The Gender Debate

Kalpana Margabandhu, director, Web Sphere Development in India and chairperson, India Womens Leadership Council (IWLC), IBM

We started with a diversity council, and then
went on to make the Indian Women Leadership council or IWLC. The mandate was
that well be looking at perceptions, real or imaginary; take it to the
executives to be addressed; looking at how to grow the technical, managerial
and personal development of women. We put in our objectives and said that
this is going to be a working council. We run programs like projects, which
are seen through right till the end. We brought in senior women leaders from
all the business units.

The whole initiative was that senior leaders
get visibility, they grow, they become role models and help others grow. So
we started with an executive board, later on it became the India Leadership
Team. IWLC reports its activities to this team; meets them twice a year to
keep them updated; and check if our plans for the year are in sync with
their business plans.

But we are talking sixteen people in an
organization of 80,000 plus, so we branched off into sub-teams. Each
business unit has its own diversity network groups, and each business unit
is made of smaller business units who again follow the same pattern. And
this is all over and above everybodys core jobs. Its like a projectyou
are responsible, you have to show progress. If you cant you leave or youre
asked to leave because if youre not able to perform you cant deliver on
what you are committing.

So measuring the work done is important?

Absolutely. Without measures it is like any road would doyou have to
have goals. You have to look at measures at all levels. Its not that we
have decided it has to be 20% so come what may well have to get that
number. Each business unit has to check why a level has not been considered
for progression, whats stopping them, what the company has to doit has to
be an ongoing task.

Then we organize focused programs to tackle
that. We take our senior women and put them together with the leadership
teamone person from there becomes the sponsor, responsible for the growth
of one senior woman. That person identifies and works on the gaps. This is
how to grow your pipeline in the senior position, and tracking of course is
key.

...and mentoring, networking should be a
continuous process?

We have networking sessions where junior women can discuss issues with
the senior women leadership and learn from their experiences. They dont
have to worry about performance and deliverables...talking to somebody about
your problems itself is a huge help, and they come back with a very positive
frame of mind. The business value is obvious, isnt it? A happy employee is
not likely to look for a job. We have a wonderful program called Taking the
Stageyou have to decide if you want to take the stage (read career); learn
voice modulation (assertive) and convince people (get over your
inhibitions); you learn from your peers...its a very interactive and
successful program. Showcasing real life experiences of successful senior
women also really helps.

Rekha Menon, executive VP, Accenture Geographic Services India

In India, IT/ITeS has had a far higher number
of women than say, manufacturing. The reason is the business need. Because
ITeS was growing dramatically and it had to get the best talent, and it had
to be gender agnostic, so it went out and got more women. Second, it was
always an easier industry to work in. But the industry is still learning, it
got the women in first but the journey is going on. Organizations are on
different places on the curve.

You, of course, are very high up on the
curve...

We are a large scale multinational. The rest of Accenture had already
evolved in the path, so in India we started early and built it into each of
our systems. We have a lot of programs, we put them into three
bucketsattract, retain, and grow. And like any other business activity it
is tracked otherwise you wouldnt know where you are going wrong, what
youre doing. We maintain a score cardnot just across India, but by gender
mix, by levels, by business entity, by function. We track recruitment,
attrition; we keep track of whether a higher percentage of women are
leaving, of promotions, engagement, everything.

How does a company your size drive it?

It is a business driven by business leaders. Its not like it is
somebodys pet project or dumped on HR. It is driven in each geography by
business leaders. In each geography there is an overall diversity lead who
comes from the geographic leadership. Thats why its part of the DNA. We
have a large percentage of women at the leadership level, globally. That
cascades downwe have a lot of enabling policies and programs, and a lot of
constant research goes into this.

How important is critical mass to drive
gender programs?

If it is going to make a difference to your business you will do it
right, even if you are small? You can put in enabling mechanisms, it does
not matter what size you are. If you are talking about costs, calculate the
cost of growing the woman employee against having someone you value leaving
the company. Cost of recruiting is yet another cost. It should not be an
emotion or size driven agendajust keep an eye on RoI. Even in Accenture we
could have said forget all this and just focus on growth. But somebody had
to present a business case: one there is the RoI and two there is the cost
of not doing it. Compare the cost of recruiting

Srimathi Shivashankar, principle diversity officer and director sustainability council, Infosys Technologies

And showing RoI?

