In today's world, we cannot grow our business, jobs and our economy if women are left out of the workforce. Companies need to support changing mindsets and help build a pipeline of female talent. Yet women are dropping out of the workforce and not returning.
Here are a few barriers that most women face at work.
* In this male dominated work culture, there are unconscious biases towards the female employees.
Too many women have walked out a spinning door and been too scared, shamed, and disillusioned by socio-cultural stigmas to look back. They feel they are the weakest link when they return to work as they are given less responsibility and lesser challenging roles if they are unable to work long hours.
Companies need to invest in sensitisation of frontline managers, to help them understand that unconscious biases play out in the workplace all the time.
Company policies around parenting can also be distributed equally between male and female employees, so that unconscious biases are not directed towards women.
* Women ‘off-ramp’ typically between the ages of 28 – 45, during which time they may miss important high profile and visible assignments. This combination of less exposure and visibility serve as key risk factors for women’s progression through the pipeline. It is harder for women to get into the right networks of powerful executives and to cultivate a relationship with mentors.
* When women are ready to get back to work after their maternity leave, there are many re-entry challenges like their need at the time to work flexible hours or part-time.
A combination of domestic responsibilities and career sacrifices that women make after motherhood is another spoke in their career progression as they often take the lion’s share of domestic responsibilities.
It is high time that fathers take on more of the caregiving role and are provided the enabling work environment to do so through paternity leave, mothers can balance work and family better.
* Lower aspirational and confidence levels undermine important career-building behaviours in women. They often hold themselves back and are not as aggressive as men in pursuing their careers.
It is important to address these issues early-on to ensure exposure to projects and create support mechanisms that build confidence and enhance career commitment through mentoring.
Courtesy: www.peoplematters.in
