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Don’t Overlook the Role of Everyday Behavior in the Gender Gap Debate

Aspiration and confidence require reinforcement, especially during the occasional stumble that everyone faces.

By Yaquta Mandviwala and Megha Chawla

Published on August 30, 2018
min read


This article originally appeared on LiveMint.com. For the first time in its 48-year history, the 2018 World Economic Forum in Davos was chaired entirely by women. Sure, this was a great start. But the data on women’s attendance at Davos—regarded as the world’s top business forum—is not very promising. Only around 20% of the total attendees this year were women, highlighting the gender parity chasm in the business world. There is substantive research which makes a clear case for greater inclusion of women. On a macroeconomic scale, the World Bank, through various papers, has said that countries can radically increase their gross domestic product (GDP) by augmenting the role of women in the economy. As per the International Labour Organization, in India, only about 27% of entry-level employees are women, and, over time, their representation in senior positions drops sharply. According to a report by Catalyst, a global non-profit organization, 48% of Indian women drop out of the pipeline before reaching the mid-career level, compared to the Asian average of 29%. Organizations can play a key role in arresting the attrition. Top-down initiatives continue to be essential, but what is often ignored is the importance of everyday interactions at the workplace, which can be a catalyst for change. A 2014 report, “Everyday Moments Of Truth”, by management consultancy Bain & Co. on the gender divide, showed that women (and men) make decisions about their careers based on daily interactions with their managers and peers. Read the full article on LiveMint.com. Yaquta Mandviwala and Megha Chawla are partners at Bain & Co. and lead the Women at Bain effort for the Asia-Pacific and India regions, respectively.

This article originally appeared on LiveMint.com.

For the first time in its 48-year history, the 2018 World Economic Forum in Davos was chaired entirely by women. Sure, this was a great start. But the data on women’s attendance at Davos—regarded as the world’s top business forum—is not very promising. Only around 20% of the total attendees this year were women, highlighting the gender parity chasm in the business world.

There is substantive research which makes a clear case for greater inclusion of women. On a macroeconomic scale, the World Bank, through various papers, has said that countries can radically increase their gross domestic product (GDP) by augmenting the role of women in the economy. As per the International Labour Organization, in India, only about 27% of entry-level employees are women, and, over time, their representation in senior positions drops sharply. According to a report by Catalyst, a global non-profit organization, 48% of Indian women drop out of the pipeline before reaching the mid-career level, compared to the Asian average of 29%.

Organizations can play a key role in arresting the attrition. Top-down initiatives continue to be essential, but what is often ignored is the importance of everyday interactions at the workplace, which can be a catalyst for change. A 2014 report, “Everyday Moments Of Truth”, by management consultancy Bain & Co. on the gender divide, showed that women (and men) make decisions about their careers based on daily interactions with their managers and peers.

Read the full article on LiveMint.com.

Yaquta Mandviwala and Megha Chawla are partners at Bain & Co. and lead the Women at Bain effort for the Asia-Pacific and India regions, respectively.