The basic ability to attract and retain itself shows the business
benefits. For a company like Infosys the fact that attracting good workforce
has never been a problem itself shows the RoI.

Wont a strong brand and an inclusive
environment, sustain the numbers?

No. Keeping a track in a very transparent manner is very important. And
you have to build accountability at senior management level. Our chief
mentor, Mr Narayana Murthy himself is completely involved with the diversity
program. The Infosys Women Inclusivity Network (IWIN) was set up by him in
2003. The head of HR is also heading diversity, this shows the kind of
importance that gender diversity is given by the company. A top down
approach is very important. The second level is the managers. And then each
employeeeverybody has to be committed to the program.

Diversity has to be the DNA of the company.
And unless there is employee volunteerism, its very difficult to make that
happen. We leverage the informal peer networks...and then there has to be
good governance.

About the Infosys Women Inclusivity
Network or IWIN?

Our vision for gender diversity is centered around IWIN. IWIN recognizes
the unique aspirations and needs of women and promotes a gender sensitive
work environment. It helps women in their career path through support groups
and policies to groom them for managerial positions. There are policies for
new mothers, from telecommuting to child care to a satellite office. Of
course there are parenting workshops, counseling, mentoring networks...

Some believe that women take their careers
very differently. They are looking more for a wholesome role rather than
reaching the top?

I dont agree at all. I think what matters is the organizations culture
and the leadership mission of the company. Though I agree that women have to
multi-task more and a lot of demands are made on the women, both
biologically and physically, so she may prefer to look at alternate careers.
But once in the job structure she very much wants to reach the top, as much
as any man.

The onus is on the woman though, she has
to do her bit to change herself and her ecosystem?

Yes, while the organization has a whole lot of coaching and mentoring
its up to the women employees to actually leverage these. The woman has to
take informed decisions. She has to understand that though the company will
provide flexibility in terms of working part time, taking a year offbut
then she would lose seniority as compared to her past peers and most
probably will not have the same prospects. Of course, its up to her to get
quickly back to strength and compete as an equal.

Tracy Ann Curtis, Inclusion & Diversity Champion, Asia Pacific & Japan, Cisco

Although the worlds population is almost
50:50 male:female, women still make only a small percentage of the
professional workforce. We need to bridge this gap and develop this untapped
talent by encouraging their participation in the workforce.

And how will the business benefit from a
better mix?

Studies show that greater the diversity of a team in an organization,
greater is the possibility for innovation and problem solving. Statistics
also show that companies with women on their board are more successful than
those without. Research indicates that a higher percentage of women have
what is referred to by Daniel Goldman as Emotional Intelligencea set of
competencies that distinguishes how people manage feelings, interact, and
communicate. Analyses done by dozens of experts in 500 corporations,
government agencies, and nonprofit organizations worldwide conclude that
emotional intelligence is the barometer of excellence on virtually any job.
With increasing diversity, the workforce has an array of leadership styles
and can drive greater creativity and innovation.

With more education more women will enter
the workforce, and the gap at senior management will be addressed. Or will
it?

I am not sure how education co-relates to needing or not needing special
attention. Today in many Indian colleges there is a high percentage of women
graduating, but this does not mean they are receiving job offers. We must
equip women.

In India, Ciscos Womens Action Network
(WAN) has an initiative called Girls in Technology (GIT) The GIT program
invites girls in engineering colleges to spend a day with us, to learn about
our cutting edge technology, tour the labs and speak to our leaders. WAN
helps inform policies and procedures that keep women engaged in the
organization and meet their diverse needs throughout their careers.

Then we have the Compass Series which is
designed to give Ciscos 300 female senior managers exposure to senior
executives; it offers opportunity to network with cross-functional peers.
The Perspective Series is focused on building executive-level leadership
skills, and helps directors and above to form a community of women.

WAN organizes the role model series inviting
senior leaders from across Cisco to share their professional journeys and
offer advice on career progression. Mentor programs are also initiated. More
informal ways of providing developmental opportunities are through online
communitiesWAN wikis, blogs where women share and learn best practices.

Some time back, we undertook a
survey covering the women in Wipro, women whove left Wipro, and women in
other companies. Something interesting came out of it. The needs of women as
they progress in their lives and careers become very different. So we
studied these needs in three different groups, based on their years of
experience.

