The public relations and digital marketing council of the Women's Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (WICCI) and the B-School, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode (IIMK), have released the results of the inaugural edition of their "I Lead" survey.
The study documents the problems and experiences that women confront in achieving leadership positions in the field of communications. It also outlines the progress that organisations have made thus far and establishes a framework to assist them in moving toward a gender-inclusive workplace.
Over 1000 female communication professionals from journalism, advertising, public relations, digital communications, content writing, corporate affairs, and corporate communications responded to the ‘I Lead' poll, which was conducted in early 2021.
According to the report, only 42 per cent of women believe that equal pay for equal labour is practised. 68 per cent of respondents feel their companies lack a systematic mentoring programme for ambitious female executives, while 53 per cent believe their companies lack a clear career path for women returning after maternity leave or critical care periods. 79 per cent of women said their employers look upon home investments as a barrier to promotions or crucial project assignments.
In addition, 53 per cent of respondents stated that their companies do not have formal succession planning in place to ensure gender diversity.
According to the study, diversity and inclusion policies appear to have little effectiveness in eliminating gender discrimination, workplace bias, deep-seated sexism, minimal mentoring, training support, and imbalanced HR rules.
On the plus side, the poll documented the progress achieved by businesses in recent years to create a more inclusive workplace.
According to the findings, 68 per cent of women believe that male and female employees are evaluated on the same basis, and 67 per cent believe that their organisations reward and encourage ambitious women.
More than 63 per cent of respondents said their organisations encourage them to speak out about workplace discrimination and harassment, while 74 per cent of women said their organisations urge them to speak up.
The ‘I Lead' study offers a revolutionary framework called OTS to help firms accomplish their inclusion goals by addressing the three gaps described as policy, skillset, and mentality level. They are:
Organisational Policies: The cornerstone of a workplace must be inclusive, pragmatic, and impact driven organisational policies geared to assist ‘women of the future.'
Training, Mentoring, And Development: The importance of focusing on long-term training, development, and mentorship programmes for women at all phases of their careers, including those returning to work after a maternity, sabbatical, or career break
Support System: Creating autonomous support network groups, both at the organisational and industry levels, to assist female employees in being heard without being judged.
The framework also argues that human resource departments, consultants, and recruiters bear additional duty for guaranteeing equitable pay for women at various phases of their careers.
Kavita Lakhani, director operations, Weber Shandwick and national president, WICCI public relations and digital marketing council, stated, “While 66 per cent respondents of the survey agreed to the existence of gender diversity at their workplace, 61 per cent respondents stated that equal numbers of men and women are not in leadership roles. The ‘I Lead’ survey underscores the need for a gender inclusive culture that enables high-performing women to grow into leadership roles – and above all have complete control and freedom to drive their career journeys in the direction they desire. To empower more women to reach the top, organisations must expedite action in three key areas: modelling leadership and building confidence through role models/networking, progressive policies, and support systems to nurture ‘women of future’ and providing corporate development programs that propel qualified women who aspire to lead. It is my fervent belief that this study will inform and encourage leaders to take clear and decisive steps to develop the leadership potential of their female employees - and that we will all be stronger for it.”
Deepa Sethi, chairperson, PGP-LSM, IIM Kozhikode, and the project coordinator added, “It is high time women are treated equally. Diversity and inclusion policies need to be implemented in true essence. Women are not asking for special treatment, nonetheless they do deserve equal treatment in every aspect of work including their climbing the ladder to the leadership roles. Success stories are not written on paper, these are engraved in human minds through the way we transact with each other as individuals. The ‘I Lead’ survey is an attempt to put together a framework towards a healthy workforce and is grounded on perspectives from women in the PR and communications industry in India.”