The Hindu Business Line : A tough climb

Today's job realities are such that top slots can only be occupied by those with absolutely no limitations on their time and commitment. Monisha Advani Chief Executive Officer EmmayHR.

Radha Shelat, Chief Technology Officer, Veritas India

It's great to be single but as you go up the corporate ladder and your goals seem easier to achieve, the journey upward becomes lonelier, till at some point, you just want to go home to some one who cares." At 40 plus, Radha Shelat is no rookie in the corporate world. She worked her way up the hierarchy at the IT company Veritas India till the mothering bug bit her a couple of years ago.

"When my husband and I adopted Arundhati, I felt complete and content for the first time in years," she says. "I knew it was an important decision and one that would definitely slow down the pace of my career, but I didn't mind since having a family seems so much more important."

Ravina Raj Kohli, President, Star News

Her words echo the existential dilemma of single women across all levels of corporate India. Hard years of slogging through college, management schools and programmes to upgrade skills soon pale into insignificance when compared with the realities of family pressures, sexual harassment, the boys' network and the constant need to keep performing to prove a point. It is common knowledge that the higher one goes up the corporate ladder the fewer women there are in India Inc's boardrooms. Many women will tell you how she lost an important promotion or job to a male colleague, when both of them were equally qualified and competent to take on the new responsibility. There are numerous theories on why women — single, attached or those with responsibilities — don't often occupy positions of power in organisations.

It remains a mystery why the golden office girls, who enchanted the powers that be with their `big ideas' at 27, never seem to get recognition for their abilities in title and salary after they enter the 30s or get married. Star News President Ravina Raj Kohli, feels that "women should first establish their careers, find their moorings, and explore what direction they want their life to go in before getting married. I can't fathom why women opt out of the race after marriage. What they should do is make the family a support system to grow in their chosen path in life."

But it is not that easy. "They allow you to rise just so many rungs on the corporate ladder and then push you back in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. It is alright to have girlfriends and wives back home but the moment a woman gets married, has children and responsibilities at home, she might as well kiss her next promotion good bye," says Ritika Ramtirth, a middle-level manager in a telecom company (name changed on request). "The old school rules of corporate hierarchy might have been relaxed a bit, still no amount of hard work and skill will convince the old boys' network that women can do the same things that men can with just the same, if not better, effectiveness."

Monisha Advani, Chief Executive Officer, EmmayHR.

This is not always the case, points out Monisha Advani, Chief Executive Officer, EmmayHR, a Mumbai-based HR consultancy firm. "While I agree that there is a lot left unspoken during briefs that we get while recruiting for senior positions, I also have to point out that there are a lot of women who turn up for these positions. Though there are a lot of constraints on their time and availability, they still aspire for the post. Today's job realities are such that top slots can only be occupied by those with absolutely no limitations on their time and commitment."

A supportive family at home can, however, be one solution. This is the key to a woman's rise in her career, asserts CII's Western Region Chief Pradeep Bhargava, who also heads Newage Electricals India. "It is not whether she is single or married or attached that matters. A lot of women carry around a sense of guilt and are burdened with numerous responsibilities, which might or might not affect their efficacy at work. But what I can say for sure is that with a supportive family behind her, there is no reason why she should not make it to the top."

Ravina agrees. "Women are born with responsibilities; even if a woman is not married, she still is responsible for her extended family. But I firmly believe that a supportive family — especially the older woman at home — is what makes her going smooth or tough. And much as I hate to say it, a senior woman at home is sometimes responsible for reinforcing feelings of guilt, which make many a successful woman fall off the corporate ladder."

But more and more corporates are realising that, gender notwithstanding, a job well done is the bottom line. "Companies today are savvy enough to know that what is important is that the person holding the job should deliver what is expected and gender bias is more or less history," says Bhargava. Monisha has a pointer: "There are women who turn up for interviews and try to hide their mangalsutra and have no explanationfor the huge gap in their resume just after their marriage. What they need to realise, however, is that despite the odds against them, what finally matters is their ability to deliver on their promise at the workplace."

Says Radha, who has become the Chief Technology Officer at Veritas in the last six months, "With a well-set support system at home and some nimble division of responsibilities with my spouse, my career is now going exactly as I wanted, though I find now that it is that much more difficult to just get up and go abroad whenever my job demands."

While women in their 40s, who are given assorted responsibilities seem more ready to take risks and allow their careers to go slow under pressure, those in the Gen X category seem to be in no mood to do so.

"I have seen it all around me, women having to give up a successful job or opting out of a promotion because they don't have the time to devote to the new responsibility," says Yvonne Rodrigues, Assistant Manager, Public Relations, at Indage Hotels. This 27-year-old woman leads a busy life handling events for her company, most of which keep her away from home on many occasions till the wee hours. "Once you get bitten by the independence bug, you don't want to venture into marriage since that is a sure way of putting the brakes on your work. I know that eventually, when we come into our mid-30s, we all want a soul mate, but I don't know how I will look at my life and work at that point," she adds.

Monisha agrees. There are very few women who will compromise on their families to get that coveted post. I often tell women who come to me for top jobs that they should consult and take their spouses into confidence before bidding for the post. Family problems are not the lookout of companies," she says.

But the big problem is that unlike men, women are expected to perform exceptionally well both at work and home. The modern woman has to carry this cross at all times and this proves to be a barrier for most women. And marriage hardly comes as a solution because that only deletes from the time available. The superwoman tag is a hard one to get and retain. For those who choose to remain single or have a family without children, the biggest challenge in today's work atmosphere is to find a corporate culture that is supportive and appreciative and provides equal opportunities for women managers. To breach the wall created by the boys' club, women executives have to literally work overtime, building networks and proving competence at each step to avoid discrimination.

But Ravina has the last word. "As for the old boys' network, it is always going to be there. Perhaps it is time we started a young women's club and set up our own support groups, which can include men who don't feel threatened by our success."

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