“Leadership is the ability of a superior to influence the behaviour of a subordinates or group and persuade them to follow a particular course of action.” – Chester Barnard.
A leader is required in any organisation, regardless of size and purpose. Almost 50% of the world’s workforce is women. Historically, companies led by women have fared better than their male counterparts during financial crises. Women are increasingly making their leadership presence in a wide range of fields, from business and finance to health and education.
Women leaders change the perceived conception about who can lead and what qualities are necessary to have in a leadership position.
Why We Need More Women Leaders
According to a Pew Research Center study, half of those surveyed think that women are more honest than men. In seven of the eight leadership attributes, women were ranked superior or equal to men for being caring, approachable and creative.
As leaders, women enhance teamwork, make bold and sensible judgements, which helps to make the team ambience less authoritative and more cooperative, giving the team a family-like feel.
Women are better positioned than men to strike a healthy work and personal life balance. Also, women are better at achieving long-term goals because they have a more open, communicative or naturally collaborative manner. Women leaders are also more sensitive and approachable, thus, promoting a collaborative and encouraging environment, thereby attracting and retaining talent.
To succeed in their careers, everyone needs role models. Women are better mentors and coaches than males. Women make the culture of the company more empathetic. It allows them to better share their knowledge and interact with their co-workers, allowing for more successful teamwork.
Multitasking comes naturally to women because of all the numerous tasks they perform in their life. This ability allows them to respond decisively and promptly to multiple tasks or situations at the same time. As a result, when it comes to problem-solving and decision-making, women leaders take a more interpersonal approach.
With women leading the market, Indian IT firms are following suit and providing equal opportunities to female executives for their enhanced performance. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has mandated that every company have at least one woman on its board of directors.
Some of the leading IT firms that are embracing and cultivating more women leaders are:
- Infosys has appointed independent directors Kiran Mazumdar Shaw and Chitra Nayak.
- Sandra S Wijnberg, Vinita Bali, Archana Deskus, Maureen Breakiron Evans are female directors of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corps.
- Ireena Vittal is an independent director at Wipro Ltd, and women make up 35% of the company’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.
- Rakha M Menon was appointed as Senior Managing Director and Chairperson at Accenture.
To conclude, the importance of embracing and cultivating more women leaders is extremely important to bridge the gap of gender inequality. A balanced workforce with strong female representation comes with inherent benefits for any business.
Gender-diverse business leads to better financial outcomes, so the policies of the company must be gender-neutral, which encourages all.
The economy of any country amplifies when the other half of the population is enabled to have more opportunities, especially in developing countries.