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That women are terribly under-represented in the IT industry has become a cause for concern. With the growing number of professionally educated women entering the workforce, this huge gender gap does not seem to make sense. And the talent crunch faced by the industry makes it imperative to find ways to bring in more women, and groom them into larger roles. The bigger companies in the IT services space, who need and work with a large number of women, have formal agendas and programs to address the issue. But for mid-size companies the logistics are different. The three main concerns that arise because of a smaller employee base, as points out Preeti Mohan, delivery head, Headstrong (who is also driving Nasscoms Women in Leadership-IT initiative for the NCR region and addressing the concerns of mid-size companies) are: Child care facilities; mentoring; and HR related policies. All these require a minimum number to be feasible.

The pressure of numbers and the cost involved withstanding, there also is a feel good about the work being donethe pride companies show when talking about their gender-diversity initiatives. That is a positive sign. A sign that though the gap is too large and itll take a lot of time and effort to considerably improve the scenario, it will be done.

A lot of talking has happened, what we need now is affirmative action. Lets take a comprehensive look at a few essentials that every person in the workforce has to understand, so he or she can move ahead with conviction and make the necessary changeswhether it is mindset or the way we work.

Making a Business Case
In todays global workplace diversity should be used as a tool to gain competitive advantage. Gender diversity like any other form of diversity, if harnessed properly, will not just benefit the women employees but also lead to the well being of the companyand the industry as a whole. Lets look at why attracting (and then retaining and advancing) more women into the workforce has become a key strategic focus for IT companies.

• The industry is facing a talent crunch. And one simple solution seems to be lying with the huge number of qualified, experienced women who have gotten out of the system because they could not find a support system within their organization. The reasons could be many: marriage, children, spending more time with family, lack of job satisfaction, no need for the extra income, the list is long.
• Consider this: Research shows that over 80% of consumer decisions are made by women so dont you think a respectable number of women in the team would translate to a more satisfied customer? asks Nirmala Menon, founder and CEO, of Interweave, consulting Absolutely, agrees Seema General manager, HR, IBM Daksh: Fifty percent of our clients are women, so we can do a far better job of servicing them if we have more women at the strategy level. Women perceive differently and they will bring a cross fertilization of ideas which will give companies the competitive edge.
• When an employee in the middle/senior management leaves, it costs the company. With more education and a professional focus, women are marrying late, so they are typically at this level when they get married, have a familyand take a break. If they are allowed to go, the cost to the company is huge, says Sunita Rebecca Cherion, GM, talent engagement & development, Wipro Technologies.

And, as Srimathi Principal diversity officer, Infosys Technologies, points out, Three years is a great cycle of inclusion for women. If they stay with you that long, chances are they will stay. So the company has to mentor them through this phase, and beyond. Also, research shows that the frequency of men changing jobs is double compared to women. According to Menon, and she has reports to substantiate it: Women are more stable, more committed, and much more grateful for the small moves that the company makes for them! Retaining them can be as simple as letting them work part-timetheyll probably put in as much work for lesser money. Now if that isnt RoI...Studies also show that women look for a more well rounded experience and hence add more flavor and value to any job role they choose to take up.

So we see that it is not about numbers and it is not about costall that matters is the philosophy, the culture of the company. And this philosophy, as Srimathi says, has to drill down from the top management level, otherwise it will not be sustainable.

Even for a large company like Wipro, says Cherion, Things really started moving because of the commitment showed by chairman, Azim Premji himself, filtering down to all vertical heads driving the initiatives. A women-inclusive ecosystem is not something that can be built by just one HR/diversity head, every body has to participatethe spirit has to be willing. Of course the needs are different for different people, for different companies. Each has to work at its own pace, on its own needs.

The Glass Ceiling

Society might be changing but the corporate environment is more rigid to change. The corporate model is male-oriented. Well, they were the ones who were assigned to build the model, so they obviously made it the way that suited themand topped it with a glass ceiling. So we see its not their fault really, but we have to try and understand how that model operates, so we can go about changing it to bring it more in line with the way society is changing.

l The first thing that needs to change is the expectation that women will be available 24x7. Everyone has to understand that their women colleagues need more time at home (studies show that a woman needs at least double the time than her male colleague, at home). Just the fact that she delivers on time, and delivers well should be enough.

l The second is that the current corporate structure does not allow women any provision for a break in their careers. It is understood that a woman would need maternity leave, might be able to contribute less (in some types of work say if shes required to travel long distances or go on the site) while shes pregnant. That break has to be built into the system. Some flexibility provided. Of course, on the flip side, a woman might be excluded from important business trips because shes pregnant or has a small child. Hey! Please let that be her call.

