ABSTRACT:

Diversity and inclusion are fundamental to the socio-cultural environment of an organisation. Diversity has the potential to yield greater work productivity and competitive advantages, and so organisations need to embrace diversity and look for ways to become inclusive organizations. Organisations need to understand where the obstacles to broader gender diversity lie. A strategic focus on enhancing gender diversity across all levels, is required to be supplemented by an internal ecosystem that is a combination of management commitment, customized development programs for women, and a set of physical enablers such as help with child care, addressing inequalities, sensitization etc.

Considering the career stage differential for women, there is a need for systematic development of women talent in organisations. Adopting a life-cycle approach, this paper is an attempt to analyse the needs and challenges at each of the career stages of women employees, and thereby suggest a gamut of interventions that may be adopted to provide a sustainable impetus to the talent pool and leadership pipeline of the organistion.

Diversity comes in many forms: gender, ethnicity, age, experience, etc. to name a few. Considering the corporate governance aspect, the board members having diverse backgrounds, bring in variety of strengths, experiences and perspectives to the table, and help improve the board’s functioning. Gender is one longtime debated factor in this context.

The topic of women and leadership has been the subject of empirical research since the 1980s. Gender diversity, particularly in leadership, has now become a priority internationally. A large amount of leadership literature argues that men and women differ in their leadership styles or abilities. On one hand, a part of literature shows that there are no assessable differences in leadership styles of both genders, as the leadership roles are highly situational. However, on the other hand, a wide range of reports on women in leadership reinforce the significant advantage of having women in leadership roles, and board positions.

The differences between men and women are evident in their communication style, influence tactics and leadership styles. Men and women differ psychologically in the way they act, from the style in which they communicate to the way in which they attempt to influence others. These gender differences in communication and influence tactics have implications for gender differences across leadership styles of men and women. Most researchers agree that gender differences in leadership styles exist and that men often use a more task-oriented approach, while women, on average, rely on leadership style heavily based on quality of interpersonal leader-follower relationship. While women strive to be more social in their interactions with others, men value their independence. The evidence shows that female leaders typically have more compassion and empathy, and a more open and inclusive negotiation style. This is not, of course, necessarily true of all women as they too have their varied leadership styles. However, modern concept of transformative leadership is more in line with qualities women generally share: empathy, inclusiveness and an open negotiation style.

Lately, the metaphors like ‘glass ceiling’ and the ‘glass elevator’ have helped in gaining deeper insight into the inherent complexities of social, historical, personal, economic and structural issues pertaining to a woman’s career progression. Further developments in this space have also raised concerns surrounding the ‘glass cliff’ i.e. women have been found to be overrepresented in risky leadership positions. Eagly (Cookson, 2010) coined the metaphor of a career ‘labyrinth’ for women to navigate, with particular challenges at mid-career stage that can be difficult to overcome, and organisations tend not to be good at helping women after a significant career break. 
Adding a new perspective to the subject, the narrow representation of women at the top of the corporate hierarchy is not the only problem. If more, women are to reach senior positions, they have to be present in the pipeline that feeds those positions.
In the West, female labor participation rates are reasonably high and women are well-represented in the work force overall. But the higher up the management hierarchy, the less visible they become, either because they have decided to leave or because they have become stuck at a more junior level. The same is true in Asia in that, generally, the proportion of women decreases at each level of the hierarchy. Other highlights for Asian workforce scenario are as below:
    1. In India, the female labor participation rate is one of the lowest in the world. Yet even in those Asian markets where there is a high proportion of women in the labor force, women tend to fare no better in the corporate world.
    2. There is no shortage of female graduates. In many of the Asian markets, around half of graduates are women, and thus, lack of education does not explain the scarcity of women in top jobs. 

Thus, if companies want to see more women in their leadership teams, they will have to address the cultural and organizational issues that prevent them moving through the corporate pipeline. In the present environment, female representation in senior management matters more now, because companies that fail to attract able women risk penalizing themselves by failing to attract the untapped talent. Even if it is assumed that there’s no difference in leadership potential between women and men; making sure that a better share of high-performing women is tapped is always

better for the organization. Hence, it is a strong business case for setting greater gender-diversity as a strategic objective for any organisation.
Organisations need to understand where the obstacles to broader gender diversity lie. The barriers range from challenge of balancing work and domestic responsibilities, availability of support services like child care, networking, etc. A strategic focus on enhancing gender diversity across all levels, is required to be supplemented by an internal ecosystem that is a combination of management commitment, customized development programs for women, and a set of physical enablers such as help with child care, addressing inequalities, sensitization etc. 

