When it comes to challenging situations, women are able to use their inner strength effectively.In trying times they tend to work in the best possible manner in line with the interests of the entire household (or team) they are part and parcel of.
I have been reading a lot about many a women struggling to get back to the main stream at work after taking a break for various compelling reasons.Also there are several articles written already about less women reaching there on top.What is even more sad is that sometimes they do not get a fair chance.Given an opportunity, women could do so well and rightly so in all spheres of life.
Organizations need to harness and capitalize on the valuable women power and make sure that they support them and provide them with a conducive working atmosphere incorporating the advances of technological development.
What could be done by Organizations to support women power?
# Mentoring:
A senior professional could take women under his/her wing & evaluate their performance in job periodically. More than that they could take appropriate measures to make sure that talent is highlighted and brought to the notice of the decision makers.
As far as possible provide them flexible working hours/working from home options.(Of course many organizations have taken the right path already in this direction but a lot more could be done)
#Organizations should recruit as many talented women as possible so that more of a critical mass of women (greater gender balance) is available among the workforce creating a climate of comfort for women
#Helping them to achieve work-life balance,This is the biggest challenge for any working women.
But women possess this innate ability to maintain a good balance and all that is required is a little more support.
So helping them in finding the perfect balance between a demanding professional life and an equally demanding personal life is what matters the most.
Sheryl Sandberg couldn’t be more accurate in her observation when she wrote….”Any coalition of support must also include men, many of whom care about gender inequality as much as women do”
What are some of the steps that women should take:-?A report earlier appeared in the business Insider analyses this topic ..Why Women Vanish As They Move Up The Career Ladder?
“The answer to why women vanish in such large numbers as they move up the corporate ladder — and why this does not seem to change over time — is obviously complex. There are many forces at work that cause this to happen. They can be put into several categories for conceptual clarity, though they are highly interrelated.We think the categories are well summarized by the statements women themselves would make about why they’re vanishing from the corporate ladder:”I don’t want the role.””I can’t succeed in the role.””I can’t have the role.”
The Report adds further……..”Many women have not built the same level of personal networks needed to succeed in many organizations that men have. These networks can provide great career leverage, including receiving ongoing development help from a mentor, getting an early warning from the network about upcoming advancement opportunities, and even being identified and sponsored for those opportunities. Success will come harder if women aren’t establishing the networks and receiving these benefits to the same degree that men have”.
“For what is s done or learned by one class of women becomes, by virtue of their common womanhood, the property of all women”….Elizabeth Blackwell, first female physician in the United States
Creating a climate of comfort for women would help in achieving greater gender balance enabling also more women to take up leadership roles?
May be some of you could share with us about the challenges you’ve faced as a working women? Please share your views .
Thank you.