Women have been facing challenges due to gender inequality and stereotyping at the workplace for years. It may sound clichéd, but sadly, this bias is still present not only in emerging and developed economies but also in mature economies. So, what’s holding back women from achieving or aspiring for leadership roles in the industry of their choice? Here’s a glimpse into my perspective. Top three contributing factors that prevent women from leading organizations and how we can work towards overcoming them.
Undesirable Social conditioning
Social conditioning plays a significant role in the scarce representation of women in leadership roles and is one of the main contributors to keeping women away from leadership positions. Women are highly influenced by the opinion of people in our lives.
While in the early years, men are taught to be their best and to aim for the top, women are encouraged to put others before themselves.
Preethy Ayyappan – Principal Program Manager, Sabre Global Capability Center, Bangalore
We have all been subjected to unconscious biases that women are the homemakers and men are the breadwinners of the family. Even job interviewers pose questions to women on their marriage plans or when they expect to start a family instead of completely focusing on their skillsets. The result – men are accustomed to being more confident, assertive, and ambitious and feel entitled to leadership roles while women are conditioned to think that it is undesirable to possess such characteristics.
It is high time to increase awareness of these subconscious beliefs, question and challenge them. We need to change our story and encourage women rather than defaulting to what we’ve been told to believe for generations. Read More
This article contributed by Preethy Ayyappan was published in the publication All Things Talent
