India Inc.: From Intention to Impact - Catalyst
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India Inc.: From Intention to Impact
About the Catalyst Research Centers
The Catalyst Research The Catalyst Research The Catalyst Research The Catalyst Research Center
Center for Equity in Business Center for Career Pathways Center for Advancing for Corporate Practice
Leadership examines and exposes root causes of Leader Effectiveness conducts research
documents workforce gender gaps from the explores a central challenge distinguishing sound talent
demographics and their classroom to the boardroom, facing today’s business management strategies
impact on employees, conducting research that leaders: how to leverage from programmatic fads and
companies, communities, sorts myth from fact, employee diversity to documents best practices.
and society. In particular, identifies the true problems achieve success through These findings enable
the Center identifies how that hold women and other inclusive decision-making organizations to strategically
women’s underrepresentation underrepresented groups and talent management. create and support inclusive
affects corporate governance back from advancement, The Center’s research cultures for both women and
and executive teams, and and provides a solid basis examines the nature, men. The Center’s partnership
it explores how diverse for more effective talent impact, and practice of with its Expert Community,
leadership contributes development. The Center’s inclusive leadership. It helps a consortium of business
to business success. findings allow businesses, committed leaders learn leaders who contribute to
By verifying gaps in media, governments, and how to become individual and act on the Center’s
representation and creating individuals to gauge women’s change agents, shaping work, informs organizational
results-oriented solutions, progress and develop the workplace culture by policy and practices, leading
the Center’s findings and solutions and action plans role modeling effective to actionable solutions and
recommendations help to advance women into interpersonal interactions and systemic change.
organizations diversify leadership. capitalizing on opportunities
leadership. to build inclusive talent
management systems.
About Catalyst
Founded in 1962, Catalyst is the leading nonprofit organization expanding opportunities for women and
business. With operations in the United States, Canada, Europe, India, Australia, and Japan, and more
than 800 member organizations, Catalyst is the trusted resource for research, information, and advice
about women at work. Catalyst annually honors exemplary organizational initiatives that promote women’s
advancement with the Catalyst Award.India Inc.: From Intention to Impact Aarti Shyamsunder Alixandra Pollack Dnika Travis Research Partners: AT&T Inc. Halliburton Bloomberg Hewlett-Packard Company BMO Financial Group IBM Corporation The Boston Consulting Group KeyBank Cardinal Health, Inc. Kimberly-Clark Corporation Chevron Corporation McDonald’s Corporation Credit Suisse Novo Nordisk Debevoise & Plimpton LLP PAREXEL Dell Inc. Sodexo Desjardins Group State Street Corporation Deutsche Bank AG UPS EY Verizon The findings, views, and recommendations expressed in Catalyst reports are not prepared by, are not the responsibility of, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding organizations. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication or any part thereof is prohibited. catalyst.org © 2015 Catalyst
Diversity is very important to our organization and is a part of our business
strategy. I build a business case for it in three major ways. First, today, we need
innovative ideas to cope with the rapid changes we see in the world around
us—environmental, governmental, political, economic changes. For this, we need
diverse management teams and diverse thought. Second, we need more women
to fill the talent gap we are facing. And finally, our client companies want to
partner with others who have similar beliefs, and so it is critical for us to model
diversity and inclusion now.
—Sunil Nayak, Chief Executive Officer
Sodexo India On-Site Services
In the face of a critical shortage of employment- This study3 is based on a survey of 42 companies4
ready talent,1 India’s business leaders are increasingly which collectively employ more than 400,000
looking to women as a crucial untapped economic people across India,5 as well as interviews with
engine,2 yet the bridge from diversity-focused key business leaders and experts.6 Our findings
programs and policies to inclusive impact remains indicate a gap between organizations’ well-
uncertain. The current representation of women intended corporate initiatives and the impact
and men in corporate India (see Figure 2) reveals a of those initiatives in creating more inclusive
disconnect between organizations’ strategies and workplaces.
women’s inclusion in India Inc.
