My story starts from a family of four daughters born in Bhopal to working parents.  Our parents raised us to be ambitious and independent women who believe in writing the stories of their lives on their own. They raised us in an environment free of gender stereotypes so that we could live out our dreams. Today, we all are successful leaders in our respective fields. 

Given this background, I believe it is important to understand the challenges faced by women leaders while acknowledging how the scenario is gradually changing. When I was given the opportunity to pen down my thoughts on challenges faced by women leaders, I wanted to share real scenarios. I spoke to women leaders from diverse fields to understand their perspective. Let me be clear. This article is not intended to start a man versus woman debate but to bring out a woman leader’s perspective. For real sustainable change to happen, we need to pay attention to the voices of the multitudes of women! It is undeniable that women in leadership roles face umpteen challenges at home and the workplace. As the popular saying goes, ‘Women have to work twice as hard to get acknowledged for half as much’. However, not all is dark and dreary. There is an ever expanding silver lining. The percentage of women leaders in the C-suite is steadily increasing. 

Different perspectives

Let me start with the perspective of Smita, who is a Diplomat. She is a Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs. She says that women mostly have a democratic style of leadership. They have a participatory approach to decision making. However, this shouldn’t be construed as a weakness by those who are more inclined towards a hierarchy-based autocratic leadership style. Additionally, traits like assertiveness that are connected to success in leadership, tend to be typically associated with masculinity and are seen favourably in a male leader. However, the same traits in a woman leader may label her as insensitive and finicky.

Tanushree, who is a Wing Commander with the Indian Air Force, says that women leaders in the military have to face their own set of challenges. During the process of childbearing women go through a lot of physical and psychological changes because of which they become an object of constant criticism. Since fitness is an important aspect of military career, those women who face difficulties regaining their pre-pregnancy fitness may be judged poorly by seniors. Their need to cater to their young children is also sometimes seen as a liability by a segment of officers. However, with the number of women increasing in the armed forces, they have become more assertive of their rights and the establishment too has become more empathetic.

Isha, an IPS officer, opines that police is still considered to be the domain of males, and that there are many units which are yet to see a woman leader. A majority of the staff is not used to seeing women in leadership positions and this leads to implicit resistance at times. This is best overcome by working hard and demonstrating professional competence. Amidst this, some women may get so caught up in competing with men or being like men that they tend to lose their individuality. This is because they are many times judged from a male centric yardstick and they tend to succumb to it. 

The Silver Lining

Thankfully things are changing for the better. In a recent study by Grant Thornton, the proportion of senior management roles held by women increased from 25% in 2017 to 31% in 2021. Reaching this milestone is predicted to catalyse greater gender diversity in senior management and engender lasting transformational change. 

A recent research by S&P Rating says that women CEOs favoured a leadership and communication style that emphasized flexibility and adaptability during a crisis period, enabling greater connection with employees and other stakeholders. Examples like Leena Nair (CEO, Chanel), Falguni Nayar (CEO, Nykaa) and Padmasree Warrior (CEO, Fable) are a few examples of leaders who are redefining gender stereotypes and work culture, thereby inspiring others to take up more such roles.

Post-pandemic flexibility has altered the perception around work schedules. The idea of productivity is no longer driven by physical presence in the office and is much more oriented towards deliverables and output. It is therefore fair to assume that this will deliver many more leadership opportunities for women, who in the past, were constrained by traditional approaches to work.This will suit young mothers well and will see lesser number of women quitting to take care of their children. Another important change has been in the parents’ mindset. Traditionally, girls were subtly nudged towards more nurturing roles and boys had the option of a vast array of career options. However, an increasing number of parents today are imagining their daughters as future leaders. This has brought more focus on their studies, sports and overall development. 

The need for mentors

Another challenge for women is that they lose out on networking for various reasons. For different reasons, they are mostly left out of the circle of men who happen to be a part of such networks. This has a far-reaching impact on their growth. 

The need of the hour is to build a pool of women leaders who can mentor other women. It is high time that women start looking out for each other and have each other’s back in order to bring a paradigm shift. Women need to realize the power of networking to expand their connect. We need to have a circle of women who can enable growth and development for each other. When women are relegated to being a mere statistic, they get pitted against each another to vie for a few top posts. This tragedy of commons will only damage the cause of women empowerment. Instead of pulling each other down, we need to build our own sororities. 

Maya Angelou rightly said "Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women."Gender sensitization on the physiological and psychological challenges faced by women is important. In 2022, businesses are prioritising equal access to developmental work opportunities. According to research by S&P Global, most companies are taking this action to promote gender parity in senior management. COVID-19 too has influenced change in the way people work that will have a lasting effect on the ability of women to pursue ambitious career paths. 

Women in leadership roles should become the norm and not an exception!