• UGI USER
  • Jun 03, 2024
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FEWER WOMEN ARE BEING HIRED FOR LEADERSHIP POSITIONS

Syllabus:

GS-1:

  • Role of womens
  • Social Empowernment

Why in the news?

  • LinkedIn’s latest Economic Graph data reveals a troubling decline in women’s representation in leadership positions across various sectors since 2022.
  • Despite earlier progress, structural barriers, societal norms, and biases continue to hinder women’s advancement, prompting renewed focus on gender diversity initiatives by policymakers and business leaders.
source:theagency

Focus:

  • Declining Representation of Women in Leadership:
  • LinkedIn’s Economic Graph data indicates a decline in the representation of women in leadership positions, despite an initial increase from 18.8% in 2016 to 25.2% in 2021.
  • Challenges in Reaching Leadership Roles:
  • Obstacles such as bias, societal norms, and structural barriers persist, hindering women’s advancement to leadership roles.
  • Efforts towards “women-led development” are underway, driven by policymakers and business leaders.

Misleading Perception of Progress:

  • Declining Representation: LinkedIn’s Economic Graph data indicate a decline in women’s representation across the workforce since 2022, following an initial increase from 2016 to 2021.
  • Stagnation in Leadership Roles: The percentage of women in leadership roles rose from 18.8% in 2016 to 25.2% in 2021 but has declined since then.
  • Persistent Barriers: Women continue to face significant obstacles in attaining leadership positions due to biases, societal norms, and structural barriers.
  • Policy and Business Efforts: Recent initiatives focusing on ‘women-led development’ aim to address these challenges, supported by policymakers and business leaders.
  • Expert Insight: Aditi Jha, LinkedIn India Board Member, highlights the need for ongoing efforts to overcome these barriers.

Sector-Specific Analysis:

  • Uneven Progress: The increase in women’s leadership roles has been limited to certain sectors, while others remain significantly underrepresented.
  • Low Representation Sectors: Industries such as oil, gas and mining, construction, utilities, wholesale, manufacturing, transportation, and real estate have the lowest representation of women in leadership roles, ranging from 1% to 14%.
  • Oil Industry: Particularly notable is the oil industry, where only about 11% of top positions are held by women.
  • Moderate Representation Sectors: Sectors like accommodation and food services, financial services, retail, technology, and media have slightly better representation, with women occupying 15% to 20% of senior roles.
  • High Representation Sectors: The highest representation of women in senior positions is seen in sectors such as education (30%), healthcare, and government administration, where the share ranges from 22% to 30%.

Legal Compliance and Challenges:

  • Companies Act, 2013: Despite mandates like the Companies Act, 2013, requiring women directors on company boards, compliance is weak.
  • Non-Compliance Fines: Between April 2018 and December 2023, 507 companies were fined for not adhering to this requirement.
  • Listed Companies: A significant 90% of these non-compliant companies were listed entities, indicating widespread non-adherence in the corporate sector.
  • Regulatory Gaps: The fines highlight a gap between regulatory mandates and actual practices in promoting gender diversity at the board level.
  • Structural Barriers: These legal challenges reflect broader structural barriers that prevent women from advancing to senior roles.

Representation Trends Over the Years:

  • Overall Workforce Representation: Women’s participation in the workforce increased from 23.9% in 2016 to 27.3% in 2022 but then stagnated and declined to 26.8% in 2024.
  • Leadership Representation: Similar trends were observed in leadership positions, where the increase has been slow and incremental over the years.
  • Slow Progress: From 2016 to 2019, the share of women in senior positions increased by just one percentage point, and it took another four years to gain another point.
  • Recent Decline: The downturn observed in January 2024 suggests that even this slow progress is now reversing.
  • Data Source: These trends are based on data from LinkedIn’s extensive network, covering over 1 billion members across 68 million companies globally.

Sector-Specific Career Progression

  • Lowest Entry and Progression: Women’s entry and career progression are the lowest in sectors like real estate, wholesale, transportation, manufacturing, construction, oil, gas, and mining.
  • Moderate Progression: Sectors such as technology, financial services, retail, and media show moderate progression of women into senior roles.
  • Higher Progression: Administrative support services, healthcare, government administration, and education sectors have higher progression rates, with the education sector leading at 30%.
  • Graphical Representation: Charts show clear disparities in women’s representation across different sectors and career stages, from entry-level to CXO positions.
  • Industry-Wide Challenges: These disparities highlight the broader industry-wide challenges in achieving gender parity in leadership roles.
Constitutional Provisions for Women Empowerment and Gender Equality in India:

Fundamental Rights

  • Article 14: Ensures equality before the law and equal protection of the laws to all citizens, including women.
  • Article 15(1): Prohibits discrimination on the grounds of sex.
  • Article 15(3): Allows the state to make special provisions for women to address socio-economic and political disadvantages.
  • Article 16: Guarantees equal opportunities in public employment and prohibits discrimination based on sex.
  • Article 21: Encompasses the right of women to be treated with decency and dignity as part of the right to life and personal liberty.

