Time to break the Gender Wall within

Time to break the Gender Wall within:

Women will grow when their economic participation grows. – Payal Kaul

Do we all believe in the fact that Women are one of the most powerful forces driving global economic growth?

Yes! Because Women empowerment in the business world is directly related to economic growth. This in turn leads to national development. However, the fact still remains that their true potential is untapped, her will to multi-task has led to an underlying guilt.

The representation of women in the corporate sector has increased over the last decade. These numbers show promising signs but there is still a long way to go. It is suggested that globally, only 20 percent of women hold senior positions. This statistic throws light on the fact that the talent of women as leaders still remains latent, one of the biggest reasons for this is the fight that happens when they are at the managerial levels.

There are several barriers that a woman faces when she commences her journey in the corporate world. Some of these include lack of support system both personally and professionally, low self-confidence, inadequate access to productive resources, fear of failure, and most of all the mindset that corporate is largely male dominated; and they will not get the fair treatment for the hardwork they put in.

Let’s agree when we talk about women parity in the corporate world, men do need to play a crucial role in fostering these practices. But the most important practice that needs to be imbibed is Breaking the wall of gender in that lies within our minds, breaking the barriers that we tend to build. Women have an innate need to overdo or go the extra mile to prove themselves. Certainly, an unshakeable belief in oneself is an essential trait for women leaders—not in the sense that they have to prove they’re better than everyone around them, but rather being able to forge a culture where no one seeks to undermine or demoralize others at their own expense.

It is a fact that each gender sees the corporate world quite differently and so are their experiences. The dynamics of this has changed, it is fact that eventually it is nothing more than your efforts, hard work and determination that counts. And once noticed, there’s nothing that can stop a woman from the success she deserves. Ofcourse there are issues that needs to be addressed, and it will be a long way for women to find the ease of parity from the system.

From a corporate system perspective, here are some of the best practices to empower women at work.

· Equal pay for equal work and experience

· Diversification of leadership by promoting women to senior positions

· Connect women in corporates to senior women leaders in the industry

· Provide women with more opportunities in the corporate world

· Focus on coaching and mentoring through various training programmes

· Implementation of policies such as flexi working hours, women safety, maternity leaves, arrangements for child care, etc.

· Zero tolerance to harassment and abuse at workplace

· No discrimination between men and women in the employment life cycle - recruitment, training, salary, increments, and promotions 

Eventually it’s time to build a system where we all together make tomorrow happen, create a support system where women managers and women leaders are appreciated, made feel more involved. Because eventually the world is going towards an empathetic way of life, and a nurturing way of businesses.