Sunita R Cherian, GM, Talent Engagement and Development, Wipro Technologies

The first group, the ones at
the early stages of their career was full of and ambition and energy and a
motivated lot. What they really needed was exposure.Multifaceted exposure
and the opportunity to interact with other successful women is very
important here, and helps change the level of aspiration. Our theme for this
group is: exposure, kindle their aspiration, identify aspirers and give them
the required support and opportunity.

Women with a few years of
experience behind them need some flexibility. This is the time when they
typically start a family of their own, and they are faced with a new
work-life equation. So weve taken care to provide them the support they
need to perform to their potential extended maternity leave, flexi work,
provide childcare at convenient places....

That brings us to women in the
third group-women with over ten years of experience, These are empowered
professionals, who have found the balance and now want to soar. The theme
here is to empower. We support them with relevant leadership building
programs, they participate in internal and external forums where they share
learnings and learn, even as they prepare themselves to become business
leaders.

And theres a core team
that drives the initiative?

We do have a core committee with representatives from different parts of
Wipro. Theyre a bunch of motivated people who have come together and done a
wonderful job. They anchor our goals for the wider organization, and help
the movement spread.Its a ripple effect. One person from onegroup says,
safety, and immediately every group is having a safety workshop. In the
April-May timeframe we had a kids workshop in the campus - it was a
wonderful experience and also a bond that the kids had with the
organization. Then we have internal blogsa great way to get the pulse of
the people. Were seeing all this translate into a growing numbers of women
executives. And were happy its growing as a result of merit and positive
energy more than anything else.

About the WoW! women of
Wipro...

Yes, that has been quite a success. Wipros approach to gender
inclusivity and equality reflects a holistic appreciation to the myriad
facets of differences and their impact at the workplace, along with
dedicated commitment at all rungs of the organization to facilitate a
nurturing, learning environment for all. At the same time, our employees
have not only appreciated but enthusiastically participated in all WoW
initiatives, which reflects that we are moving in the desired direction with
enthusiasm

Are the men feeling
alienated?

To the extent that they want a MoWbut no, seriously, I see a lot of
enthusiasm coming from them, and we have men in our core team. Theres no
favoritism because you are a woman. One would hold her head high that if
shes been successful in Wipro its because of what she is and how she has
performed, and not because of any advantage offered due to gender.

R Vardarajan, executive VP and chief HR officer, Quatrro BPO

But will sheer courtesy drive the numbers?

We are a 35:65 in terms of women employees, and about 22% in senior
management, which is healthy by any means. When we started as a technical
solutions group, women never came to us. But I have an understanding with my
team that in two years time we will be a 50:50 men:women company. A good
mix, especially when you work with young people like we do, it is always a
good culture to have.

What I am saying is that a gender discussion
is not related to women, it is related to the culture of the organization.
We understand that based on physiological differences the needs will be
different, which are met with courtesy.

So gender inclusion and growth will be
considered part of employee welfare?

Its worked for us. I have so many women in leadership positionswe had
in Spectramind too. We are a BPO, and women have to work nights, what we do
is provide security. We provide pick-up and drop for both men and women. But
we dont do it because of any legislation but simply because public
transport in India is bad, for security reasons; and to make sure employees
reach on time.

In Spectramind we created some benchmarks,
for eg, no woman was dropped last or picked up first, guards were rotated to
avoid collusion between the guard and the driver, theres a call-back from
the desk here to the woman employee as soon as she reaches home...these were
some basic concepts, we didnt need any agenda to do it.

And the gap in senior management, dont
corporates have to worry about that?

If women have to reach the top they have to balance their lives, and
Ive seen them do that much better than men. Whether women stay on is
because of the choices they make rather than what the organization is doing
or not doing for them. Their priorities change and some women want to take a
break for some timethree, four, five years. We take them back, based on
past performancewe take back men too. Look at the talent situation today,
corporates will always take a good performer back, and they understand that
the break will cost them.

I know people whove had problems at home,
learned to balance it and grow to the top. And I know women who have grown
to the top and decided to quit. It has to be left to them as individuals how
they want to manage.

Education and social sensitizing is more
critical for women coming in to work and women moving up rather than
corporate planning. Wherever literacy is high, equality is not an issuelook
at the south. So you have to focus on education of both men and women right
from young ageand not alienate them with special focus.

