life insurence frp report

7/30/2019 life insurence frp report

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CHAPTER 1

Diversity: the art of thinking independently together.

-Malcolm Stevenson Forbes


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1.1 Introduction

Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting thechallenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building

good governance.

Kofi Annan

The Indian workplace has undergone significant changes in the last two decades with the

opening up of the economy and its spin-off effects on the countrys social landscape. The

scenario in Indian workplace especially MNCs is undergoing a radical change. With the opening

up of the economy the prolific influx of international companies establishing themselves in India

has made Diversity a buzzword in Indian workplace. Today one can see widely diverse

workforce working together. Diversity is fast becoming a key metric for the organizations. Large

and small organizations alike are developing mandates to increase the diversity across gender,

ethnicity and culture. But when you talk about diversity in Indian workplace Gender diversity

is one of the critical elements. According to a survey by HR consulting firmMercer, around 90%

of the companies mention Gender as their main focus of the diversity programmes.

In a one day conference organized by the American Chamber of Commerce, India in association

with the U.S. on 7th

February 2013, U.S. AmbassadorNancy Powell said, Companies gain by

recruiting the most talented employees, irrespective of gender. She also said, Research shows

that creating a gender-inclusive work environment yields concrete positive results. If you

systematically eliminate half of an available pool of contributors to business, government and

broader society, you will also lose half of the potential. And that half could have included the

next Bill Gates or Albert Einstein, not to mention Marie Curie or Hillary Clinton - if they had


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been given the same opportunities at education, advancement, nurturing, mentoring and access to

opportunities."

Over a period of few years the inclusion of women or having a gender diverse workforce has

become an important matter. Organizations compete for human resources and if they restrict

themselves to hiring only male workforce because of some traditional stereotypes they will

have a very small pool of talent to choose from, hence shortage of workforce. Therefore to

bridge the gender gap and to have access to a wider and a highly capable pool of talent the

organizations are trying to breakaway the restrictions and hire both the genders.

There are advantages galore in having a gender diverse workforce. A gender diverse workforce

brings together a mix of experiences, opinion, talents and skills that help an organization to

succeed. Both men and women offer unique contributions to the workplace. By promoting and

employing without respect to gender, a workplace earns not only professional acclaim but

employee and customer loyalty. It also helps in better decision making.

But as said everything has its pros and cons, managing a gender diverse workforce poses a lot of

challenges like stereotypes in the society, work-life imbalance etc.

Statistics: Representation of Women:

As per a survey conducted by TCS, In the global context, India is one of the countries with the

lowest percentage of female employees along with Japan (24%), Turkey (26%) and Austria

(29%). In industries like the Service sector and the IT sector, while women are well-represented

overall, they are mostly concentrated at the entry levels. Service sector shows a more


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heterogeneous picture with 42% of respondents having less than 30% women in their workforce

and 17% of respondents having up to 50% women. 70% respondents from the IT sector claimed

to have up to 30% women while 17% respondents claimed 50% women representation in their

workforce. Other industries have an even lower representation of women in their workforce in

Finance sector, 73% respondents claimed 15% women representation; in manufacturing non

durable sector, 50% respondents claimed up to 15% women while 13% respondents said they

had more than 50% women. In the manufacturing non-durable sector, 80% respondents claimed

to have up to 15% women in their workforce.

The representation of women across organizations drops as the seniority of the role increases.

The overall numbers of women are mostly found at the entry level and drop dramatically in

senior and board level roles; 67% respondents claim having no women at all at these levels

respectively.

Therefore this research intends to identify these challenges and the ways to manage the gender

diverse workforce


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1.2 Scope of study

This study aims at understanding that why the situation of women representation atworkplace is still so bleak i.e. to identify the barriers in managing gender diversity in MNCs.

It also tries to find out the most effective ways or measures to overcome the challenges beingfaced.

The most voted or chosen method can then be recommended to the organizations beingsurveyed for their betterment.


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1.3 Background of the study

Diversity in organizations is much talked about phenomenon nowadays. In todays scenario it is

believed that organizations which are tolerant to diversity in terms of culture, skills, gender etc

are more successful than homogenous organizations. If organizations have to thrive in such a

volatile and fast-changing global environment, they have to learn to welcome and manage

diversity. At workplace, one encounters different kinds of diversity- Diversity of age, education,

language, culture and gender. Existence of such wide variety of diversity ranging from age to

gender, definitely poses challenges galore to the organizations. The inevitability of diversity is

getting validity and so is the challenge for the leader to successfully manage and lead such

teams.

