Why Gender Diversity Matters For Today’s Global Organizations
While organizations have understood the benefits of gender diversity in the workplace for many years, the business case for this is stronger now. A lot has changed across the world since 2020, and exponentially so for women as they undertook greater challenges—a “double shift” of household and work responsibilities, in addition to the structural barriers of being the only woman in the room (or Zoom meeting).
For organizations around the globe, it is increasingly important to create an equitable environment: one that makes everyone, regardless of gender or demographic differences, feel included and enabled in all areas (with an extra emphasis on “all areas!”). An equitable ecosystem to work in maintains a balance between diversity and inclusion. While diverse thinking and skillsets allow us to bring more to the table, better serve our clients and solve more challenging problems, inclusion puts the concept and practice of diversity into action by creating an environment of involvement, respect, connection and empowerment to contribute. An organization that is diverse but not inclusive risks creating a revolving door for its diverse talent, compromising its ability to innovate.
I strongly believe that many organizations in India are making genuine efforts to change the way their internal structures, processes and leadership team look. And we all need to be cognizant of how far we have come and how far we still have to go.
Harnessing the power of diversity to pave the way for future leaders
Women should show interest and be ready to take on new challenges, and organizations should continue to re-examine their culture, processes and structures so that women feel empowered to raise their hands. Small actions and policy changes lay the seeds of “thought diversity” that can become a part of any organization’s culture.
Across all industries as you climb the corporate ladder, you will see fewer women. Currently, only 8.1% of women are part of Fortune 500 executive committees and hold positions as CEOs. We know that women leaders pave the way for young women to strive to reach higher once they enter the workforce. Women leaders in the C-suite and in managing principal positions act as important role models for young women.
Organizations need to be purposeful about ensuring incremental and, at times, transformational progress by steering toward a gender-diversified leadership, promoting more women with young tenure into leadership roles and empowering them through these opportunities.
A purposeful approach toward a gender-diverse workforce with a level playing field
Diversity represents enormous opportunity but making these profound changes won’t happen overnight. A defined purpose–with a structure, clear targets and supportive policy changes; will take us in the right direction.
In India, most working women are the first generation to do so, and when pressures rise at work and home, they are often told to prioritize family over work. I believe that three key elements influence this—self (the woman herself, her skills, capabilities, focus and drive), work environment (workplace policies, empowerment and enablement) and the home ecosystem (family support and at-home coaching). Although events like “bring your family to work” days are great, there is little organizations can do to influence the ecosystem at home. But we can be huge influencers by building an empowering work ecosystem that includes opportunities to empower women employees.
Organizations are actively engaged in developing strong leadership development programs for women. These programs often include short- and long-term flexibility, individualistic transition support and scheduling, advancement opportunities, cross-functional development opportunities and ongoing coaching. Leaders and allies will need to lean in and create a conducive environment at work and educate women on the importance of a balanced work and home support ecosystem. The ability to be flexible, plan ahead, and not assume that each day will be the same has helped me maintain a balance between work and spending time with my 11-year-old daughter. The best advice I can give is to find what works for you personally and then pave a sustainable career path.
The true litmus test of inclusivity
It is critical for organizations to change and, at times, repair their talent pipeline. More importantly, they need to design initiatives that will help retain women employees by authentically prioritizing inclusivity and removing implicit biases that may exist in their organizational policies. A good litmus test would be when more women feel confident enough to rejoin the workforce after a hiatus for any reason and are comfortable to run second innings on their career pitch.
It is interesting to see how leading organizations are now innovating and finding ways to help women develop networks, find mentors, design career paths and gain professional and leadership skills.
As leaders, we are getting ready to prepare enough women to raise their hands and say that they are ready to take on the next level of responsibilities and climb up the ladder. It has been a blessing to have coaches and leaders who have helped me see possibilities and opportunities; their belief in me has helped me reach my potential.
Leaders should continue to prioritize gender diversity and integrate these priorities with their corporate objectives. The need of the hour is to look at leadership roles beyond gender-specific accomplishments. We need to normalize growth for everyone, regardless of their gender and pave the way for more women to follow.
Inclusion and diversity in a nutshell
The way we look at gender diversity will depend on how we break down our objectives and goals into actionable steps, and then live and breathe them in all of our actions. Although I’ve been leading our women’s leadership program here at ZS for many years and we have put in place many first-of-their-kind initiatives, there is still so much more to do. I’d like to be a more courageous advocate and ally for women and other underrepresented groups.
I would like to tell all women out there:
“Believe in yourself, take risks and ‘choose to challenge.’ Become resilient in any challenge that women might face and find your path, even when the going gets tough.” I strongly believe that there is only ‘win or learn’ and no losses, so even when things get tough, we must put courage over comfort to stay strong.
(The article has been solely written for BW People publication and has been attributed to Apoorva Aggarwal Partner, ZS India.)
