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

1. Soft toy manufacturing
2. Tea trading
3. Information technology service
4. Five star hotel
5. Bank
6. Garments manufacturing
7. Wholesale and retailing
8. Plantation management
9. Industrial manufacturing
10. Confectionary
Complexity and variability: The situation among the private sector
organizations is not similar and often there is considerable variability and
contextual differences on many aspects. Thus, generalizations were drawn
with caution. Nevetherless, there are many lessons to be learnt, inferences
drawn and issues to be followed up in order to ensure a more gender equitable
and equal work environment and opportunities for more women to be in
management positions.
Women in management as a special resource: The numbers of women
in management posts remain low. The situation that men and women face
at entry level to organizations as well as when they progress in their careers
once employed are different. Many women and men have recognized and
identified the special strengths and skills that women brought with them to
a ‘team of management’. However, there was also a notion that there were
no differences between men and women. We are not debating the fact, nor
are we debating about the sources of these differences, which may be
social and learnt behaviour. Yet, due to socialization process that make
women ready for in adulthood, they have differences in skills, attitudes and
expectations - as do men. Managers who recognize that women bring special
skills are able to use such persons to optimize the functioning of the
organization. Being open to new ideas, explanations, research findings and
a willingness to learn may be more helpful than adapting a closed mind to
possibilities.
A) The Chief Executive Officer of a local subsidiary of an international IT
company with an annual turnover of Rs. 30 million, where there were
no women in any of the senior management positions had the view
that, “Women have special skills. They are more focused in their jobs,
and more productive. Women tend to finish their work during working
hours as opposed to men who always feel they have to ‘hang around’
till late hours trying to do work that should have been done earlier.
Women tend to manage their working hours effectively. It was a
woman operations manager who had introduced proper procedures
to the organization, an invaluable input, recognized and appreciated
by senior management.”
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