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

to be provided with opportunities for gender sensitizing training and the
development of skills to incorporate gender issues in planning and
organizational policy formulation.
6. In-house Training: Organizations must be encouraged to undertake training
of their staff. Such training should be linked to changes that could be achieved
by adopting gender sensitive practices in their day-to-day operations as
well as in strategic decision-making. The latter is to ensure mainstreaming
and sustainability of the initiatives.
7. Organizational Restructuring: Organizations should be encouraged to
examine different management structures that are more appropriate to
address gender and other challenges. To be competitive and effective,
organizations need to re-examine their structures and the manner in which
they function. Facilitating this process from the outset will be helpful
not only to make the required changes but also to be gender sensitive.
8. Linkages: Strengthening and broadening the links that employers and
private sector organizations have with the formal education sector is
required. This linkage should help a two-way learning process. Young
women and men will be better prepared for future career options while
organizations will also become more sensitive to changes underway in
society as well as among young people. Their aspirations and capabilities
need to be understood to change the mindset and attitudes of senior
management of organizations.
9. Campaigns: The widespread beliefs of gender stereotyping and
inappropriate practices need to be targeted for change. Social awareness
campaigns which include mechanisms for mainstreaming need to be
implemented if long-term change is to be effected. A multitude of options
can be used in designing a campaign. Media interventions and inputs to
the on-going education reform efforts of the government, programmes
with the Chambers of Commerce at national and regional levels,
competitions for organizations and managers, special training programmes,
career development and leadership training programmes for women, etc.,
can be combined to develop a campaign to bring about required changes
in awareness.
10.Networks: To help women of different strata - students, junior managers,
entrepreneurs - and to address constraints faced by them in accessing
positions of management and in career mobility.
11.Monitoring and Evaluation: The situation faced by women in
management should be systematically monitored. The mechanisms and
capacity of an organization to undertake this effort need to be developed
and the required resources provided for this purpose. A database should
be developed on the present status of women in management and the
institutional support systems available.
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