Smash the stereotypes

Sadly, it is still a rare sight for a woman to be the CEO of a large company or a business. Owing to the discriminative nature of society, almost 70% of the talent pool of women remains untapped. A bias is visible in many companies, where women don’t get promotion beyond a certain level. This creates a glass ceiling for the female population, which hinders their progress. The private sector, by keeping a balance in the number of male and female workers at every management level, can help break through that glass ceiling. Proper unbiased intelligence tests before hiring can also help. There should be a zero-discrimination policy, in which equal number of members from both the genders can be promoted, may it be to a senior executive, or a CEO. Also, a large amount of women prefer staying at home till their children become self-sufficient. Our government can work with universities and implement skill programmes for women to get them back on track post the hiatus. There are numerous discussions on women in leadership roles, but it all boils down to pride and prejudice. Everyone talks the walk, but few walk it. Stereotypes about women need to be broken and individual talent should be taken into consideration. Often, families or childcare demands hold women back. When they do manage to break through these barriers, prejudice comes in the way and chances of women being hired for top jobs are lower. The government should ensure every child gets a fair chance at education. We need to create a culture where both parents are responsible for their child, and all employers provide childcare facilities and longer maternity, paternity leaves to parents.

The government can also conduct leadership programmes for women to help them become entrepreneurs, making them more likely to provide opportunities to other women.