Women yet to break Information technology glass ceiling

MUMBAI: Information technology may be a sector where a quarter of the total workforce comprises women, but when it comes to representation at the top the figure is abysmally low. Only one in every 10 senior management positions is occupied by a woman in the Indian IT sector , perceived to be a preferred destination for female employees . In the last three years, IT firms have largely placed women at the entry level positions while the count of mid- to seniorlevel women executives has remained the same.

So in effect, while their absolute numbers may be growing, their numbers at the top are not. In 2011, 3% of women occupied senior management roles, while 16% of them were at the midmanagement level and 81% of women were at the junior rung in the IT industry, said a report by a global recruitment firm Kelly Services, made available exclusively to TOI.

What is alarming is that a large number of women dropped out of the IT industry due to various reasons at a crucial time of their careers. The research said that while 22% of women left their jobs because of family reasons, 27% of them quit while taking care of their children and 32% of women have not come back to the IT sector because there were no suitable employment opportunities for them. Other reasons given by women for dropping out were child birth, pursuing alternative career interests, taking a hiatus and some chronic illness.


"A big issue confronting the sector is that many women are not finding suitable jobs to come back to after taking a break for 2-3 years despite many efforts being made by companies. This is a huge blow to the overall industry as some of these are top performers and ideally they should have never been let go from the system," said says Shruti Guleri , director, operations, Kelly Services India.

Mahindra Satyam kicked off a programme "Starting Out" last year aimed at getting women associates who are between 35 and 40 years back to work. "The challenge for women starts in the age group of 28-35 years when they either opt for a job which has less pressure or decide to quit. We as an organization need to give them flexibility at this time," says Hari T, Mahindra Satyam's chief people officer.

Executive search firms say they get diversity bonuses to get on board women CEOs but they have not had much success . "It is a matter of another 5-10 years when we will see more women in the top deck. That is largely because these diversity programmes have started in India seriously only in the last decade," says K Sudarshan, managing partner, India , EMA Partners, a global executive search firm.

A Mercer survey released on Monday said over 90% of Indian companies have gender as their main focus for diversity efforts. The most common diversity programmes offered by Indian firms were gender-related , such as mentoring (61%) and family-friendly policies (55%), said the report.