Not enough women in India Inc’s middle management to replace leaders on top: IBM/Chief study
The study notes how women in middle management have reduced in the past few years since the pandemic. 18-19 per cent of women comprised middle management in 2019 but the number has now dropped to 14-16 per cent globally.
- Mar 7, 2023,
- Updated Mar 7, 2023 10:13 AM IST
According to IBM and Chief’s latest study on women in the workplace, the leadership pipeline for women has hollowed out in the middle with not many women in the middle management left to replace the leaders on top.
Lindsay Kaplan, co-founder and CBO of Chief explained, “It is imperative that companies need to do more to fill the pipeline that leads to top positions."
The study notes how women in middle management have reduced in the past few years since the pandemic. 18-19 per cent of women comprised middle management in 2019 but the number has now dropped to 14-16 per cent globally.
Kaplan noted that women are underrepresented in these roles, and highlighted ways how companies can fix this issue.
“Women are significantly underrepresented at nearly every level of the workforce. If companies prioritize gender diversity across their entire organizations through policies, investments, and a culture that meaningfully supports women, we'll see a transformative impact,” the CBO of Chief explained.
Furthermore, the advancement of women to top positions in India is at a lower level as compared to the world. The study said 39 per cent of companies in India advanced women into leadership roles. This is 6 per cent lower than the global figure of 45 per cent for the same criteria.
Kamal Singhani, Country Managing Partner, IBM Consulting India- South Asia stresses that companies need to take proactive measures to fix this issue.
“Although the optimism and overall voice for gender parity in many industries is on the rise, organizations must take outcome-based steps to make this a reality," he said.
The study stressed that in India, those surveyed are not optimistic, and expect at least 13 years to bridge the gender parity in leadership roles.
Singhani added, “A deep involvement from organizations towards creating women leaders at workplaces will change industry dynamics from not just the perspective of diversity & inclusiveness but from exponential growth and future-readiness standpoint as well.”
The “Women in leadership: Why perception outpaces the pipeline—and what to do about it” study was spearheaded by IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) and Chief in cooperation with Oxford Economics. The researchers surveyed more than 2,500 executives, managers, and professionals, an equal number of women and me, from organisations in 12 countries and 10 industries. It follows studies from 2021 and 2019 that surveyed respondents representing the same range of roles, industries, and regions to allow for longitudinal analysis.
Also Read: India's IT sector: From AI to cloud, evolving tech is pushing the sector forward - BusinessToday
According to IBM and Chief’s latest study on women in the workplace, the leadership pipeline for women has hollowed out in the middle with not many women in the middle management left to replace the leaders on top.
Lindsay Kaplan, co-founder and CBO of Chief explained, “It is imperative that companies need to do more to fill the pipeline that leads to top positions."
The study notes how women in middle management have reduced in the past few years since the pandemic. 18-19 per cent of women comprised middle management in 2019 but the number has now dropped to 14-16 per cent globally.
Kaplan noted that women are underrepresented in these roles, and highlighted ways how companies can fix this issue.
“Women are significantly underrepresented at nearly every level of the workforce. If companies prioritize gender diversity across their entire organizations through policies, investments, and a culture that meaningfully supports women, we'll see a transformative impact,” the CBO of Chief explained.
Furthermore, the advancement of women to top positions in India is at a lower level as compared to the world. The study said 39 per cent of companies in India advanced women into leadership roles. This is 6 per cent lower than the global figure of 45 per cent for the same criteria.
Kamal Singhani, Country Managing Partner, IBM Consulting India- South Asia stresses that companies need to take proactive measures to fix this issue.
“Although the optimism and overall voice for gender parity in many industries is on the rise, organizations must take outcome-based steps to make this a reality," he said.
The study stressed that in India, those surveyed are not optimistic, and expect at least 13 years to bridge the gender parity in leadership roles.
Singhani added, “A deep involvement from organizations towards creating women leaders at workplaces will change industry dynamics from not just the perspective of diversity & inclusiveness but from exponential growth and future-readiness standpoint as well.”
The “Women in leadership: Why perception outpaces the pipeline—and what to do about it” study was spearheaded by IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) and Chief in cooperation with Oxford Economics. The researchers surveyed more than 2,500 executives, managers, and professionals, an equal number of women and me, from organisations in 12 countries and 10 industries. It follows studies from 2021 and 2019 that surveyed respondents representing the same range of roles, industries, and regions to allow for longitudinal analysis.
Also Read: India's IT sector: From AI to cloud, evolving tech is pushing the sector forward - BusinessToday