Indian women, who are 48.5 per cent of the total population, according to the Indian census, account only to a mere 23 per cent in the workforce.
While it may seem like many women are actively taking up corporate jobs, the numbers reveal that only eight per cent of them climb the ladder to reach top positions in their companies — and a very miniscule three per cent alone get to the stage where they are involved in the key decision-making processes.
So, where are all the career-aspiring Indian women disappearing? What is keeping them from reaching the heights they aim for? With an aim to address these key questions, Chennai-based NGO Women of Worth, along with the British Deputy High Commission and the Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry, have launched a social media campaign ‘She Leads’.
Kavitha Emmanuel, the founder-director of Women of Worth, which had earlier launched social campaigns like Dark is Beautiful, says, “Gender inequality is a reality and women have to face a lot of issues to reach where they want to in their careers — be it at workplace or from their families. Even if we look at the way career-oriented women are portrayed in our movies, one can see how they are called ‘bossy’ and are character-assassinated. Women have to also go through a lot to pursue their career and many have to give it up midway either because they get married or have a baby. For many, it is hard to pick their career up where they’ve left off. ‘She Leads’ aims to address these issues through social media.”
As a part of the campaign, women from across the country (between 18 to 24 years) can take part in a quiz, from which the top ten will be chosen to receive mentorship and leadership training from the industry experts.
Saraswathi K, the secretary general of Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who is the first woman to hold the position in MCCI’s 180-year-old history, feels there’s a missing link when one looks at the number of women entering workforce, and those staying on to reach senior management positions —”There seems to be a lack of inspiration, a social support system for women to pursue their careers. Women want to be treated as equals so much so that if a woman rises to the top of her field it should be a commonplace occurrence. This can only happen if there is a channelised route for the empowerment of women.
In a statement during the launch of the campaign, Bharat Joshi, the British Deputy High Commissioner said, “Whether men like me want to admit or not, women are under-represented in leadership roles. In India, which had a female head of the government years before the UK, only 12 per cent of Lok Sabha MPs are women. A similar situation is reflected in boardrooms too. That has to change. That is changing, albeit, too slowly.”
