There are two fundamental reasons for gender imbalance in PSUs: first, because of the nature of the work and requirements of the job, we have far less women who come to the table for selection. The number of women who are available for a selection panel is far less, and as a consequence, they get screened out, unless the woman happens to be an exceptional one. Additionally, PSUs are also losing out to private sector opportunities that might be seen as most favorable for women.The second challenge is that to move up the ladder, there are certain pre-requisites in terms of rotation, exposure to assignments and functions; these are value additions that prepare you for a higher position

What I have seen is, even when women want to take on these challenging assignments they don’t get these assignments because of the risks that the assignment might entail and the unwillingness of the company in taking responsibility for that woman. This, of course, works against women moving up the ladder, because you need this exposure to grow and one becomes a less ideal candidate without it. While we have equal opportunity policies, the problem is that policies alone are not going to make a difference. The people who execute the policy make all the difference; how you see the policy and how you apply the policy is what matters. Women need to strategize their upward movement. It is equally important to make changes and take charge. If the organization is not able to make changes on their own, either because they do not have the positions available to give you exposure or because they are unable to rotate people to provide the opportunity that you need, then you will need to look for it.