Women in IT: Their path to the top is like a maze

By Dr. Shubhra Gaur

Indian IT-BPM industry is nearly $ 150 billion industry continuing its growth path with double digit growth and maintaining its first mover advantage. India has also been able to retain its leadership position in the global sourcing arena with a share of 55 per cent in FY2015. According to NASSCOM report of 2015, the Indian value proposition is backed by its ‘four robust growth pillars’- a highly connected and a digital ready economy, excellent business delivery center for the IT-BPM industry with cost efficiencies, being a global “Digital Skills Hub”and a strong innovation backed ecosystem.Undoubtedly these figures indicate that there is immense potential for IT-BPM industry.

IT-BPM is also the largest private sector women employer with over 1 million female employees (>34 per cent share) (NASSCOM, 2014). However, there is a disproportionate representation when it comes to middle and senior management in all IT firms. This depletion of the talent pipeline of women employees in IT/ITES firms seems to reflect the global phenomena of fewer women at senior levels in corporations. Those women who aspire to play a bigger role in technology need to maintain a consistently high learning curve.The nature of the industry and the fact that most women software professionals are in ‘the crucial phase in women’s lives’ i.e. 23-38 years, where women are drawn into marriage and motherhood, put increasing pressure on maintaining a work–life balance.

The career advancement challenges for women can be divided into two categories - those pertaining to inclusivity and those pertaining to promotions:

Inclusivity Issues

A woman’s familial responsibility and commitments are often misinterpreted as her lack of dedication and sincerity in the eyes of superiors, subordinates and peers. Ironically the diversity management focus in these organizations has not made significant impact on women’s concerns. Family matters are considered as private and out of the bounds of the organization which sandwich women between family and the organization.

This is reflected in the poor standing of India at the 115th spot out of 128 countries in 2012, by an international consulting and management firm called Booz & Company which released “The Third Billion”, a global ranking of the level of economic empowerment attained by women. The indicators used included equal pay for equal work, non-discrimination policies, the male-to-female-male employee ratio, and equality in terms of female managers and senior business leaders (Centre for Internet and Society, 2013).

Leadership Issues

Team members who work at the same level find it difficult to accept one of them as their boss and more so when it is a woman. Some of them find reasons to create a hierarchy amongst the team members and then like to behave superior as compared to others.

Fast growth of the software companies leads to high performing technocrats being promoted much early in their career as team leads and project managers, of which many are not oriented to invest time and effort to perform leadership functions and responsibilities. Research studies have proved the same with many respondents finding meetings with team members/clients or coaching and mentoring activities a waste of time. A large number of are reported to live with the anxiety that they would lose their technical expertise. Since, technically competent and high performing software professionals are promoted to leadership positions, they have a tendency to overestimate their capabilities and at the same time underestimate the capabilities of their team members, especially women.

In a thought-provoking article, the Harvard Business Review pointed out that women’s route to leadership is like a maze. It suggests that women rarely experience any kind of linearity in their work lives. Their path to the top is a labyrinth with choices along the way that may derail them. Women need to learn to navigate this maze and companies have to facilitate this process in order to ensure that women have a chance not just at staying in the workplace but also at assuming senior leadership roles.

The career advancement challenges for women need to be managed on a war footing. Large scale gender sensitization programmes for men, empowerment programmes for women and leadership programmes for both can prove to be beneficial for the industry at large.

(The author is professor & chairperson - PGDM Admissions, MICA)