Logjam or reality?
For some women the glass ceiling exists while for others it is ‘just a mental block’
Who hasn’t heard about Facebook’s CFO Sheryl Sandberg, Marissa Mayer of Yahoo! or ICICI Bank’s CEO Chanda Kochhar and more recently Ar undhati Bhattacharya of SBI! These women have shot to fame for holding top positions in the technology and the financial sectors - fields that have traditionally been dominated by men.
Today, a female CEO may be rare, but it’s not that she does not exist. Besides, women make up a large percentage of the workforce in most developed nations.
Women m ay h av e taken up leadership roles but has the climb up the corporate ladder been easy? Do they still have to deal with the so-called glass ceiling at the workplace? Shuchi Nijhawan, head, global HR, Eka Software Solutions, says that “the glass ceiling exists as much as it did before but increasingly women and minorities are making headway in the top most echelons of the socio-economic structure as CEOs and top politicians. Yet, it does not change the basic graph of the society that is still against women being in top management positions”.
But there are women leaders who consider the glass ceiling as just another mental block. Says Shampi Venkatesh, chief people officer, NIIT Limited, “glass ceiling is nothing but an outdated metaphor. Women are at the top. Women leaders in the banking industry, Pepsico and Yahoo! are living examples of that”.
Echoing a similar sentiment, Aarti Chandna, vice president - business development, Centum Learning Ltd. says, “The glass ceiling does not exist. However, it is great to witness women who have reached senior levels or roles that were male dominated earlier but are not so anymore. This gives others an idea about how women have progressed in the corporate world”.
So, is the glass ceiling nothing but a logjam in our minds that keeps us from achieving our goals, and are women themselves responsible for limiting their success? “By accepting the injustice meted out to them, taking a backseat in their careers and not taking career risks, women have collectively contributed to affirming society and the organisation’s view that women are not yet prepared to take on roles beyond their comfortable boundaries,” says Nijhawan.
Smita Gaikwad, global head, marketing and corporate communications, FirstSource Solutions, says that there are firms who recognise the increasing need of women leaders to strike the right balance. Having women leaders at various levels helps drive egalitarian policies, brings a balance in management teams, leads to sensitisation of issues etc. Women do have a different perspective to things, and this is being clearly recognised. To sum up, women should regard the glass ceiling as one of life’s obstacles and not the obstacle. The ceiling can be breached with increased empowerment.