Most B-schools have either appointed the required number of three women on their boards or exceeded the target by roping in more, setting an example for cos to bridge gender gap.
The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) are going above and beyond when it comes to gender diversity on their boards. The IIM Act 2017 requires each institute to have at least three women on their 15-member boards and most have met or exceeded this number. One, IIM Calcutta, is led by a woman director, a first for the country’s premier business schools.
IIM Kozhikode has six women on the board, while those in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Kolkata have four each on their freshly constituted boards. IIMs at Lucknow, Indore, Shillong and Rohtak are aiming for four or more women members on their boards.
The focus on bringing in more women at the board level may improve gender diversity in classrooms and translate into more women joining the corporate world, IIM directors said.
“By allowing space for more women to take on leadership roles, we will bridge the gender divide that has caused deep-seated conflicts in our institutions and societies,” said Debashis Chatterjee, director of IIM Kozhikode.
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The IIMs were given autonomy in 2017 and were expected to reconstitute their boards with representation from specific categories. The rules for the IIM Act 2017 were notified in the second half of 2018, which led to the dissolution of all 20 IIM boards in November.
The IIMs have been reconstituting their boards since then to conform to new norms on adequate representation of faculty, alumni, eminent personalities and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, apart from women.
“IIMs are largely seen as futuristic and many corporate leaders look up to us as most CEOs and CXOs come from our schools,” said Chatterjee.
Until 2018, IIM Kozhikode had only one woman on its board, but now it has six. It recently also introduced a women-only batch. IIM Shillong’s partially constituted board has two women out of seven members.
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“Wherever possible, women are being given preference as gender diversity brings about wide diversity in opinions and issues can be seen from a broader perspective,” said Keya Sengupta, director-in-charge at IIM Shillong. “If women faculties are eligible and have the requisite qualifications, preference is given to them.”
Workplace Diversity: Need Equality In The Boardrooms
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The world over, there has been a clamour for diversity in the workplace. In India too, the story is no different. And a lot of corporations have raised red flags over the abysmal representation of women in the boardroom. From treating women equally to women-specific policies, there are various points of view.
So what can bring about diversity?
The world over, there has been a clamour for diversity in the workplace. In India too, the story is no different. And a lot of corporations have raised red flags over the abysmal representation of ..
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Does workplace diversity happen when women are treated the same as the men, be it roles, responsibilities and accountability too? Is diversity a by-product of similar treatment to both genders?
Does workplace diversity happen when women are treated the same as the men, be it roles, responsibilities and accountability too? Is diversity a by-product of similar treatment to both genders?
Or is diversity best guaranteed when corporations put in place specific policies and procedures that ensure women don't lose their career trajectory when they take a break to set up home or start a family?
Or is diversity best guaranteed when corporations put in place specific policies and procedures that ensure women don't lose their career trajectory when they take a break to set up home or start a..
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Most companies today realise the aching need for having more women in the boardroom in order to improve diversity. They understand that they need more women in the corner offices as role models that will go on to encourage more to join the workforce.
Most companies today realise the aching need for having more women in the boardroom in order to improve diversity. They understand that they need more women in the corner offices as role models tha..
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Being a role model isn't easy, though. Most success stories show that women have had to make major sacrifices to reach the top. But young people want their role models to have it all - from an exciting career to a happy family life, wealth, fame and leisure.
Being a role model isn't easy, though. Most success stories show that women have had to make major sacrifices to reach the top. But young people want their role models to have it all - from an exci..
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Workplaces can become inclusive and level-playing fields when there is support and acknowledgement. Women, too, need to seize the day in a line of work they love and enjoy. Prioritising is critical, so is communicating one's needs. And don't be ashamed of asking for help. When the time comes, you can always pass that on.
Workplaces can become inclusive and level-playing fields when there is support and acknowledgement. Women, too, need to seize the day in a line of work they love and enjoy. Prioritising is critical..
Last year, the board at IIM Indore had three female members, while IIM Lucknow had not more than two women. IIM Bangalore currently has four women on the 15-member board and 23 out of its 111 faculty members are female.
“Mandatory representation of 20% (three members out of 15) women on the board is a good step. Some European countries like Norway mandated women’s representation on corporate boards over a decade ago and that has resulted in much more inclusive corporate boards,” said Rishikesha T Krishnan, professor of strategy at IIM Bangalore and a former director at IIM Indore.
“IIM Act 2017 requires the board to have three women representatives. Hence, it becomes imperative that boards have appropriate representation of women,” said Dheeraj Sharma, director of IIM Rohtak.
According to Krishnan of IIM Bangalore, there are sufficient potential women candidates but only after the act was introduced have they put in a conscious effort to recruit more women.
“Women contribute excellence and so much more. Excellence is not partial to any gender. In our search for excellence, we were very fortunate to have found Anju Seth to lead as our new director. She was a unanimous choice of the selection committee as also our board,” said Shrikrishna G Kulkarni, chairperson of the board of governors at IIM Calcutta.
Other women members of IIM Calcutta’s board include Leena Chatterjee, Meena Ganesh and Sudha Murty.