A few small
and medium companies have also become aware and put policies in place. Most
companies in this sector recognize the business imperative of having more
women in their organizations. While the larger ones emphasize their
diversity directives, resource constraints in these recessionary times have
constrained many from formulating and putting in place gender inclusive
policies and practices. A resource group set up by Nasscom is helping such
companies to put in place the framework to attract, retain and grow women
within their organizations.

Sucharita S Eashwar, regional director, Nasscom

Only a few companies are tracking and
measuring gender inclusivity metrics. The Nasscom Corporate Awards for
Gender Inclusivity are motivating companies to introduce the policies,
introduce metrics and track data to evaluate their performance.

What have been the push factors in this
whole gender conversation?

The huge talent shortage we experienced in recent years was a push
factor for getting companies to look at how they could leverage the 50% of
the population that is grossly underutilized in the formal employment
sector. The fact that more and more buying decisions are being made by women
as users and customers is another imperative to ensure that they are
represented on the supply side in order to understand, empathize and design
solutions and products that meet with their needs.

Professional women themselves are becoming
clear about their life and career goals, picking up the skills and
competencies required to grow up the ladder, and are empowered to ask for
the roles they are ready for. More women are entering higher education (in
some states more than 50%) and therefore, there are more who are available
at the entry level.

About Nasscoms gender initiatives...

Nasscom launched the Gender Inclusivity Initiative in 2006. A major annual
eventNasscom Women Leadership Summitis the focus for thought leaders to
share their perspectives, best practice sharing and the announcement of the
Nasscom Gender Awards. (This year the Summit is on December 8-9, and the
theme is Navigating in a Transforming Economy: Diversity and Inclusivity
Actions to Win in the Marketplace)

We will continue our training and mentoring
programs for IT and BPO women. The Gender Awards now have three new
categories to encourage young companies (under 5 years old) and small
companies (under 1,000 employees) to apply as well as a category for the
best child care program. We are helping companies to set up their gender
inclusivity programs. We will work with the government in making gender
empowerment a reality in the industry.

Nasscom is piloting a model of child care and
preschool facilities to be shared by employees of a cluster of companies
located at a IT park. If successful, this would be a good model to redress a
major reason for women dropping out of the workforce.

Then there is the WEConnect program that
certifies 51% owned and run womens businesses to be empanelled as vendors
to the Fortune 100 companies in the US, Canada and UK. Nasscom will be
piloting that in India and it will be open to all kinds of womens business
enterprises.

Priya Chetty, VP at Stanton Chase and convener, CII-WBLF (Women Business Leaders Forum)

Some believe that the onus of
empowerment is on the woman herself, her family and the society, not the
company?

Engaging multiple stakeholders is indeed required. We need the women
themselves, family, society (and not to forget, the government ). However,
where is the stage for women to shine? The workplace, or in business. And
therefore this effort needs to be mirrored at the organizational level. And
this positively feeds back into the system, society and family, thereby
again impacting the way women are perceived.

The organizational effort has another
motivationto educate and sensitize men at the workplace, be it peers,
bosses or subordinates. This creates a huge partnership and alignment with
the most important stakeholder in the gender diversity policythe men. Most
are very receptive and understand the fairness of such an initiative. Some
need information and training. So the organization has a huge role to play,
to action the stated policy, and walk the talk.

The government, you mentioned, is an
important stakeholder. How does an association like CII involve them?

Organizations or industry fora like CII, Nasscom, Awake, TiE have
impactful discussions and initiatives with companies and the government,
such as events, panel discussions, white papers and surveys. I feel that the
government, apart from underlining this issue on a central level, should
broadly look at some initiatives that would motivate corporates and SMEs to
focus on, and institutionalize gender friendly policies within their
company.

At the CII-WBLF (CII Women Business Leaders
Forum) we are working on a white paper to present to the state government or
bureaucracy, wherein companies who fulfill the criteria for women-friendly
policies are incentivized in some ways, be it a subsidy or a tax break. It
could be as simple as (although the current Budget has addressed this)
removing the FBT component on providing daily transportation for women and
men in night shifts or for those who are providing crches at the workplace.
These are heavy costs to companies, dont forget. Removing state
professional tax for working women or providing a weightage for
gender-friendly companies in the government tendering process, will send out
a symbolic message that the government is serious about this issue and sees
it as an important focus.

