Gender Diversity

Marquee companies employ less than 2% women in their workforce

India Inc itself doesn't fare much better. In FY15, women comprise 18% of the workforce of Nifty companies, a study by ET Intelligence Group reveals. Excluding IT companies and banks, the proportion drops to 7% for the rest. 46 Nifty companies have reported these numbers for the last fiscal, as part of their business responsibility reporting. 

“Gender diversity in India does not get the place it deserves,“ says Bino Paul, professor and dean, School of Management and Labour Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences. “There is a need for change in culture from campuses to workplaces. It cannot only be incentive based. Such a change is possible if there is a large mandate coming either from business leaders or industry associations. For instance, a common code of conduct can be mooted by industry associations,” says Paul. “Firstly, on the supply side, the gender ratio in different sectors is skewed in India. For instance, household chores are predominantly performed by women. Secondly, on the demand side, Indian companies and proprietary firms have historically been masculine in nature and value system with diversity not being much appreciated,“ adds Paul. 

“It is not that companies are not giving opportunities to women, it is the woman and her family who more often than not determine the scope of her career,” says Usha Ananthasubramanian, managing director and CEO of Punjab National Bank and former chairperson of Bharatiya Mahila Bank. “There is no quota for women in PSUs. But because of their wider presence in the country, they have better access to hiring women across the country,“ explains Ananthasubramanian.

Hero MotoCorp's spokesperson said, “With Hero MotoCorp increasingly turning global in its operations, we have undertaken a robust initiative to enhance gender diversity...This not only involves reviewing our talent attraction and retention strategies, systems and procedures, but also drawing out tiered leadership development mantel for women employees. We have also been engaging in coaching and mentoring women staff to take up leadership positions.“

ET VIEW Hire More Women for India to Grow 

Source:Oct 30 2015 : The Economic Times (Bangalore) It's Time Corporate India Does a Gender Rethink Kiran Somvanshi