In context of Indian organizations, a survey reveals that Gender is the main focus of diversity

efforts in India. Traditionally the corporate workplace has been a male dominated one but the

situation is not the same anymore. Increasing number of organizations is moving towards

inclusion of women due to their competence at the workplace and diversity in organization is

slowly becoming a rule than an exception.

Paradoxically, in Indian Inc the situation is still bleak and traditional stereotypes can be blamed

for under representation of women in organizations. Off late, many surveys have brought out the

importance of presence of women on boards not only for the sake of equality but also for the

betterment and success of organizations and also because of the unique qualities in the way

women lead.


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This topic has been chosen to study the reasons and apprehensions of recruiting women on board

and also what initiatives have been taken up in this regard.

This research will also help in comprehending the challenges posed and ways/measure to

manage such a diverse organizational environment.

1.4 Objective of the study

To identify the barriers to gender diversity in any organization. To identify the measures being adopted to overcome the barriers


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CHAPTER 2

Diversity is not about how we differ.

Diversity is about embracing one another's uniqueness.

-Ola Joseph


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2.1 Literature Review

Cox and Blake (1991) argued that diversity can be a source of competitive advantage. They

claim that managing diversity promises advantages concerning marketing and distribution as a

diverse workforce is in a better position to respond to desires and needs of culturally diverse

customers in the market.

According to Carrel et al (2000), Diversity can improve organizational effectiveness.

Organizations that develop experience in and reputations for managing diversity will likely

attract the best personnel.

Managing diversity means enabling the diverse workforce to perform its full potential in an

equitable work environment where no one group has an advantage or disadvantage, (Torres and

Bruxelles, 1992).

According to one study (Watson et al., 1993), culturally diverse groups relative to homogeneous

groups are more effective both in the interaction process and job performance; these benefits

occur after a diverse group has been together for a period of time.

Hiring women, minorities, disabled, etc. will help organizations to tap these niche markets and

diversified market segments. As all the segments of society have a stake in the development and

prosperity of society as a whole, creating and managing a diverse workforce should be seen as a

social and moral imperative (Mueller, 1998).


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Svyantek and Bott (2004) reviewed nine diversity studies (published during 1989-2003) that

investigated the gender diversity-performance relationship. Out of nine studies, four studies

found no main effects, two studies found positive effects, two studies found negative effects, and

one study found a nonlinear effect.

Clare Rigg, John Sparrow, (1994) in their research work on "Gender, Diversity and Working

Styles", say Generalized differences were identified in the approaches of women and men to

definition of the job, overall style, decision making and interpersonal relationships. Men had

greater visibility to other men, while a broader insight was offered by women interviewees into

the women managers' approaches. The research further amplifies that in the context of

patriarchal power relations, in which masculinity is defined as opposite and superior to

femininity, feminine working styles are perceived as less effective in organizations, while

masculine attributes tend to be regarded as normatively the way to manage. Such values can

imbue recruitment, selection and development practices with gender bias. Recent management

and leadership theory has advocated the value of a people-centered approach, which traditionally

and stereotypically has been associated with women. This might appear to open up opportunity

for women. The study concludes that there is a need to be alert to a redefinition of patriarchal

relations as men seek to maintain status.

Kevin Campbell , Antonio Mnguez-Vera, (2008), in their study Gender Diversity in the

Boardroom and Firm Financial Performance, say, that the monitoring role performed by the

board of directors is an important corporate governance control mechanism, especially in

countries where external mechanisms are less well developed. The gender composition of the


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board can affect the quality of this monitoring role and thus the financial performance of the

firm. This is part of the business case for female participation on boards, though arguments

may also be framed in terms of ethical considerations. Their study suggests that investors in

Spain do not penalise firms which increase their female board membership and that greater

gender diversity may generate economic gains.

Catalyst (2004) showed that more diverse companies achieved better financial results. Since

then, interest in the business case for recruiting, developing and advancing women has been

growing.

Within a corporate governance framework, the composition of corporate boards is crucial to

aligning the interest of management and shareholders, to providing information for monitoring

and counselling, and to ensuring effective decision-making (Becht, Bolton and Roell 2002;

Hermalin and Weisbach 2003)

A major argument in support of management diversity is that a more diverse board of Directors

may take decisions while considering a wider range of alternatives. Carter, Simkins and

Simpson (2003) and (2008) enumerate several positive propositions of the business case for

board gender diversity, among which this is a central one.

Smith, Smith and Verner (2006), say, women directors may better understand particular market

conditions than men, which may bring more creativity and quality to board decision-making. A

more gender diverse board may generate a better public image of the firm and, through this,

improve firm performance. It is possible that the external talent pool for board members

increases once women have been appointed to particular executive positions.


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A heterogeneous board may slow down decision-making as the likelihood of reaching consensus

may be smaller. The result will be a less efficient decision-making body, which may turn out to

critically impede a firms competitive behavior (Hambrick, Cho and Chen 1996).

Dulop, Venkoff (1999) say, even when women occupy similar positions and have similar

educational levels, they earn just 80 per cent of what men do, though this is better than in most

developing countries.

According to (Haq,2010), MNCs use affirmative actions and diversity management practices

within their operations; this has improved opportunities for women.

Despite the initiatives by MNCs to improve female employment status, women at management

level India face inequality of opportunity, (Gupta et al, 1998).


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CHAPTER 3

Life lies in diversity, not in monotony.

-M.K. Soni


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3.1 Research Methodology:

Type of study: The study is descriptive in nature. The relevant data is collected with the helpfrom questionnaires from respondents. This research work is limited to various MNC

organizations in service sector like banking, insurance, telecom etc.

Sources of data collection: It involves both primary and secondary research:Primary: Questionnaires and personal interviews.

Secondary: Research works, internet, books & articles.

3.2 Sampling Techniques:

Sampling unit: The research is conducted on MNCs located in Delhi and NCR Sample size: Sample size for this study is a total of 100 respondents. Sampling method: Random Stratified Sampling.3.3 Data analysis Technique

Data is analyzed on excel spreadsheet with the help of pie charts and graphs and SPSS is also

used.


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CHAPTER 4

Creating and managing a diverse workforce is aprocess, not a destination.

R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr.


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4.1 Industry Overview- Multinational Corporations (MNC):

As the name suggests, any company is referred to as a multinational company or corporation

when that company manages its operation or production or service delivery from more than a

single country.

Why MNCs in India?

There are a number of reasons why the multinational companies are coming down to India. India

has got a huge market. It has also got one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Besides,

the policy of the government towards FDI has also played a major role in attracting the

multinational companies in India.

For quite a long time, India had a restrictive policy in terms of foreign direct investment. As a

result, there was lesser number of companies that showed interest in investing in Indian market.

However, the scenario changed during the financial liberalization of the country, especially after

1991. Government, nowadays, makes continuous efforts to attract foreign investments by

relaxing many of its policies, latest being the green signal for the entry of FDI in India in the year

2013. As a result, a number of multinational companies have shown interest in Indian market.

Reasons why multinational companies consider India as a preferred destination for

business:

Huge market potential of the country FDI attractiveness Labor competitiveness


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Macro-economic stability

These reasons are very much evidence that prove the growing entry of MNC in India. And as

they grow so would be the need to employ more people.

Advantages of growing MNC are in India:

Initiating a higher level of investment. Reducing the technological gap. Utilizing the natural resources in true sense. Reducing the foreign exchange gap. Boosting up the basic economic structure.

MNC and Diversity:

Diversity will help organizations to develop a flexible mindset that rewards performance andmerit regardless of nationality.

Organizations need to extend beyond the traditional sub sets of diversity race, gender,religion and must become a way of life embedded in the organizational culture.

Leadership must express and communicate their belief in diversity through vision andmission statements.

Inclusion of women at Board level changes the dynamics of meetings.


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CHAPTER 5

If we are going to see real development in the world then our best

investment is WOMEN.

-Desmond tutu


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5.1 Analysis & Findings:

A survey was conducted by taking a sample of 100 employees working in various MNCs which

includes Banking, Insurance, Telecom, IT and others. The total sample constituted 50 per cent

male and 50 per cent female employees to evince a balanced gender response Originally

questionnaires were administered to 100 respondents, out of which 20 were either half filled,

badly filled or casually filled hence not included in the data analysis. Only 80 out of 100

questionnaires were subjected to analysis using Microsoft Excel. The data was studied on four

parameters i.e. Overall, Gender, Designation (Level) and Years of experience with a view to

meet the objectives and reach a good justified conclusion.

Out of the 80 respondents, maximum numbers of male and female employees were between the

age group of 26-35 years.

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

Male Female

Percentage

Gender

Gender & Age

Below 25

26-35

36-45

45-55

Above 55

Fig: 1.1: Showing the %

of both the gender in

each age group.


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The designation of all the respondents was categorized into Senior, Middle and Lower level on

the basis of hierarchy for the purpose of analysis. Maximum of the sample surveyed falls into the

Middle level category.

Majority of the sample population i.e. 31% has a work experience of 2-5 years, followed by 22%

with a work experience of 0-2 years.

0.00%10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

Male Female

Percentage

gender

Gender & Designation

Senior

Middle

Lower

22%

31%

8%

14%

12%

13%

YEARS OF EXPERIENCE0-2 years

2-5 years

5-7 years

7-10 years

10-15

years

more than

15 years

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

Percentage

Gender

Gender & ExperienceBelow 2

2-5 years

5-7 years

7-10 years

10-15 years

more than

15

Fig: 1.2: Showing the % of both the gender at each level.

Fig: 1.3: Showing the % of years of

experience

Fig: 1.4: Showing the % of years of

experience, gender wise.


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5.2 The extent to which the workforce represents gender diversity:

The data that was collected and analyzed reveals that in every organization that was surveyed

maximum responded that their workforce represents gender diversity to a moderate degree (70%)

i.e. a mix of both the gender whereas only 30% answered Very much. This finding is also

justified as per the analysis done on the basis of gender and designation.

30%

70%

0%

To what extent do you think your workforce

represents Gender Diversity?

very much

to a moderate

degree

not at all

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

80.00%

Male Female

Percentage

Gender

To what extent do you think your workforce represents

Gender Diversity?

Very Much

Moderate

Fig: 1.5: Showing the

overall percentage.

Fig: 1.6: Gender diversity representation of workforce by

Gender.


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The analysis tells all the organizations that were surveyed have a gender diverse workforce to a

moderate degree, which means that, the organizations today understand the importance of having

talented and skilled people in their workforce irrespective of their gender.

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

80.00%

Senior Middle Lower

Percentage

Level

To what extent do you think your workforcerepresents Gender Diversity?

Very Much

Moderate

Fig: 1.7: gender diversity representation of workforce by Levels.


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5.3 Percentage of female employees at different levels in your organization:

According to the analysis the percentage of female employees is the highest at the lowest and the

middle level i.e. between the categories of 30%-40% to 40%-50%. As you go up the levels the

percentage keeps on decreasing.

As the graph above shows that 92% people have answered that at the senior level the female

representation isbelow 10%, this shows the presence of Glass Ceiling Effect and Leaking

Pipeline, which are explained further.

0.00%10.00%20.00%30.00%40.00%50.00%60.00%70.00%80.00%90.00%

100.00%

0-10% 10-20% 20-30% 30-40% 40-50% Above

50%

Percentage

Different levels in organization

What is the percentage of female employees at

different levels in your organization?

CEO

Board Member

Senior Level

Middle level

Lower Level

Fig: 1.8: Showing the percentage of female employees working at

different levels in the organization.


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5.4Should there be inclusion of women at the workplace:

89% of the total sample population says yes, there should be inclusion of women at the

workplace. On the basis of the analysis done individually for both the gender maximum of them

have responded positively.

89%

2%9%

As an individual, do you believe or think that

there should be inclusion of women at the

workplace?

Yes

No

Can't Say

0.00%

20.00%

40.00%

60.00%

80.00%

100.00%

Male Female

Percentage

Gender

As an individual, do you believe or think that there

should be inclusion of women at the workplace?

Yes

No

Cant Say

Fig: 1.9: Showing the opinion of

population regarding inclusion

of women.

Fig: 1.10: Showing the opinionof male and female regarding

inclusion of women

individually.


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5.5 Reasons for increasing the representation of women at the workplace:

According to the survey, majority of the people rated to genuinely avoid discrimination and to

access a wider pool of talent as the most important reasons. Whereas pressure from internal

and external bodies/stakeholders was rated as least important reasons.

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

40.00%

45.00%

50.00%

Percentage

Likert Scale

Reasons for increasing the representation of

women

To enhance corporate image.

Pressure from external

bodies/stakeholders

Pressure from internal

bodies/stakeholders

To genuinely reduce/avoid

discrimination

To access wider pool of talent

To improve performance

To be more responsive to market

Women bring in a different skill

set/qualities

Fig: 1.11: Showing the reasons for increasing the representation of women at the

workplace on a likert scale.


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5.6 Perception of men & women towards increasing the percentage of women ;

According to the survey 89% of the women and 71% of the men responded positively to this

situation. No women responded negatively but 7% of the men responded negatively who when

further interviewed said that this is because they cannot handle pressure and cant contribute

effectively due to their personal commitments.

0.00%

20.00%

40.00%

60.00%

80.00%

100.00%

Women Men

Percentage

Gender

If your organization is trying to increase the percentage

of women, how do you feel it is being perceived by men& women in the workplace?

Positively

Negatively

Indifferent

Fig: 1.12: Showing the Perception of men & women towards %

increase in the women workforce.


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5.7 Barriers/Challenges that prevent women from entering the organization:

The survey and thereafter the analysis clearly indicate that issues in maintaining work-life

balance is the most frequently encountered challenge as it is rated the highest in Important and

Most Important category.

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

Percentage

Likert Scale

Challenges that prevent women from getting into the

organizations

Stereotypes in the society

Attitude towards womens

capability

Lack of supply i.e. fewer

women in the talent pool

Women undervaluing their

skills/capability

Biases in

recruitment/selection

Issues in maintaining work-

life balance

Male dominated culture

Absence of female role

models

Fig: 1.13: Showing the most frequently encountered barrier.


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5.8 Measures taken up by organization to overcome the challenges:

As per the survey and analysis the most highlighted measure taken by any organization or should

be taken by any organization is top management support and flexible work arrangements for

better management of Gender Diversity.

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

40.00%

45.00%

Percentage

Likert Scale

Measures taken by your organization to overcome the

issues relating to gender diversity

Top management support

Gender diversity training

programme

Training/Coaching

Flexible work arrangements

Mentoring

More rigorous

selection/recruitment

procedure

Development of policies

relating to inclusion of

women

Fig: 1.14: Showing the measures taken by any organization to overcome

the challenges.


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5.9 Impact of improving gender diversity on Employee retention, Team performance,

Employee engagement, Companys performance:

It was found out that overall it the Team Performance that gets affected to a great extent because

of gender diversity. Employee retention is also impacted to some extent.

Individually men say the same, whereas women say that team performance and employee

engagement both equally get affected to a great extent.

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

Not at

Total

Not much To some

Extent

To a great

extent

Percentage

Degree of impact

Do you think improving gender diversity will have

an impact on any of the following?

Employee retention

Team performance

Employee engagement

Companys performance

0.00%

20.00%

40.00%

60.00%

80.00%

Not at

Total

Not

much

To some

Extent

To a

great

extent

Percentage

Degree of Impact

Do you think improving gender diversity will have

an impact on any of the following?

(by men)

Employee retention

Team performance

Employee engagement



impact on few issues in

an organization



an organization (by

men)


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0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

Not at all Not

much

To some

Extent

To a

great

extent

Percentag

e

Degree of Impact

Do you think improving gender diversity will

have an impact on any of the following?

(by women)

Employee retention

Team performance

Employee engagement

Companys performance Fig: 1.17: Showing the


an organization (by

women)


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5.10 Hindrance in career progression due to gender:

Out of the total sample population 86% says that their career progression was not hindered due to

their gender and 14% of them say yes it was hindered which includes male-female both.

14%

86%

Do you think your career progression is hindered because

of gender?

Yes

No

0.00%

20.00%

40.00%

60.00%

80.00%

100.00%

Male Female

Percentag

e

Gender

Do you think your career progression is hindered because

of gender?

Yes

No

Fig: 1.18: Showinghindrance of career

progression due to

gender.

Fig: 1.19: Showing

hindrance of career

progression due to

gender. (by gender)


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5.11 Reasons for hindrance:

According to the analysis it was found that for men the most common reason for hindrance of

career progression is unfair work assignment/allocation compared to colleagues of opposite

sex and for women the most common reason is personal commitments interrupted my career.

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

80.00%

90.00%

Male Female

Percentage

Gender

Reasons for hindrance of career progression

Lack of support from manager

Unfair work

assignment/allocation

compared to colleagues of

opposite sex

Not getting the sane

opportunities as that of

opposite sex

Personal commitmentsinterrupted my career

Fig: 1.20: Showing reasons for hindrance for both men and women individually.


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5.12 Reasons for no hindrance:

It was found that for both men and women their own drive/determination was the reason that

did not let anything else come in their way and hinder their progression.

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

35.00%

40.00%

45.00%

Male Female

Percentage

Gender

Reasons if career progression not hindered

Support from manager

Good coach/mentor

Flexible work opportunities

Own drive/determination

Fig: 1.21: Showing reasons for no hindrance for both men and women individually.


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5.13 Perception towards womens ability to handle pressure:

Overall 80% of the sample population says yes women can handle pressure whereas 5% says that

women cannot handle pressure which when further questioned was answered that because

women have family responsibilities too and sometimes tend to breakdown they cannot handle

pressure.

80%

5% 15%

As per your perception do you think that

women are able to handle pressure?

Yes

No

Can't Say

0.00%10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

80.00%

90.00%

Male Female

Percentage

Gender

As per your perception do you think that

women are able to handle pressure?

Yes

No

Can't Say

Fig: 1.22: Showing % of

perception towards

womens ability to handle

pressure.

Fig: 1.23: Showing % of

perception towardswomens ability to handle

pressure. (By men &

women individually)


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5.14 Best suited job for women working in organizations:

As per the analysis both men and women agree that women are capable of doing all kinds of jo

mentioned.

16%11%

10%

16%6%

39%

2%

As per your perception what type of job in an organization is

best suited for women?

Supportive

Collaborative

Decision making

Coaching/Mentoring

Developer

All of the above

None of the above

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

Male Female

Percentage

Gender

Type of job best suited for women

Supportive

Collaborative

Decision making

Coaching/Mentoring

Developer

All of the above

Fig: 1.24: Showing %

of the jobs best suited

for women.

Fig: 1.25: Showing % of the jobs best suited for women (by both male and

female)


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5.15 Some key findings:

As the analysis reveal that the workforce in every organization represents Genderdiversity to a moderate degree, this proves the fact that the situation in Indias MNC

industry is still very bleak. Efforts are being made to improve the situation but at a slow

pace.

As mentioned earlier that if any organization limits itself to hiring majority of maleemployees they have access to only a limited amount of talent, therefore the study reveals

that the major reasons for increasing the representation of women is to get access to a

wider pool of talent and to genuinely reduce discrimination.

The survey also brought out that organizations like Emirates and Sapient hire purely ontalent and skills irrespective of any gender.

The maximum number of female employees is present at the entry or middle level, but asyou move up the ladder this keeps on decreasing which shows the presence of Glass

Ceiling effect in the organizations.

In India the problem of Leaking Pipeline was also explored i.e. with few womenmaking it from junior to middle to higher levels the pool of women to move to senior

levels is much smaller, therefore the problem of leaking pipeline.

Though inclusion of women at the workplace is seen as a positive step by both men andwomen at the workplace but there is a few percentage that perceives it negatively,

reasons for which can be that women cannot handle pressure or they are not suitable for

some roles.


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Although almost all women had high aspirations, but everyone including men expressedthat the most often the barrier that stops women from entering the organizations or

performing to their best ability or to take up more responsibility is the issues in

maintaining work life balance. Similar results were found in GDBM 2011 report on

Gender Diversity and inclusion.

The above mentioned barrier is also one of the main reasons that hindered the careerprogression of women.

One of the very interesting revelation was that its not only women whose careerprogression is hindered even men have been facing the same problem reason being unfair

allocation of work.

Flexible work arrangements and top management support are the most effective ways toovercome the issue of work life balance. According to the survey few employees also

said there should be development of policies related to inclusion of women.

Performance of the team gets improved to a great extent according to the study.Employee retention and companys performance are also improved. This finding is also

substantiated by a remark made in a film Closing the Gender Gap made by Price

Waterhouse Coopers in the year 2008.

Women are considered strong enough to handle pressure and they are suitable for alltypes of roles like Supportive, Collaborative, Decision making, Coaching/Mentoring,

Developer


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In SAPIENT, they have a Women Leadership network which is to encourage women inthe organization to overcome their fears and take up multiple responsibilities. There is no

discrimination, everyone is treated equally.

In some other organizations there are diversity & inclusion team which is itself leaded bywomen i.e. there is high top management support.

It was also found out that women do bring a few different qualities along with them whilethey work in an organization like decision making ability as also mentioned by Joanna

Barsh, Director at McKinsey&Co, in a research Women Matter (2010), Men tend to be

more individual in decision making and better at corrective action; whereas women tend

to be better at collaboration and decision making and they make sure that everybody is in

it together, they have better organizing capabilities, relationship building, bring in better

team environments, are emotional and understanding and have higher degree of integrity.

Secondary sources also revealed that women who move to higher positions use a style ofleadership that is highly effective in todays turbulent times.

According to the secondary research, only 14% of the employees in MNC captive centersare women. This research also brought out that female representation drastically reduces

as the experience level increases. Further it also revealed that long work hours, limited

flexibility to work from home, high work pressures are some of the challenges.


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CHAPTER 6

Variety is the spice of life.

-American Proverb


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6.1 Conclusion:

Gender diversity in the workplace ultimately leads to better business performance for companies

because women leaders are able to bring different viewpoints and are able to understand the

perspectives of female staff members and the needs of female customers.

Women employees bring with them a different skill set altogether which definitely affects the

performance of the company.

They have great potential and the capability to achieve good results, therefore it is important for

the organizations to understand it and give women equal employment opportunities.

This research aimed at identifying the challenges in managing gender diversity and also

identifies the measures taken to overcome the challenges.

The findings indicate that the biggest challenge, today being encountered in Indian MNC

industry is the issue in maintaining work-life balance which has also been substantiated by

various other researches. Even after few measures being taken by some organizations this

problem still prevails.

Flexible work arrangements and top management support are considered to be the most effective

measures to overcome the above mentioned challenges. Though initiatives are being taken but

the results are not very impressive and the implementation is also very slow and seems half

hearted.

It can be seen that though Glass Ceiling is much spoken phenomena that stops women from

reaching the senior level positions but the research also brought out another much encountered

problem in India which is Leaking Pipeline.


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The study says that having women on board and in the organization at various levels improves

the team performance. Women are able to handle and pressure and are capable enough to

perform all kinds of roles in the organization from being a developer to trainer to everything.

Gender diversity has become the Need of the hour. Its like the Wind of Change, those who

accept the change will survive and those who dont will suffer economically, financially and

socially.

Its time that the top management understands that gender diversity should not just be a trend to

be followed, they need to be passionate about it, as said in one of the studies by McKinsey

numbers matter but belief makes the case powerful.

Underrepresentation of women on boards and various levels needs to be taken seriously if

companies want to survive and grow in the current times.

Gender diversity is an important policy for all businesses, increasingly acknowledged to

contribute to better management and higher profitability.

Therefore, the time is right to accelerate the change process.


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6.2 Recommendations:

Gender Diversity Programme: Every organization should have a special gender diversityprogramme to deal with related issues.

Work life balance: Work life balance being the issue of greatest concern companies shoulddevelop policies, programme and work culture that will address this.

Flexible Approach: Companies should remain flexible in their approach i.e. they shouldnot bind themselves by the initially formed policies; they should be flexible enough to

tweak them or change them in order to retain and develop talent.

Involvement of men: To improve the situation of gender diversity organizations shouldinvolve men and make them spearhead the cause of gender diversity. Men should be more

empathetic. They should come out of their egoistic mode and think and treat women as

equal instead of just reducing them to homemaker.

Encourage transparency: Organizations should encourage a transparent workingenvironment wherein the employees can easily share their problems so that proper

solution is found and productivity is not affected.

Rigorous involvement of top management: Countries like South Africa bounced back todemocracy from apartheid by involving women in every field of work. Almost 38% of the

women are working in South Africa and they aim to go up to 54%. Only with the support

and continuous involvement of top management. Therefore, the familial tasks like child

care etc cannot be performed by men as effectively as women, hence top management

should not dissuade them but support by providing facilities like crche facilities etc.


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Recognizing the skills and capabilities of women and giving them a fair chance to moveup the ladder so that the Glass Ceiling Effect diminishes.

Targeted Recruitment: Organizations should make an effort to follow a targetedrecruitment policy i.e. reserve a certain percentage of women to be hired at each level.

6.3 Limitations:

Education sector was not considered because data collected from this sector would haveskewed the results.

It was difficult to arrange interviews with people at senior positions, so I could talkpersonally to only a few.

Partially filled, badly filled, inattentively filled questionnaires limited my study to 80questionnaires.


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Chapter 7

Differences challenge assumptions.

-Anne Wilson Schaef


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7.1 References/Bibliography:

Andreoni J., L. Vesterlund: 2001, Which is the Fair Sex? Gender Differences in Altruism.The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 116, 293312.

Bridging the Gender gap, article Hindustan times. Closing the gender gap, film by PWC, 2008 Catalyst, 2004, The bottom line: Connecting corporate performance and gender

diversity.

Daft Richard, Leadership (2005); ChapterDeveloping Leadership Diversity, Pg 290-291.

Desvaux, G, Devillard, S & Baumgarten, P, 2007, Women Matter: Gender Diversity, acorporate performance driver, McKinsey & Company.

Earnest Friday, Shawnta S. Friday, (2003) "Managing diversity using a strategic plannedchange approach", Journal of Management Development, Vol. 22 Iss: 10, pp.863880.

Earnest Friday, Shawnta S. Friday, (2003) "Managing diversity using a strategic plannedchange approach", Journal of Management Development, Vol. 22 Iss: 10, pp.863880.

Gender Diversity in the MNC captive Centers in India, study done atZinnov Gender Diversity Benchmark for Asia 2011 report. Konrad A. M., V. W. Kramer: 2006, How Many Women Do Boards Need?,Harvard

Business Review, December, 84(12), 22.

McKinsey Global Survey, October 2010,Moving women to the top. McKinsey Survey, 2010, Women Matterresearch.


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Rose C.: 2007, Does Female Board Representation Influence Firm Performance? TheDanish Evidence. Corporate Governance: An International Review, 15(2), 404413.

Shatter the Glass Ceiling: Women may make better Managers,Human ResourceManagement 33.

Smith N., V. Smith, M. Verner: 2006, Do Women in Top Management Affect FirmPerformance? A Panel Study of 2,500 Danish Firms. International Journal of Productivity

and Performance Management, 55, 569593.

Sebastian Reiche. May 09, 2013, Gender Diversity in the Workplace: Lessons fromGlobal Top Performers.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees,Report on Age, Gender and DiversityMainstreaming, 2 June 2008.

WEF (World Economic Forum) (2012), The Global Gender Gap Report.


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7.2 Appendix:

QUESTIONNAIRE

A study to identify the challenges faced while managing gender diversity in an

organization

Name of the Respondent: ___________________________________

Gender: Male1 Female2

Age: Below 25 years1, 26-35 years2, 36-45 years3,

45-55 years4, Above 55 years5

Type of Organization*:

Education1, IT2, Banking3, Insurance4, Telecom5, Others6

Designation (level): _________________________________

Year of Experience:

0-2 years1, 25 years2, 57 years3, 710 years4, 1015 Years5, More than 15

Years6

1. To what extent do you think your workforce represents Gender Diversity?Very much1 to a moderate degree2 not at all3

2. What is the percentage of female employees at different levels in your organization?0%-10% = 1, 10%-20%=2, 20%-30%=3, 30%-40%=4, 40%-50%=5, 50%-above=6\


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CEO

Board Member

Senior Level

Middle level

Lower Level

3. As an individual, do you believe or think that there should be inclusion of women at theworkplace?

Yes1 No2 Cant say 3

4. According to you, what are the reasons for increasing the representation of women atworkplace? (Rate the reasons on a scale of 1 to 5, 1least important & 5most important)

1 2 3 4 5

To enhance corporate image.

Pressure from external

bodies/stakeholders

Pressure from internal

bodies/stakeholders

To genuinely reduce/avoid

discrimination

To access wider pool of talent

To improve performance

To be more responsive to

market

Women bring in a different

skill set/qualities


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5. If your organization is trying to increase the percentage of women, how do you feel it isbeing perceived by men & women in the workplace?

Positively Negatively Indifferent

By women

By men

6. What according to you are the barriers/challenges that prevent women from getting into theorganizations? (Rate the reasons on a scale of 1 to 5, 1least important & 5most

important)

1 2 3 4 5

Stereotypes in the society

Attitude towards womenscapability

Lack of supply i.e. fewer

women in the talent pool

Women undervaluing their

skills/capability

Biases in recruitment/selection

Issues in maintaining work-life

balance

Male dominated culture

Absence of female role models


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7. What steps/measures, if any, have been taken by your organization to overcome theissues relating to gender diversity? (Rate the measures on a scale of 1 to 5, 1least

important & 5most important)

1 2 3 4 5

Top management support

Gender diversity training

programme

Training/Coaching

Flexible work arrangements

Mentoring

More rigorous

selection/recruitment procedure

Development of policies

relating to inclusion of women

Others, please specify _______________________________________________________

8. Do you think improving gender diversity will have an impact on any of the following?Not at all Not much To some Extent To a great extent

Employee retention

Team performance

Employee engagement


Others, please specify ________________________________________________


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9. Do you think your career progression is hindered because of gender?Yes1 No2

10. If yes in Question No. 9, then what do you think were the reasons?a. Lack of support from managerb. Unfair work assignment/allocation compared to colleagues of opposite sexc. Not getting the sane opportunities as that of opposite sexd. Personal commitments interrupted my careere. No ideaf. Others, please specify

11. If no in Question No. 9, then what helped you to progress in your career?a. Support from managerb. Good coach/mentorc. Flexible work opportunitiesd. Own drive/determinatione. Others, please specify

12. As per your perception do you think that women are able to handle pressure?Yes1 No2 Cant Say3


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