Many overseas clients pick vendors who follow
(and demonstrate) basic policies of governance, compliance and gender
sensitivity. This is another motivator for Indian companies looking to
consolidate their position as a differentiated service provider in global
markets. We need both motivators and disincentives to create the critical
mass we need for a win-win solution.

Vijayalakshmi Rao, director & COO at Scope e-Knowledge Center

Weve found that attrition level for women
has been much less compared to men. They are also great at multitasking and
work well with teamsan essential requirement at mid-management levels. So
from both an HR and operations perspective, we ensure to get the best out of
our women. We have a good 40% women at the entry level and close to 28% in
senior management. We are happy with the numbers. The women themselves are
now more educated, they are taking their own decisions and making informed
choices, which, more than anything, will drive the numbers. I also believe
that women should not look for empowerment from external sources, but
believe that they are as good as men and have to make the right choices.

How can the company help women employees
through their most critical years?

Women are very productive in the starting years. But once they get
married, social and family pressures either make them completely leave work,
or theres lack of productivity. Its also difficult for the women to
maintain the level of learning and networking required to go up the ladder.
And all this typically at a time when she ready to get into the middle
management bracket. With a little help from the company, a woman employee
can be empowered to balance her work-life needs and contribute fully.

We have made our work environment very
inclusive by infusing creative ideas and a host of initiatives which have
been more need-based rather than pre-plannedlike gender sensitization,
flexi hours, etc; and we have been very conscious of not alienating our men
by being very transparent about all our inclusivity programs, and involving
them.

We invited a councilor, who is a
psychologist, to talk to the women employees about their problems, personal
or office related; mentor them through the critical post marriage and child
birth phase; and for work-life balance. These discussions are not shared
with the company unless an intervention is required. This move, made about
five years back, has shown very good results. Of course, as we grow we might
need more formal policies in place.

How can the industry work with the
government to empower women?

Raising education levels is where the government can work with the
industry. It can also enforce basic security norms. The government sits on a
lot of data and statistics, which it can share with corporates. The
government can also work along with companiesan example is the STPI,
Chennais collaboration with the eWIT forum (www.ewit.co.in). Its a
voluntary group started by women

like me who felt the need to develop a global platform that addresses
womens issues in the IT industry. This forum, empowering Women in IT is
powered by STPI and its objective is to expand the women workforce at all
management levels; equip them with necessary skills; and facilitate a better
work-life balance.

Nirmala, CEO, Interweave

And how do you then approach their
different needs?

We take a practical approach within the framework of the industry within
which the organization operates and its stage of evolution in this space.
Sometimes they have a clear agenda through an internal survey/focus groups
which we help think through and implement. At other times, we assist the
client to explore their needs and then arrive at an action plan that
dovetails into their global agenda. We also suggest a review of internal
policies and systems to ensure it is a respectful and harassment-free
workplace before moving to more proactive inclusion initiatives. In all of
this, the passion and the vision of the leadership of the company is
critical for its success.

Should all companies, irrespective of
size, think of gender diversity?

Yes, most certainly. Women are a very integral part of their talent base
and investment in gender inclusion is a matter of survival. An inclusive
culture helps both in retention and maximization of its human capital. For
small and young organizations, inclusiveness initiatives will give them the
added advantage of embedding it more easily into the culture of the
organization.

You also interact with a lot of women at
all levelshow do they react to this gender conversation?

It is interesting you asked this question. There are mixed reactions to
this from women, depending on the life stage they are in. It ranges from
resentment (we dont need special support!) to a sense of relief from women
with families. We also occasionally run into successful senior women who
believe they managed despite all odds and that women today are making way
too much noise.

What we need to understand is that in any
normal distribution of women, there will be about 15% that will be so career
focused that they will succeed irrespective of whether they have the
organizations support or not. Similarly, there is another 15% who, in spite
of the best organizational support, will choose to give up a career for the
family. Our focus is really on the other 70%. For them the gender
conversation is vital and impacts them directly.

Are you happy with the progressin terms
of changing mindsets, and numbers?

We started Interweave three years ago and even in our short experience
we have seen substantial progress. There is growing interest and companies
are committed to addressing their D&I agenda. However, we would like to see
companies address it holistically rather than focusing on only particular
slices of the issue. More and more organizations are considering measurable
targets and making senior managers accountable.

Mindset change is the most challenging and
will take some time to return investment. Yet, the journey has begun, and
its only a question of time before inclusiveness is no more a subject of
discussion but an experienced reality!