Directive Principles of State Policies:

  • Article 39: Directs the State to ensure equal pay for equal work for men and women.
  • Article 42: Mandates the provision of just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief.
  • Article 44: Calls for a uniform civil code to ensure equal rights for women in personal matters.
  • Article 45: Obligates the State to provide early childhood care and education for all children, including girls, up to six years of age.
  • Article 46: Promotes the educational and economic interests of weaker sections of society, including women.

Fundamental Duties:

  • Article 51A(e): Urges every citizen to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women.
  • Article 51A(k): Imposes a duty on parents/guardians to provide opportunities for education to their children between the ages of six and fourteen.
  • Article 243D: Reserves at least one-third of seats for women in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs).
  • Article 243T: Reserves one-third of seats for women in Urban Local Bodies (ULBs).
  • Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyan, 2023: Adds provisions for women’s reservation in Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies.

Legal Provisions for Women Empowerment and Gender Equality in India:

  • Indian Penal Code (IPC): Addresses crimes against women, including rape, sexual harassment, and dowry death.
  • Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005: Provides civil remedies for victims of domestic violence.
  • Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961: Bans dowry and prescribes punishment for violations.
  • Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987: Makes the practice of sati a punishable offense.
  • Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006: Sets the legal marriage age for girls at 18 to combat child marriage.

Economic Empowerment of Women:

  • Minimum Wages Act, 1948: Sets minimum wages for all workers, including women.
  • Equal Remuneration Act, 1976: Ensures equal pay for men and women for similar work.
  • Maternity Benefit Act, 1961: Provides maternity leave and benefits to women employees.
  • Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013: Establishes a mechanism to prevent and redress sexual harassment at workplaces.
  • Stand Up India Scheme: Facilitates bank loans to women entrepreneurs.

Political Empowerment of Women:

  • Representation of the People Act, 1950: Guarantees women the right to vote and contest elections.
  • Delimitation Commission Act, 2002: Considers women voters while determining constituencies.
  • Women’s Reservation Bill: Proposes to reserve one-third of seats for women in Parliament and State Assemblies.
  • Constitutional Amendments: Recent amendments ensure women’s reservation in legislative bodies.
  • Women’s Political Participation: Encourages active participation of women in politics through various initiatives.

Government Schemes for Women Empowerment and Gender Equality in India:

  • National Policy for Empowerment of Women: Aims at overall advancement and empowerment of women.
  • National Mission for Empowerment of Women (NMEW): Strengthens processes that promote women’s development.
  • Gender Budgeting: Allocates budget resources to advance gender equality.
  • Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Yojana (BBBP): Improves the child sex ratio and ensures girls’ education.
  • One Stop Centre (OSC): Provides integrated support to women affected by violence.

Way Forward:

  • Strengthen Compliance: Enforce stricter adherence to laws like the Companies Act, 2013, to ensure more women are appointed to company boards and leadership roles.
  • Corporate Accountability: Encourage companies to set and publicly disclose targets for gender diversity in senior positions, promoting transparency and accountability.
  • Bias Training: Implement comprehensive bias and diversity training programs to address and mitigate unconscious biases in hiring and promotion processes.
  • Mentorship Programs: Establish mentorship and sponsorship programs to support women’s career development and help them navigate organizational hierarchies.
  • Flexible Work Policies: Promote flexible working arrangements and policies that support work-life balance, making it easier for women to pursue leadership roles.
  • Sector-Specific Initiatives: Develop targeted initiatives for sectors with the lowest representation of women, such as oil, gas, mining, and construction, to create more inclusive environments.
  • Public-Private Partnerships: Foster collaborations between government and private sector organizations to drive policy changes and create more opportunities for women in leadership.
  • Implementing these measures can help address the structural barriers and biases that impede women’s progress, fostering a more inclusive and equitable workforce across all sectors.

Conclusion:

Addressing the decline in women’s leadership roles requires concerted efforts to enforce compliance, promote diversity, and create supportive work environments. Only through sustained action and targeted initiatives can we achieve meaningful progress toward gender parity in senior positions across all sectors.

Source: The Indian Express

Mains Practice Question:

Discuss the factors contributing to the decline in women’s representation in leadership positions across various sectors despite earlier progress. Suggest measures that can be taken to overcome these challenges and promote gender diversity in senior roles.

Associated Article:

https://universalinstitutions.com/empowering-women-financial-inclusion/

https://universalinstitutions.com/invisible-women-in-science/

https://universalinstitutions.com/women-in-india/