Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Executive Chairperson and Managing Director of Biocon, was recently named the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year for 2020. Surprisingly she was only the third woman to have won the title. This makes one wonder why there are only a handful of women leaders today and even less in India.
The general thought process of Indians dictate that women are more suited for domestic responsibilities and do not understand the nuances of business. Recently we have witnessed a surge in the number of women entrepreneurs picking up the pace. However, even with Indian businesswomen such as Indira Nooyi, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Falguni Nayar and Vandana Luthra winning accolades every day the situation is not even close to what we aim for.
The data is disheartening. The female employment rate remains an abysmal 26% in India (source: The economist) Questions still arise about the minute percentage of women entrepreneurs, relatively small female working populations and gender wage gap. Women are just 5 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs. Let’s dig deeper. The scenario in Indian business schools remains far from ideal. Why do women only make 20% of the batch in top Business schools on average in-spite of gender diversity drives? Women constitute 26% of the class of 2018-20 at IIMs Ahmedabad, Kozhikode and Calcutta. At IIM-Bangalore, their share has remains at about 28% (source: Economic Times)
The problem lies deep within the ideals with which India tends to relate education with the girl child. Girls generally are encouraged to pursue basic education and are then married. Post-graduation is rarely on the cards. Entrepreneurship is a lost dream for many women. Business studies like pursuing an MBA is not understood to be a cup of tea for women. This fact contradicts the natural ability for women to become leaders. The lockdown has proved that women led countries have emerged more effectively from the pandemic
What India has not realized yet is that lack of women in business and top corporations has put our economy at a great disadvantage. With half of our population shying away from contributing to the nation’s wealth, the 5 trillion dollar economy dream of India will remain just a dream. So what needs to be done in this regard?
Inspire- More and more girls are realizing that they need to become their own family’s breadwinners. They are donning multiple hats. Inspiration from businesswomen like Sheryl Sandberg can really help women push their boundaries. Support from family and partners can become indispensable at this point. The number of female students in B-schools will not increase if more and more women are not inspired to take a career in management or entrepreneurship.
Encourage-We need to start from ground level by encouraging entrepreneurial opportunities among women. Investment level should also be at par. Independent women can really raise the bar when it comes to achieving business goals. In a recent trend housewives have taken up working from home and start small businesses in their homes. These small initiatives should be encouraged for their potential to build a economically stronger household.
When it comes to women in executive positions, they sometimes get discouraged to follow higher goals and positions. The mental and often organizational barrier should be removed. Women in positions of CXOs have shown to have done wonders for the organizations.
Freedom to choose- It is assumed that the ultimate goal of a woman is child rearing. Motherhood and childcare are wonderful aspiration. But some women choose to follow their career. Freedom should be given to make one’s own choice, whether she wants to follow either or both! Assumptions on the performance of an employee should not depend on her choice to pursue motherhood.
Equal pay and opportunities- Gender parity is perhaps one of the most talked about topics in the but not much action is taken towards it. The wage gap in the unorganized sector is glaring which really needs to be addressed. Women in areas such as construction and agriculture are paid significantly less than men. In 2019, it was estimted that women are paid 19% less than men (source: Monster salary index). This can be a really demotivating factor. Also, women might not be given the same opportunities because they have the extra burden of housework and care. Several instances have come up where women feel they have lost upon years of work due maternity leave or sabbaticals. They tend to lose that promotion or salary hikes that their male counterparts had the opportunity to strive for.
These topics are not even remotely exhaustive. Many social, psychological and policy driven issues are involved. There are several hurdles which can be removed. So why not we strive to give fire to their confidence and wind to their wings and let women soar. After all, they make half of the population and can play an immense role in the economic development of our country.