Career Life Cycle for Women
Unlike men, the professional life cycle for a woman corresponds with the major life stages that a woman goes through. Therefore, the career of a woman professional typically spans through four critical stages:
    1. Entry Stage 
    2. Growth Stage 
    3. Re-entry Stage 
    4. Rising Stage 

Each stage is elaborated below w.r.t. the professional aspirations and challenges that are typical for a woman who is pursuing some profession and is gainfully employed with an organisation:

1. ENTRY STAGE (AGE 20 TO 29 YEARS)

This stage is when a woman completes her studies, and gets employed at an organisation. During this first stage, a person learns the basic elements of the job and where they fit within an organization. The entry period also includes the need for initial acceptance by new colleagues, peers, seniors, learning the job and gaining the first tangible evidence of success or failure in the real world. It is a time which begins with uncertainties, anxieties and risks.

     2. CAREER GROWTH STAGE (30 TO 35 YEARS)

This stage corresponds with the young adulthood which is the time for stabilizing, consolidating, building momentum and moving up. Efforts are made to secure a long-term place in the chosen career. At this stage, a woman employee who has high potential and also has high aspirations to grow in her career, is able to establish her foothold in the organisation through laudable achievements and/ or demonstration of her competence at opportune times. At this stage, a woman professional also tends to establish her family life through marriage and maternity over a span of 3-5 years.

    3. RE-ENTRY STAGE (35 TO 45 YEARS)

Traditionally, marriage, maternity, and mobility have been the three major factors that either pull women away from their progressive career track, or slows down the progress rate. Many high-potential women who chose not to give away their jobs, tend to take long sabbaticals, or settle for a position/ role having lesser responsibilities or low stakes. This helps them to cope up with additional family responsibilities such as settling with new family, raising children, care for ailing parents etc. Post this period, many women either strive to re-establish their career, or chose to permanently settle at work below their level of competence. This is the time when organizational factors play an important role in shaping up their decisions – factors like existence of stereotypes, work hours, office location, presence of mentors, internal infrastructure etc. Lately, companies are realizing and examining the loss of talent due to the untimely exit of capable women from work spaces at this stage. In return, the organisation loses its diversity quotient.

Those women who chose to come back to their profession, and re-establish their foothold rise up to this stage of Re-entry. This corresponds with the life stage of early parenthood, wherein women seek external help/ support structure for managing family responsibilities, while balancing their work responsibilities.

Research studies in this space show that women struggle to return to their career and, that the skills of professional women can be better utilised if they chose to return to work after the breaks they willingly take to support their families. Women who make a successful transition through the re-entry stage, are able to assume greater responsibilities and get rewards. For others, it may be a time for reassessment, job changes, adjustment of priorities or the pursuit of alternative lifestyles.

      4. RISING STAGE (45 TO 60 YEARS)

The high-potential women continue to grow through their career and are ready to take-up higher professional responsibilities while transitioning from middle adulthood to late adulthood. This career stage corresponds with the life stage when the children are more independent, and other domestic matters are fairly streamlined.

At this career stage, a woman employee is able to teach others on the basis of her knowledge and experience gained during the previous stages. With replenished confidence, and new aspirations, women at this stage aspire for leadership roles and reach the top-management levels in organizational hierarchy, even upto the board positions.

Industry Perspective:

Employment in Oil & Gas sector has traditionally been characterized by its remote working environment and enduring physical labour during long shifts. In the past, this has contributed to discouraging women from working in the industry, especially if they have a family and children to take care of. Although the trend is changing, and worldwide the women representation in Oil & Gas sector is increasing year on year, yet the progress has been glacial. Women make up just 26.7% of all oil and gas industry profiles on the professional networking site. That’s the lowest percentage of any of the dozen industries examined; Healthcare had the largest percentage, at about 59.8%, and tech came in at the middle of the pack, at 30.6%. Women are rare at the board level, too. About 14% of the boards of the 200 top global utilities include women, for example, and only 5% in the U.S, according to a recent report from Ernst and Young. According to the American Petroleum Institute (API), a vast opportunity exists for the oil and natural gas industry to attract, retain, and develop life long careers for women and minorities. Nearly 1.9 million job opportunities are projected in the oil & natural gas and petrochemical industries through 2035. Women and minority workers represent a critically vital and available talent pool to help meet the demands of the projected growth and expansion.

In reference to the research diagnostics mentioned earlier, female representation in senior management significantly matters because woman talent is an untapped foray, and by making sure that a better share of women potential is developed further, it would add to our overall potential pool of leaders within the organisation. Hence, there is a business case for strategically developing leadership skills of our women employees, to enhance the gender-diversity within our Corporation.

