Striking a balance between work and family and contributing to the society are goals both men and women agree with. When we speak of talent management, we recognize that the fairer gender too is highly sought after for many skills and competencies such as organizational awareness and relationship building.

Many Executive search firms have active women partnerships and women in dominant roles. Some retained search firms such as JBK international are certified “woman owned”. Some such as the Sweden based women executive search are exclusively led by women.

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Tel: +91 8010772772 , vijay@cornerstone.co.in

Women And The Leadership Alley

Sure enough the war for talent has sizeable women inclusion.

Another firm Chadick Ellig touts itself to be a premier provider of female executive talent. Various forums address the issue of women’s participation; brainstorm and uphold that gender diversity leads to good governance and may actually boost the bottom line.

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

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Tel: +91 8010772772 , vijay@cornerstone.co.in

Women And The Leadership Alley

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

Many misguided assumptions and biases against women primarily arising from the judgment handed out to them via traditional society are responsible for curtailing women’s part in senior leadership. Decisions about family and relationships are deeply personal and yet sadly women are often judged harshly for their decisions in this territory.

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Tel: +91 8010772772 , vijay@cornerstone.co.in

Women And The Leadership Alley

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

In our own country, India, the government has rapped boards in a bid to increase women’s board membership. However, at times the primary obstacle to women’s less powerful presence may be she “herself”. Many Top Executive search firms in India have active women involvement.

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Tel: +91 8010772772 , vijay@cornerstone.co.in