Beyond Glass Ceilings and Brick Walls - International Labour ...

is rising. People today see more options and actively seek to improve their
life situations. They are guided by this rationale and less by social taboos
and traditions. Thus the family as the basic social unit is undergoing major
transformations. This has a major bearing on organizations, women
employees, and those who aspire to become managers, as well as those
who are at present in leadership and decision-making positions.
The family, however, will remain the basic social unit. Strengthening the
new forms of family structures and supporting them in order to create a
healthy and enabling environment for young people, will be crucial if a
nation is to build a responsible society.
It is from the base of society that all organizations recruit members for the
different roles that need to be performed to fulfil organizational goals. It is
within a social context that all organizations function, develop and grow to
fulfil their vision. Thus the quality of the society is of direct relevance to all
organizations in the public and private sectors. Contributing directly to the
improvement of society will be of direct benefit to organizations.
Taking time off for family - is in. Corporations big and small are giving
time off for their employees to be with family. In the long term this was
found to be healthy for the organization. Further, women who have been
taken care of during their maternity period with leave etc. were found to be
more loyal and did not leave their organizations.
It is in the best interest of society to strengthen the family. Thus socially
responsible organizations are creating more options for their employees
to be with their families at crucial times. The Family Friendly Index (FFI)
was developed by studying the sustained commitment to the subject of
work and family life among 188 US companies. Four companies were
identified as the most “family friendly”. Interestingly, these were also the
largest and most successful, namely-IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Aetna Life
& Casualty Company, and Corning (Aburdene and Naisbitt, 1994).
Improvement of the status of women in the formal sector requires two
important conditions. First is access to resources or the ensuring of a flow
of required resources for women. Second is providing protection to women
from discriminatory and abusive practices by those who have power over
them. What is required are these two, and not pre-planned packages of
benefits or improvements in the form of women’s programmes (Elson and
Pearson, 1986). The latter creates dependency and reinforces power
differentials. In other words what is required for effective participation of
women in management and decision-making is the empowerment of women,
in particular, and all employees in general. Empowerment of one group does
not mean the disempowerment of another. If so, it would simply create
another form of deprivation and injustice. Empowerment is feared by those
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