Refusing a transfer can be seen as as big a handicap. Of course the loss incurred from losing an employee should offset the other adjustments that the company might have to make.

Then there is the difference in the level of responsibilities that the women are allowed to handle, and the size of the paycheck. This is an allegation that a lot of HR heads will refuse to accept but we are not talking exceptions here, we are talking the norm. And the norm unfortunately is that women are paid lesser, maybe because they are not always entrusted with more responsibilities.

Women Need Sensitizing Too

Women can be as bogged down by tradition as men. It is more often the womans choice to leave her job and look after the family/children because thats what tradition demands. Mentoring through pregnancy and post-delivery to adjustments after re-joining and identifying core strengths and training, says Kalpana Margabandhu, chairperson IWLC, IBM and director web sphere development, is the most important requirement. A woman is very vulnerable at this stage of her life and will need help to focus on her needs, get rid of the guilt that tradition loads on her, and here she needs the company to help her be productive while fulfilling family and personal obligations.

A lot of us get upset, and a tad embarrassed when gender diversity is being discussed around us. We have to understand that it is not about any special treatment. Women dont need that, but they do have different requirements from men, which they have to understand, and graciously accept the help offered. Women want to be rated on merit as much as their male colleagues, and nobodys denying that. Women have to come out and demand their places in the corporate equationand for that they have to understand some of their inherent weaknesses.

• Women are considered weak negotiators. They shy away from recognizing their achievements and contributions and hence dont demand equal job responsibilities or status. They have to first be proud of their achievements, their value-adds and then take it to the top managementand, vigorously (if needed, loudly), promote themselves.
• They are less aggressive. Rather then getting into a confrontation they would more often than not go with whatever is the general consensus. That doesnt benefit anybody, does it? By not putting your foot down, a valuable idea might go unheeded, a big contract lostand so does a big opportunity to prove your value to the company.
• Women are also perceived as being less ambitious. The worry that going higher on the corporate ladder might take away from other responsibilities. Too much thought on constraints will act as a barrier.

Size doesnt Matter
Talking to experts who are working very hard to bring women on an equal ground, paints a very positive picture. Nobody denies that the progress will be slow. But the fact that the gap has been identified, and that it has raised enough concerns is a very big step.

Associations like Nasscom and CII have to be applauded for their efforts to take the gender-diversity initiative forward. Nasscom is working together with large companies to identify mentors from there who can act as role models for women in mid-size companies and mentor them on all personal, HR-related and leadership guidance issues. Women networking forums give a chance to women employees to get together and talk about their concerns with peers, and gain visibility among senior management.

Where large companies need defined strategies and agendas, their smaller counterparts can have more flexible rules. As Pravin Jaitley, head HR, Mindfree says, Flexibility is a big advantage in a smaller company because you have access to the ground issues. You must have women-friendly policies and as you grow you build needs, practices and infrastructure around diversity. Though Margabandhu of IBM insists on measurable diversity. To make any initiative sustainable, it has to be measured. Not just for accountability, which is also very important, but also because then a record of the progress is maintained. This then can be shared, which increases the commitment to do more, she says.

A mid-size company also needs to have an identifiable diversity teamin a large company there would be a number of these teamswho drive gender diversity. Employees know who to go to if they have to report something like sexual harassment or any such issueinstead of letting it fester because of the fear of rejection.

Where an IBM Daksh has mobile security (these are vans at various points so they can reach quickly in case a female employee is in trouble especially late night), a smaller company can have a policy that simply makes sure that a woman is accompanied by a male colleague if shes going home late at night. Preeti Mohan says they are already in talks with some NGOs who run child-care services. So for initiatives which are feasible only with a critical mass, the smaller companies are coming together to collectively address these issues.

Whether its an Accenture that has aggressive recruitment programs to attract women employees or an IBM that is going to all-girls schools to develop an interest among them for math and technologythat gender diversity is a strategic requirement has been understood and taken on a war footing. The will is there, so the way to get women representation on an even par is not far away. The momentum has to be sustained, and each of us has to do her/his bit.

Atreyee Ganguly
atreyeeg@cybermedia.co.in

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