Women at Work
If I was given this topic 20 years ago when I started my professional life, I would have asked like the true emancipated woman, “How is it different from men at work?” Having been in the corporate world for over 2 decades now however, I know this topic is significant both from the Indian and the world perspective.
Because, we still do not have enough women in our boardrooms.
According to the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Educational Foundation report, Women at Work, women are more educated, more employed, and employed at higher levels today than ever before, but they are still largely pigeonholed in “pink-collar” jobs,
What are those factors that distinguish a woman at work?
My conclusions are based on my own experience and those of my working women friends across the world, across different age groups, different industries and different levels in organizations.
The first factor that stands out distinctively is the passion women bring into their work. For most women I know, the boundary between personal life and working life is non existent. There is only one life and that is the whole. And it is this very reason that drives them to continuously and passionately seek to do something worthwhile with it.
The second factor (an offshoot of the first) .that drives working women is job worthiness. Most women leave traditional roles as mothers and home keepers behind when they come to work. Their job must necessarily offset this fact in terms of challenge and worthiness. If a woman feels that her job is making no difference to her organization, or the society, she will take matters into her hands and give her job a meaning. This may be a good reason why we see so many successful women in Quality functions. Instead of apologetic about infringing into line functions, while women see themselves as missionaries working towards a more permanent improvement.
The third factor is their ability to empathize. Women are naturally sensitive to their co-workers needs which make them good team players and of course good HR Managers! That this quality is also a leadership quality needs to be emphasized.
The fourth factor and probably the most important factor is an average woman’s ability to multitask. Translated into a real life example ( with no malice to the other sex) this means that I am participating in sales reviews, writing 3 papers on 3 different subjects and answering queries while my male colleague is working on one 34 slide presentation.
To maximize the benefits from these factors however, one will have to view them in the light of the challenges women at work face.
Work culture
The old cliché says that women have to work harder at their jobs to prove they are as good as their male counterparts. Life is not made easier for them by the work culture that exists in most private companies in India. Working beyond office hours and on weekends is a given, and even deemed to be a plus. If she is ambitious, she wants to be in on these discussions, even if she cannot understand why they cannot happen during normal working hours. This puts a considerable amount of stress on her home life.
Physical
In an organization I worked with, a factor that was in favor of a woman while she was hired or appraised was whether her role as procreator was over and done with. High performing women who chose to get pregnant did so at the risk of losing their promotion, performance rating or even their job, even if she remained involved in the heat of things. There was this young lady who joined back on a half day half pay basis and was striving to do a full day’s work in half. Only to be told at the end of a stipulated period that she had to work full time or resign.
The other aspect of course is security. Women are constantly in danger of being molested or more seriously harmed especially in our national capital.
SocioCultural
Almost all women have to overcome the societal and cultural barriers when they come to work. Even those who come from progressive families. To quote an example from my own life; while admitting my daughter into my son’s school in Delhi, my son’s report was perused. It showed one lesser than average grade in one marking period. The principal showed great concern about this asking me if I would give up my job or consider working half day. It never occurred to her to ask my husband the same question.
I am of course more fortunate than those women who face the same challenges in their own homes, from in-laws, from relatives and from spouses.
How organizations can maximize her contribution
Flexible work hours: Though Tata Steel was the first to introduce the concept of crèches for working women, in the modern age, it is organizations such as Jet Blue and Amway who have harnessed the strength of the womenforce by truly giving flexibility a new meaning. To truly implement flexible working hours in an organization, the organization will have to delegate both work and responsibility, and develop compensation models that are commensurate with the amount of work done.
Focus on quality of hours rather than quantity
Sponsor women or make time for them to learn self defense techniques
Give more visibility to women in boardrooms:
None of the above will succeed until we make way for women in our boardrooms. Ambitious and deserving women like my friend Sumeet, will not have to leave her country to be recognized as a woman of worth.. The ecosystems of organizations have to adapt to listen to the voice of woman, not just as a mother, a wife but also a professional.
And the best way to do it is across the board.