If more, women are to reach senior positions, they have to be present in the pipeline that feeds those positions. As an organisation, we need to understand where the obstacles to broader gender diversity lie. Development of women leadership pipeline requires assessment of cultural and organizational issues that prevent them moving through the corporate pipeline. As suggested by researchers, the common plot for lesser number of women leaders in organisations, includes ongoing prejudice, negative stereotypes, challenges of balancing career and family, and lack of appropriate network.

If (and that’s a BIG IF) organisations are keen to develop women leaders, suitable interventions may be designed around each of the four career stages of women employees with following organisational goals:

ORGANISATIONAL GOALS

1. Enhancing gender diversity and achieve a balanced representation of both the genders across the organizational hierarchy

2. Enhancing the talent pool of the Corporation through exploring the untapped potential of high-potential women

3. Developing competencies of women employees for supporting their professional aspirations

4. Developing women leaders in the organisation for synergizing the top-management composition with complimentary styles of leadership, influence, negotiations, and communication.

5. Establishing physical, psychological and organizational support structure for women employees for balancing their various personal and professional responsibilities.

There has to be a strategic focus on developing women leaders around each of the four career stages in sync with their life stages, of women employees in order to fulfill the stated objectives

Career Stage	Age Group	STRETEGIC FOCUS
Career Entry Stage	20 to 30 years	NURTURE
Growth Stage	30 to 45 years	BALANCE
Re-entry Stage	30 to 45 years	REPOSITION
Rising Stage	45 to 60 years	LEAD

 

NURTURE | Intervention at Career Entry Stage

BALANCE | Intervention at Career Growth Stage

REPOSITION | Intervention at Career Re-entry Stage

LEAD | Intervention at Career Rising Stage

NURTURE | Intervention-I at Career Entry Stage

Woman talent is an untapped foray, and by making sure that a better share of women potential is developed further, it would add to the overall potential pool of leaders within the organisation. Looking at the merit of the business case for strategically developing leadership skills of our women employees, it becomes imperative to enhance gender-diversity within the Corporation.

If more women are to reach senior positions in the organizational hierarchy, they have to be present in the pipeline that feeds those positions. The leadership pipeline starts at the entry level, and is replenished every year through entry level recruitments of new officers.

At the Entry Stage, a clear understanding of the needs and expectations of/from the women employees through an “Internal Diagnostic Study”, would form the foundation for suitably addressing the long term needs and aspiration of young women officers. The diagnostics would also provide insights on designing long term sustainable interventions to fulfill organizational goals, stated previously. It would then be appropriate to design programs that aim towards nurturing the young minds. These programs would primarily revolve around discovering one’s potential, natural strengths and areas of concerns, bringing clarity of purpose and personal vision in the long term etc.

Further on the basis of the diagnostic study results, specialized development programs may be designed for young women officers.

BALANCE | Intervention-II at Career Growth Stage
 

The CAREER GROWTH STAGE comprises of channelizing one’s (women’s) efforts towards stabilizing, consolidating, building momentum and preparing to move up the organizational ladder. Efforts are made to secure a long-term place in the chosen career. At this stage, a woman employee who has high potential and also has high aspirations to grow in her career, is able to establish her foothold in the organisation through laudable achievements and/ or demonstration of her competence at opportune times. At this stage, a woman professional also tends to establish her family life through marriage and maternity over a span of 3-5 years.

In Asian cultures, and in India particularly, women tend to assume major responsibility of managing domestic affairs, and raising children. While urbanization has led to a rise in nuclear families with dual-income sources, the domestic responsibilities are either being shared by other family members, or being outsourced to support staff. However, factors like bearing and raising children, responsibilities of ageing parents etc. are the major reasons, generally quoted by women, that either halts or slows down the career progression of women inevitably. This is the stage where women are parallely experiencing marriage and maternity stages as well, and generally strives to cope up with additional family responsibilities such as settling with new family, raising children, care for ailing parents etc. As a result, at this stage, women tend to prioritise personal responsibilities over professional responsibilities.

This would form a critical point for organizational intervention in terms of creating physical and psychological support structures for empowering women officers to strike a balance between personal and professional responsibilities.

The stage of Career Growth is the right stage to introduce the following two interventions, simultaneously.

1. Career Pathing

At this stage, women officers may be introduced to the concept of intentional career pathing, so as to plan their long term career goals. This would include identifying and defining career anchors, milestones and goals. This would also include programs on building certain skills which would take them a long way in setting a strong foundation for a successful professional life.

