Corporate India is closing the gender gap

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: We encourage women to apply’ is an oft seen line in the recruitment ads of MNCs. Closer home, Bharti Airtel has taken this message to heart by implementing it across line and staff functions. From that ubiquitous female voice (wo)manning a telephone company’s inquiry department, it’s now women calling the shots across different departments and holding managerial posts, says Bharti Airtel general counsel and company secretary Vijaya Sampat.

At Bharti Airtel, today, about 18% of the company’s workforce are women, against a nationwide large company average of 4%, according to a survey by Confederation of Indian Industries. It all started with the company setting up a diversity committee with a mandate to ensure gender diversity – a euphemism for hiring more women managers. “The objective is to create an environment in which women at all levels will feel respected for their professional contribution, evidenced by continuous reinforcement from senior management,” says Sampat.

The diversity drive is buttressed by the mentorship programme, where women executives are mentored by senior woman managers – a strategy that has paid rich dividends. Says Mamta Saikia, secretary, Bharti Foundation, “Mentorship has been the most powerful initiative for women in Bharti. It allows us to gain from the experience and insight of senior women colleagues. Nothing can prepare a woman better for growth than learning from experience. Mentoring has helped me particularly in the art of influencing.”

Anita Guha, chief diversity leader, IBM India, agrees. “It’s amazing how effectively mentorship by senior women managers can inspire emerging women leaders explore the dimensions of their own potential. It helps women identify role models, it gives them a sounding board to talk through career choices without apologising for their need for work-life balance, it encourages more women to think that ‘if you can do it, so can I,’ and that certainly helps them become more assertive in the workplace.”

IBM India has set up a 16-woman leader team called the Indian Women Leadership Council, which has designed various initiatives to empower women within the organisation. It recently started its I-Connect programme wherein senior executives are invited to address groups of women and to share with them their career trajectories, challenges, and opportunities.