Gender Parity Still A Dream? 1 In 3 Women In India Still Aspire For Leadership Position

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The Logical Indian Crew

Gender Parity Still A Dream? 1 In 3 Women In India Still Aspire For Leadership Position

Asia remains the fastest-growing region globally with a predicted economic growth of 6.5 per cent. Asia will drive 60 per cent of global GDP growth and contribute 90 per cent of the new entrants to the middle class globally.

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Women across the globe have been disadvantaged due to gender bias in almost all sectors. In India, women occupy 5 percent of executive positions and about 10 percent of non-executive roles. Marking progress, 23 per cent of large company boards in India average at least three women, up from 10 percent in 2018. However, a study published by Nineby9 Research mentioned that 65 per cent of women say that there would be severe repercussions for their professional progression if they push for gender parity in their workplace.

Asia-Pacific Could Generate $4.5 Trillion By Advocating Gender Equality

Women remain vastly underrepresented in the corporate boardrooms of 20 economies in the Asia-Pacific region, holding just 15.1% of board seats in 1,573 top companies. The Global Gender Gap Index of the World Economic Forum (WEF) reported that women had only 20 per cent of managerial positions and 15.5 per cent of board positions in India. It could take as many as 165 years to acquire gender parity in Asia. On the other hand, a McKinsey report mentioned that if Asian countries actively advocated gender equality, the Asia Pacific region could generate a surplus of $4.5 trillion.

Detailed research by the Singapore-based organization had some interesting revelations to make. Nearly 79% of our respondents agree that they receive equal benefits and pay to men in equivalent roles. A further 81% of women believe that men and women have equal opportunities to be promoted. However, the reality on the ground doesn't match the perception. The income gap between men and women is 23% in Indonesia. According to the WEF, when it comes to women's economic participation, India and Japan are 151st and 117th. In China, women still hold only 16.7 per cent of senior roles.

Only 24% Say Driving Equality Is Essential

While researching, the NINEby9 questioned a set of women if anyone in their workplaces had ever gone out of their way to make them feel equal, and only 20 per cent had positive stories to share. Country differences abound; 1 out of 10 women in China and Japan have positive stories to share versus more than 1 out of 3 women in India and Indonesia. Of the 24% of the women who say driving equality in the workplace is essential, only half of these actively contribute. The other half of the 24% say they don't know how to contribute. For the remaining 76%, equality is demoted to a 'nice to have' or isn't top of mind.

"The Asian Century is just beginning, and now is the time to kick start the gender parity reset in Asia, " says NINEby9 Co-Founder April Swando Hu. " Asia still remains the fastest-growing region globally; NINEby9's research shows that while women are still behind the curve in terms of gender parity, they have incredibly strong aspirations to grow in their careers. With the right support from their managers, organizations and peers, we know that they can realize their full potential while driving gender parity for working women in Asia."

An alarming majority of 65 per cent of women surveyed are still unsure of how to speak up for their rights and are concerned about the repercussions. When speaking of future goals, women with children are twice as likely to prioritize company growth and hitting their targets as crucial leadership and career goal for themselves than women without children, dispelling myths about women with children lacking commitment toward the workplace.

Women in India, China, and Indonesia are three times more likely to actively drive gender parity than women in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan. Women in China and India are also most likely to aspire to leadership positions (1 in 3), while women in Japan are least likely (1 in 10). Surprisingly, the results are consistent across countries; 8 out of 10 women say that managers who support gender parity engender loyalty. Japan is the only exception to this trend. NINEby9 observed a movement that, in most cases, barriers to gender equality in workplaces are primarily unseen and unconscious.

The Corporate Women Director's International (CWID) research mentioned a few positive developments. Almost three-fourths of the largest companies in the Asia Pacific have at least one woman as their board member. All of the 100 largest companies in Australia have at least one woman director. In contrast, three other economies – India, Malaysia, and Thailand — have women on at least 90% of their largest companies' boards. Eight out of the 20 Asia Pacific economies have quotas, targets or corporate governance code requirements to increase the number of women directors: Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, India, Pakistan, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea. Such improvements result from proactive national strategies adopted by some countries to deliberately accelerate women's access to board seats.

A 9-Point Solution To Advance Gender Equality

NINEby9 drafted a nine-point solution to accelerate gender equality at three levels, with three steps under each level. At the company level, the organization should establish with the employees that they provide an equal opportunity for growth and are transparent about the link between their remuneration and performance. While ensuring and guaranteeing equality is one side of the coin, the organization should champion women-led choices. Lastly, the company should encourage its male employees to demonstrate that gender equality is essential.

At the managerial level, the manager or the team leader should establish that all the members of the group are equally important and should praise and remunerate men and women based on their performance. Secondly, the manager should demonstrate an unbiased approach while assigning tasks. Thirdly, the leader should recognize that women in their team naturally carry a heavier load of caregiving on the domestic front and might abstain from speaking up because of the fear of the consequences.

As a working woman, a person must work with the belief that their gender does not affect their work and have an equal shot at success as their male counterparts. Secondly, professional women should actively look for their potential mentors, both inside and outside their organization. Finally, women must realize that it is well within their rights to speak up for issues related to maintaining a work-life balance and sexism, if any, at their workplaces.

NINEby9 is a Singapore-based group that conducts unique, robust research study to get to the root of gender equality issues in Asia and conducted their inaugural survey from July and August in 2021 that included working women from eight markets in 6 geographies of China (Shanghai and Shenzhen), Hong Kong, India (Mumbai and Bengaluru), Indonesia, Japan and Singapore.

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