Managing women workforce

It is a well-known fact that women in the workforce of a country are good for that economy. Several studies suggest that it increases the GDP of the Country apart from addressing the issue of gender parity at the workplace.

Many research studies demonstrate that gender diversity improves the financial performance of a company. Women distinctly add to the creativity, ideas and diverse perspectives that eventually benefit the organization in many ways and ultimately leading to better financial performance.

At Wipro Consumer Care we have been fortunate to have nearly 59% women in our team. What adds to this diversity is the fact that our employees are from 22 different nationalities. Here are some of the learnings we have had through our journey.

Have fewer assumptions

It is assumed and probably concluded that the biggest challenge a woman faces balancing work and family. This may not hold true for all and all the time. Also, this may not be the only challenge that they may face. Also in my experience, I have seen that women and men have almost similar conventional wisdom, passion, and commitment to their careers.

At the workplace, working together, working with each other and working for a common objective should take precedence over everything else. In this scenario, fewer the assumptions about women colleagues, better is the start. I have seen several women raise to senior, executive level positions in Wipro Consumer Care and they have all been deeply passionate and committed that drove them to climb the corporate ladder.

Better Engagement

I have also seen that women both as co-workers and managers have better levels of employee engagement. They are able to enthuse their colleagues and the team better that has a positive impact on the organization. Employee engagement is a critical barometer for measuring employee empowerment, performance and job satisfaction. It is also an important indicator of an employee’s tenure in an organization. It an employee sees his job as rewarding and contributing to the Company’s growth and success, chances are that she/he may continue to stick to that Organization. Women managers are able to bring in this engagement better.

Our factory in Chennai which began as a leather product manufacturing and is today manufacturing chairs has 100% women workforce from the beginning. This all-women team seamlessly transitioned and reskilled efficiently when we transitioned from leather products to manufacturing chairs.

Digital fluency

We have seen that women are equal and in some cases more at ease to use digital technologies both for professional and personal purposes. They use social media platforms to promote themselves or improve their skills and/or knowledge. This is helping them to transform themselves as better career professionals. This is making them be more adaptable to change and accept newer challenges at work. This is making them live up to their aspirations of climbing the corporate ladder.

Managing diversity of the workforce is an eternal journey. It is also a moving goal post. There is no ideal recipe that ensures instance success. It is an iterative process and traveling through is both challenging and satisfying than reaching the destination