      2. Maternity Support Program

In addition to the above present measures, there is also a need to design suitable intervention to address the intrinsic need of women officers w.r.t. help/ guidance on planning for maternity stage. It is a possibility that a ‘high-potential woman at her Career Growth Stage’, may be undergoing additional stress of deciding the right time to plan for marriage/ maternity.

In this context, the psychological questions at this stage for a woman professional would be:

• What would happen to my career if I start a family?

• What is the right time to plan for maternity, considering the factors like present success in career, physiological age of self, ageing parents, societal pressures etc.?

• Would maternity derail me from my present path of successful career?

• How should I prepare myself physiologically for maternity period?

• What would be the financial implications of my decision?

A preemptive intervention to support women officers in this process is highly recommended and needed too. Women need to be encouraged to think about how they will balance family and professional goals and make plans accordingly.

REPOSITION | Intervention-III at Career Re-entry Stage

As per prevailing beliefs, this stage poses most struggles for any woman professional who has potential and aspirations for establishing a fulfilling career as well as fulfilling personal life.

Many high-potential women chose not to give away their jobs, rather decide to take long sabbaticals, or settle for a position/ role having lesser responsibilities or low stakes. This helps them to cope up with additional family responsibilities such as settling with new family, raising children, care for ailing parents etc. Post this period, many women either strive to re-establish their career, or chose to permanently settle at work below their level of competence.

Those women who chose to come back to their profession, and re-establish their foothold rise up to this stage of Re-entry. This corresponds with the life stage of early parenthood, wherein women seek external help/ support structure for managing family responsibilities, while balancing their work responsibilities.

Policies like introduction of Child Care Leave policy, enhanced Maternity Leave policy, medical insurance coverage for dependents etc. have been welcomed by women employees as a great support by their organisations during the peculiar yet important life-stage of raising family.

However, during some informal discussions held with few women officers, it has been expressed by them that they feel a gap in support from the company at the re-entry stage. The respondents indicated the following gaps they are facing when returning to work with restored focus and zeal:

1. Need to re-establish oneself as a meritorious professional

2. Need to upgrade technical skills in the domain area

3. Need clarity in personal vision and aspirations

4. Need to have social support structures around for better balancing domestic and professional commitments

Thus, there is a strong case for the organisations to build a sustainable intervention focused on fulfilling the above needs of the women officers.

 

LEAD | Intervention-IV at Career Rising Stage

Career Rising Stage generally arrives for women officers in their forties. This is a stage, when the children are more independent, and other domestic matters are fairly streamlined. A woman professional feels that she is psychologically ready and equipped with experience and expertise to take-up higher professional responsibilities and assume leadership roles at higher organizational hierarchy.

In India, the notion that women must take care of the family is particularly strong. A significant body of research shows that for women, the subtle gender bias that persists in organizations and in society disrupts the learning cycle at the heart of becoming a leader. Integrating leadership into one’s core identity is particularly challenging for women, who must establish credibility in a culture that is deeply conflicted about whether, when, and how they should exercise authority.

There are many reasons for the scarce representation of women in senior leadership positions. Archaic cultural stereotypes on the roles of men and women in society are largely to blame, while widespread illiteracy and socio-economic problems further worsen the problem.

Studies have linked gender-diverse boards with better financial performance, better governance, increased innovation, and improved opportunities for other women within the affected companies. To address current business and socio-demographic challenges, diversity in the senior leadership of organization correlates with better performance and more sustainability in the long run. An analysis of return on equity (ROE) data of top 100 Indian companies (BSE 100) by Randstad, a leading HR services provider, says that companies with women on their boards have a positive impact on ROE.

In Indian Oil & Gas Sector, the statistics reveal that organisations are facing a trend of diminishing women representation in senior management grades and above. The organsiations are also facing a persisting challenge of creating a strong leadership pipeline of women. Many women employees have meritoriously reached the senior management cadre (upto GM and ED positions before superannuation), however, the numbers have been scanty and rate of progression has been glacial.

Commonly expressed by women professionals at this stage, they feel a need to address the following gaps:

1. Need to enhance behavioral skills and leadership skills for taking higher responsibilities

2. Work upon social skills to increase their social network within and outside the company

3. Need to have an unbiased and unprejudiced coach/ mentor who can support and guide their transformation journey

Thus, there is a strong case for the organisation to build a sustainable intervention focused on fulfilling the above needs of the women officers.

It is suggested to design a modular development program for the women employees in a pre-leadership grade, before an employee assumes charge as department head etc. for heading a bigger region or business unit. At the same time, at middle leadership levels, women may already be leading smaller teams, with which she would be able to learn and apply the learnings obtained during the program.

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