IIM Ahmedabad has four women on its newly constituted board of governors, which will continue for the next four years. The institute has 19 women in its 106-member faculty.
“The current board has been formed so as to meet the diversity criteria set by the IIM Act. There is no further initiative possible at board level,” said Errol D’Souza, director at IIM Ahmedabad.
Pay Gap, Gender Bias: When Silicon Valley Messed Up Its Template
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Think you don't need to care about the super-inflammatory Google diversity manifesto that dropped this weekend?
Think again.
The tech community has been abuzz since Saturday about what the leaked document — which is full of all kinds of sexist commentary.
Silicon Valley seems to be in the midst of an ethical crisis. A series of scandals in recent years - from Theranos to Zenefits to Uber and the systemic problem of gender bias and sexual harassment - have slowly eroded public perception of the tech industry.
(Image: Wikipedia)
Think you don't need to care about the super-inflammatory Google diversity manifesto that dropped this weekend?
Think again.
The tech community has been abuzz since Saturday about what the leaked d..
Read More
A software engineer’s 10-page screed against Google’s diversity initiatives went viral within the search giant. The memo, which is the personal opinion of a male Google employee, was titled “Google’s Ideological Echo Chamber”. The author of the memo, who has now been fired, argued that women are under-represented in tech not because they face bias and discrimination in the workplace, but because of inherent psychological differences between men and women.
This gender googly comes even as Google battles a wage discrimination probe by the US Department of Labor, which has found that Google routinely pays women less than men in comparable roles.
(Image: Instagram/google)
A software engineer’s 10-page screed against Google’s diversity initiatives went viral within the search giant. The memo, which is the personal opinion of a male Google employee, was titled “Google’s..
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Uber CEO Travis Kalanick resigned earlier this year under pressure from investors seeking to clean up the company's allegedly toxic corporate culture. His departure capped a rocky period for the global ride-sharing giant, which has been roiled by disturbing reports of cut-throat workplace conditions, harassment and discrimination.
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick resigned earlier this year under pressure from investors seeking to clean up the company's allegedly toxic corporate culture. His departure capped a rocky period for the glob..
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In September 2016, Melinda Gates announced her desire to work on the lack of women in technology.
"We’re graduating fewer women technologists. That is not good for society. We have to change it,” Gates, who is the Co-Chair, Operator of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said.
She explained that for the next two years she would be in "learning mode" after which she would begin addressing the problem.
"It hasn't been welcoming to women now for more than a decade. So it's something that's actually been going on for a long time and I don't think you see it being worked on in a systemic way and I think it needs to be worked on in a systemic way. If that doesn't get reversed, you're not going to have young women wanting to go into the field. If you don't have a diverse workforce programming artificial intelligence and thinking about the data sets to feed in, and how to look at a particular program, you're going to have so much bias in the system, you're going to have a hard time rolling it back later or taking it out," she had said.
In September 2016, Melinda Gates announced her desire to work on the lack of women in technology.
"We’re graduating fewer women technologists. That is not good for society. We have to change it,” Ga..
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Tinder, the L.A.-based dating start-up, was torn apart by a sexual harassment lawsuit brought against the company by its female co-founder Whitney Wolfe. In the complaint, Wolfe alleged that her Tinder co-founders, Sean Rad and Justin Mateen, “subjected [her] to a barrage of horrendously sexist, racist, and otherwise inappropriate comments, emails and text messages".
But Wolfe didn't get disheartened, and in fact, went on to found dating app Bumble that has gone on to compete with Tinder!
(Image: Instagram/whitwolfe)
Tinder, the L.A.-based dating start-up, was torn apart by a sexual harassment lawsuit brought against the company by its female co-founder Whitney Wolfe. In the complaint, Wolfe alleged that her Tind..
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Ellen Pao is an Investment Partner at Kapor Capital. Four months ago, she took the witness stand, accusing venture-capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers of pervasive sexism. During her stint she was accused of being a bad employee. Later, she went on to become the top executive at Reddit, the influential social-media website that is infamous for its trolls. The site’s former contributors – Pao now among them – describe it as a kind of misogynist fire swamp where “harassment swarms”, even and especially for an accidental feminist champion.
Ellen Pao is an Investment Partner at Kapor Capital. Four months ago, she took the witness stand, accusing venture-capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers of pervasive sexism. During her stint ..
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The story of Justin Caldbeck, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Binary Capital, and Binary Capital has rocked the venture capital and start-up world. Six women accused Caldbeck of making unwanted sexual advances while they were pitching him for a potential investment. His initial response was to strongly deny the attacks on his character, adding that he has always enjoyed respectful relationships with female founders, business partners, and investors. Amidst mounting criticism, he took a temporary leave of absence issuing an apology “to those women who I've made feel uncomfortable in any way, at any time.” Not everyone liked the apology.
The story of Justin Caldbeck, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Binary Capital, and Binary Capital has rocked the venture capital and start-up world. Six women accused Caldbeck of making unwanted ..
