The playing field isn’t level!

The Feminist movement might as well be in its fourth wave, and getting endorsement from major opinion leaders and influencers all over the world, but it seems that the corporate sector has a lot of catching up to do. One estimate suggests that the current pace at which gender pay gap is being bridged, it will take another 111 years for women to be paid at par with men. However, some overwhelmingly positive steps have been taken in the recent past. From mandatory presence of a woman director on the boards of listed companies, to the overhaul of the maternity benefits introduced earlier this year, credible attempts have been made to remove any stereotypical gender-related discrimination. The decades-old dominance of men in the business world is being challenged as women are increasingly joining the workforce, and also becoming leaders and CEOs in numbers much greater than just a few years back. But, the real question is, how seamless is this integration? What sort of gender-defined barriers exist once an employee joins the workforce? And what is the situation at the very top, say in the case of women directors being appointed to boards? 

The boards of organizations, national and global, having a depressing gender ratio is a known fact. Although the Indian government made it mandatory for the presence of at least one woman on the corporate boards of listed and certain other companies over two years ago, as of March 31st, 2016, 1,375 BSE-listed companies, and 191 NSE-listed companies remained non-complaint and were fined. Interestingly, three days prior to 1 April 2015 – the last day to comply with the mandate – saw as many as 600 companies hurriedly announcing the appointment of women directors. “Given this background, KPMG in India’s Board Leadership Center and WomenCorporateDirectors India (WCD) conducted a survey in 2016 to assess the progress and challenges, which companies faced in identifying, appointing, inducting and integrating the right women candidates into corporate boardrooms.”

The survey, titled “Towards balanced gender boards” is unique as it examines the role of women who work at the very top. It is significant, as it shows that merely inducting women in boards and committees, without enabling and empowering them for decision-making, defeats the very purpose. Although the proportion of women directors increased by 180 percent (from 2013 to 2016) after the government mandate, one only needs to scratch the surface to understand if the move served its aim. Over a 100 tenured corporate directors in India participated in the survey, of which 44 percent were women. 49 percent of the respondents had over 10 years of board experience, and 45 percent had directorships in five or more companies. The survey was conducted online, followed by detailed interviews with boards across different sectors. 

Although about 70 percent of the respondents were of the view that the government mandate has allowed experienced women to be considered for opportunities that might otherwise have eluded them, over 50 percent also believe that organizations are hiring women directors primarily to comply with the regulatory mandate, and are not adopting it in spirit. Furthermore, over 60 percent said that much more needs to be done to improve diversity, in terms of gender and nationality, and align it with company strategy. 

86 percent of the directors surveyed said that women directors were identified and hired through internal networks or peer groups, which means that women who have strong networks within the industry have a better chance. Promoting women candidates internally (56 percent), Leveraging recognized independent director databases (49 percent), Seek assistance from external executives search firms (42 percent), and seek help of women wings of industry/professional bodies (37 percent) were a few other approaches to hire women directors. However, women respondents of the study rated expertise (89 percent), sound business/industry knowledge (60 percent), prior senior management experience (58 percent) and recommendations from individuals as essential factors to be eligible for the role of a director, and only half of them considered networking an important aspect (51 percent). 

One of the biggest obstacles that emerged preventing women directors from effectively discharging their roles is the lack of formal processes of inducting or on-boarding of new directors. The report states that “While there is no prescriptive formula for such a program, a formal one… is likely to quickly bring new directors up to speed with the key issues facing the company. It is likely to enable them to ‘hit the ground running’ and contribute effectively to discussions from the first board meeting itself.” Furthermore, a majority of the male respondents opined that women directors were contributing to boardroom discussions, and the women respondents agree that they are able to assert themselves when required. Nonetheless, the report says that there could be cases in largely male-dominated boardrooms, where men knowingly/unknowingly tend to dominate the discussion, giving little room to their female colleagues. 

While men and women respondents varied considerably in their responses of how they view women directors’ role in conflict management and high quality monitoring and guidance to management, both agree that women create a positive environment within the boardroom and improve its culture and dynamics, and that women are better in providing feedback and inputs in a manner that is constructive. Additionally, 95 percent of the respondents were of the view that compensation of board members are gender neutral, the survey attributes another recent study that reveals that average compensation of women executive directors was 20 percent less than those of men at 163 BSE-listed companies. Although, it is quick to add that the situation is likely to change for the better as more women join corporate boards, and become equally tenured to their male counterparts, thereby demanding equal compensation. 

The report reveals insightful claims on challenges that are faced specifically by women in the corporate world. These studies show that momentous amount of thought, effort and work needs to be undertaken to ensure that women and men have a level playing field in the office, and that are equally likely to succeed. However, slowly, but steadily, positive developments are making it easier for women to be a part of the workforce. Since the first step towards a solution is identifying the problem itself, the results show that we are on the right path and a change in the status quo, through policy interventions, priority realignment and attempts to increase inclusivity and diversity, is inevitable.