|
WOMEN IN THE CORNER OFFICE
ACCOUNT FOR 21% OF CEOs/MDs ACROSS COS
Women
Hotfoot it to the Corner Office
At
least 45 women are in leadership roles in 215 companies across sectors,
with the banking and financial sector leading the way, according to a study
More Indian women are making it to the corner
office than ever before, beating their global counterparts to it. The
proportion of women CEOs and MDs in Indian companies has risen to 21% in
2013, a study by global executive research firm, EMA Partners International
has revealed, up from around 11% in 2009. According to the study, shared
exclusively with ET, 45 women occupy leadership roles across the 215
companies surveyed. Across BSE 100 companies, though, just four women
occupied top leadership positions, according to the Spencer Stuart India
Board Index 2012.
Explaining the discrepancy, K Sudarshan, regional managing partner, EMA
Partners says the study was not restricted to listed companies since they
tell only part of the story. “The companies – public, private and MNCs –
have been chosen on the basis of their profile and influence within their
respective industries. They generally have industry best practices and
women-friendly policies in place,” he said.
Companies surveyed include HUL, ITC, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank,
Aditya Birla Group, SBI, IBM, Intel, Accenture, LG Electronics and Maruti.
“We see a conscious effort by several businesses across sectors to push the
diversity agenda,” says Sudarshan. Over the next decade, the representation
of women in leadership positions will improve steadily due to changing
societal attitudes and the influx of more educated women in the workforce,
he adds. The banking and financial services sector continues to lead the
way, with women accounting for 29% (15) of the 52 CEOs covered.
A combination of factors, including the family support structure and the availability
of domestic support at reasonable prices has contributed to this phenomenon
in India, says HSBC India head and Ficci president Naina Lal Kidwai.
Indian companies are also becoming far more enabling in terms of the
environment to help women rise to their full potential by providing
daycare, flexi hours, even the option of going on a sabbatical and
returning, she says. “The sensitivity of these organisations has helped
keep women in the workplace at a stage where they traditionally drop off,
usually at the time when they approach middle management,” adds Kidwai.
“We are seeing a lot more women in leadership roles across the corporate
world, as business confidence in their leadership capabilities has grown,”
says Vanitha Narayanan, MD, IBM India and regional general manager
India/South Asia. Gender diversity is a critical part of fostering
cognitive diversity in an organisation, which in turn, is essential to
success in a complex and fast changing world, she says.
Women CEOs have gained ground in the IT/ITeS sectors, as also in FMCG,
according to the study. Recent additions include Seema Modi, India managing
director at Heinz, Prabha Parameswaran, MD at Colgate Palmolive (India) and
Sangeeta Pendurkar, MD at Kellogg India.
In IT/ITeS, those like Vanitha Narayanan, Aruna Jayanthi, CEO at Capgemini
India and Kumud Srinivasan, president at Intel India, have contributed to
shoring up the number of women in leadership positions. When presented with
opportunities, women have been able to prove themselves, says Srinivasan.
“These sectors have created opportunities which are accessible to women as
never before,” she adds. Companies have helped them to be geographically
mobile and given them access to multiskilling, paving a road for women
leaders to evolve and grow. The work life effectiveness initiatives by
organisations has also contributed to this influx, she says. “A lot of
organisations practice non-discriminatory policies and stand for equal
opportunities employment,” adds Srinivasan.
The survey also highlights that non-promoter women executives are fast
making inroads into the leadership hierarchy in organisations. Around 29%
of the women CEOs in this survey are from promoter families compared with
35% in 2009. Consulting, travel, retail, media and manufacturing trail in
terms of sectoral distribution of women CEOs.
Intel’s Srinivasan says that while organisations have realised the
importance of diversity practices, there is still a lot of unrealised
potential. “Companies have to invest more in hiring and development. We
have to improve our diversity and inclusiveness goals, practices and
initiatives significantly, to create industry standards,” she says.
Globally, women hold just 4.2% of Fortune 500 CEO positions and 4.5% of
Fortune 1000 CEO positions, according to Catalyst, a New York-based
research group.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment