Mahindra Rise

Women on the Rise Gender

diversity in the Indian workforce
Posted By: Namrata Gill|Dated: August 4, 2011

In the rapidly changing world where geographical boundaries have become irrelevant,
diversity management has become an important aspect of managing businesses.
Despite the fairly balanced gender distribution in the Indian population, research shows
that women have largely been excluded from Indias economic boom. Only 17 percent
of women form a part of the organized sector labour force, but their representation in
the unorganized sector is fairly high, which goes unacknowledged in the economy[i]. As
the working population ages, there is a compelling need to include this long-neglected
section of society.

The attitude of Indian women today is no longer as it was previously perceived submissive,
nurturing, obedient and emotional: but todays working women are just as aggressive and ambitious
as men[ii]. They recognize their talents and understand their rights. The number of dual income
families and single working mothers has increased over the years.
Change in the family structure means that there are fewer men and women in traditional family roles
indicating the breakdown of gender silos. In modern India, women have the largest influence in
decision making process of every purchase. Thus, it becomes imperative for organizations to employ
women in order to understand the psyche of the target audience. Understanding the need of the
hour, organizations worldwide have started focusing on gender diversity. As the first step,
organizations are recognizing the importance of accepting the culture of diversity before putting in
systems and policies to promote it.
Organizations like IBM have acknowledged diversity as a strategic imperative and created special
task forces to ensure that diversity is well accepted and encouraged in the organization[iii].
Innovative forums like Women In Learning and Leadership (WILL) actively engage women to foster
a deeper understanding of gender and its intersections with race, culture, class, sexuality, and other
aspects of social identity. WILL provides leadership experience, encouragement, and opportunity for
development of critical and analytical skills in women.
Leading names are forging the way forward. The McKinsey Leadership Project is an initiative by
McKinsey to help professional women to learn what drives and sustains successful female
leaders[iv]. Organizations like Pepsico, Xerox and many more have published their diversity
statements focusing on top leaders commitment to promoting and monitoring diversity. Mahindra,
too, has been in the news for its commitment to diversity. A recent article in the Economic
Times noted the view of Prince Augustin, EVP of Human Capital in the Automotive & Farm
Equipment Sector at Mahindra & Mahindra, that Diverse teams are propellers of a sort.[v]
M&M has earned the reputation of being an equal opportunity employer through its constant effort
towards ensuring a conducive work environment for all employees. A dedicated team working
towards diversity, tracking diversity through scorecards and implementing strategies to improve the
score is testament to the rigor and commitment by senior leadership towards a diverse workplace.
Improving gender diversity will not only help increase creativity and productivity but will also help
improve the morale and confidence of current female employees. The importance of communication
cannot be ignored: diversity will be a success only if there is sufficient communication and a real
effort towards accepting gender diversity at work.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6164916.cms