Published on Daily Sun
Like all other countries, the road for Bangladeshi careerist women is not travelled easily. In fact women have to be twice as good as men to get there. There is a glass ceiling. And there are a number of obstacles for women who want to break through the glass ceiling. The predicaments which stand in the way for women to take a leading role are more or less universal. During my long career as a professional I have observed some predicaments which stand in the way for women to take a leading role. I would like to summarise those as well as make some suggestions to overcome such problems.
First is the supply shortage. There is a lack of opportunity for women to gain wisdom and understanding from those who have already done it. There are a number of successful women out there, but not as many as we would like to see, who can guide and advise other aspirants. Second, women usually lack mentors at the workplace. Employers need to mentor women with high potential. But this should be built on their strengths, rather than imposing a stereotypical leadership model on them. Third is the creation of a level playing field and ensure that women are being viewed the same way as men in the organisational pipeline. Therefore, there is a need to examine the assumptions, the biases and prejudices that may unconsciously be present about women and leadership. Fourth, we should be careful of assumptions. We should not assume that women will not be able to accept some new responsibility, or take on some new role or take a promotion overseas and so not even talk about it with them, or offer it to them. Fifth is to give women opportunity to bring out their full potentials. We need to give women assignments and projects within their current roles and opportunities to demonstrate their abilities and talents as well as their potential for bigger roles. Fifth, we have to value female ideas. Often male staffs devalue ideas of female colleagues. For example, in meetings opinion of a female staff is not heard until a man says the same thing and claims the insight or a suggestion as his. We need to actively intervene where women are deliberately discriminated against, or when discussion takes place that is not enhancing women’s capabilities. Sixth, it is tough to balance between motherhood and career. We need to respect the work and family balance needs of women with children and be flexible in negotiating working arrangements. They repay organisations in many folds; also have regular meetings at family friendly times. We often observe a dilemma between motherhood and career. We can develop programmes for women returning after maternity leave that are workable and meet their needs. Staying in touch with them during their leave is a very good idea. Last but not the least, men do also need mentoring and this is about being gender sensitive; they need mentoring so they can learn what they need to do to enhance opportunities for the most talented women in their own organisations. This is not a conclusive list and there are many more issues. I have not discussed predicaments women careerists face in the family and society. However, they are in no way less difficult than work environment.
We have to remember that by cooperating with women to be empowered we are not doing any favour to them, we are doing favour to ourselves, and to the nation. Because at the end, it the industry and the country which will be benefitted. Goldman Sachs has calculated that increasing women’s participation in the labour market to male levels will boost GDP by 21 per cent in Italy, 19 per cent in Spain, 16 per cent in Japan, 9 per cent in America, France and Germany, and 8 per cent in Britain. We do not have a figure for Bangladesh, but one can easily understand that Bangladesh’s GDP will touch the double digit immediately if women’s contribution is taken into consideration.
There is no denying that women tend to believe that you advance your career and attain leadership positions by working hard. They make a 150 per cent commitment. They take on extra work to prove their commitment. You give loyalty. They strive to excel by gaining additional qualifications. Women outperform men not only at schools and universities, at work place too. The example of Pepsico, Areva, Anglo American, Zerox and DuoPont tell us all about women’s potentials. I look forward to see Bangladeshi women in the leadership role in their professional arena. And I believe that the journey will not be too long.