UNFAIRER TO THE FAIRER SEX

by: Vartika Tiwari

THE ARTICLE HAS BEEN TAKEN FROM ASCENT TIMES, 7TH MARCH 2012 ISSUE.
Have you ever seen young boys and girls playing together with a toy kitchen, pretending to cook dinner or bake cupcakes? Maybe not! Even today, primary school textbooks continue to reinforce gender stereotypes with pictorial representations of a woman in the kitchen and father in the office, right? Unfortunately, corporate India isnt spared either. According to reports/studies by Catalyst (a non-profit organization expanding opportunities for women), men were more likely to reach senior positions than women. Here,

CORPORATE INDIA LADIES SHARE WITH VIREN NAIDU STARTLING HIDDEN TRUTHS THAT RESTRICT A WOMANS JOURNEY TO THE TOP. THE HIDDEN TRUTHS HAVE BEEN DISCUSSED FURTHER.

HIDDEN TRUTH #1
COMPANIES WITH A HIGH REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN ON THEIR BOARD OF DIRECTORS SIGNIFICANTLY OUTPERFORM THOSE WITH LOW REPRESENTATION BY 84 PER CENT ON ROS (RETURN ON SALES).YET,FOSTERING WOMEN LEADERSHIP IS NOT A PRIORITY!

PALLAVI JHA ( CHAIRPERSON AND MD DALE CAMAGIE TRAINING INDIA) : Just three per cent of the Fortune 500 CEOs are women. Hence, with such a huge dearth of female role models, How can the existing women workforce march ahead?????

HIDDEN TRUTH #2

ONLY 17 PER CENT OF INDIAN COMPANIES OFFER LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES TARGETED TOWARDS WOMEN.

KALPANA ( DIRECTOR, INDIA SOFTWARE LAB, IBM, INDIA) :Are we ensuring there are enough women in all talent development programes? Is the HR manager approaching women candidates for key leadership opportunities? ????

HIDDEN TRUTH #3

A WORKING MOTHER NEEDS NOT ONLY A FLEXI-PLAN, BUT ALSO A CAREER GROWTH ONE

PALLAVI JHA: At work, the ambitions begin to conflict when women settle down. At this point, they undergo stress and turn to their employers to provide them with a socially acceptable window to balance their priorities. It is here where all the flexi benefits help the individual crossover to a full

HIDDEN TRUTH #4

WOMEN MUST ADOPT STRATEGIES DIFFERENT FROM THEIR MALE COLLEAGUESTO ADVANCE THEIR CAREERS

CECY KURUVILLA (GLOBAL DIRECTOR@ AMECAA): Research has shown that male stereotyping often results in women needing to work harder to get the same rewards. Likelihood that women will leave to have a family, make the climb to the top for women harder than men.