How to Use This Report
This report offers support to diversity and inclusion (D&I), human resources (HR), and business leaders in
developing a systems approach to change in India, Inc., focusing on key areas in which to improve women’s
workplace inclusion in India Inc., including:
• Foundational Approaches to help organizations With this focus in mind, this report provides:
address key, locally relevant issues to set the
stage for progressive change. • Reality Snapshots: Information on the current
landscape of women’s inclusion in India Inc.
• Flexible Work Arrangements and Cultures to
help overcome sociocultural barriers. • Impact Opportunities: Information on the
specific gaps and related opportunities for
• Employee Leave and Reintegration Programs to change.
create workplace environments where talent
is valued. • Strategies for Success: Recommendations on
the actions organizations can take to create the
• Leadership Development Programs to ensure that necessary change.
growth is inclusive and monitored from the top.
• Employee Inclusion Efforts to build networks
and create inclusive cultures for all employees.
2 | India Inc.:Profile of Participating
DEFINITIONS: JOB TITLES
Companies AND LEVELS
Forty-two organizations representing seven
industries participated in the 2015 Catalyst India To make comparisons across companies,
Benchmarking study. some of which use different job titles and levels,
organizations were provided standard definitions as
FIGURE 1 common reference points for use when responding
Participating Organizations’ Profiles to the survey. Corporations and professional
and Characteristics (N=42) services firms received slightly different definitions
as appropriate to their context. The following
BY HEADQUARTERS LOCATION represent a consolidation of these definitions:
India 29% •L
evel 1: Executive Officers: Senior-most
executives or senior-most elected professionals,
Europe and United 71% including the CEO or firm managing partner
States (India Subsidiary) and those individuals within one reporting
level of the CEO/managing partner, who set
BY INDUSTRY the strategic and/or operational direction of
the organization or firm.
Consumer Products 19%
and Services • Level 2: Senior Managers/Senior Directors:
Energy and Utilities 7% Senior management or its equivalent on the
professional or technical ladder, including
Financial Services 19% individuals below executive officer who are
within three reporting levels of the CEO. In
Industrials/ 10% the case of Professional Services Firms this
Manufacturing
level includes the partner pool or equivalent
Information Technology– 17% (not including management/executive
Products and Services
committee members).
Information Technology– 7% • Level 3: Managers/Directors: Middle
IT and BPO
management to first-level managers or its
Other 21% equivalent on the professional or technical
ladder. Those individuals below senior
BY WORKFORCE SIZE (N=34)7 managers/directors who are within five reporting
Average Number of levels of the CEO in a corporation or, in the case
Employees in India 10,182 of professional services firms, all non-partners
per Organization
(senior associates, associates, of counsel, counsel).
•L
evel 4: Entry Level and Pipeline: Non-
management/individual contributor
(including entry level), including all
individuals below the Manager/Director level
or below the associate level (e.g., analysts) at
professional services firms.
From Intention to Impact | 3FIGURE 2 FIGURE 3
Representation by Gender Across Representation by India Headquarters
Levels (N=30)8 and India Subsidiary Companies (N=30)
Pipeline INDIA HEADQUARTERS
(Entry to
Manager/ 24% 76% Pipeline
Director) (Entry to
Manager/ 21% 79%
Managers/ Director)
Directors 21% 79%
Managers/
Directors 21% 79%
Senior 19% 81%
Managers
Senior
Managers 15% 85%
Executive
Officers 14% 86%
Executive
Officers 11% 89%
Women Men
INDIA SUBSIDIARY
Pipeline
(Entry to
Manager/ 25% 75%
Director)
Managers/
Directors 21% 79%
Senior
Managers 20% 80%
Executive
Officers 15% 85%
Women Men
4 | India Inc.:Inclusion Efforts Set the Stage for Gender Parity
The first goal is to attract women [to work with • Many organizations offer safe
us]—and not just in the conventional ways. transportation options to women
Sometimes we recruit for “second career” employees who work late.
applicants, where they are not limited by any
previous experience. We are careful about • In accordance with the Sexual Harassment
defining and selecting for what the role needs; for Women at Workplace Act 2013, most
pre-experience is not a requisite, qualification organizations must now have a strict, zero-
is required. We are also exploring some [other] tolerance policy in place, supplemented
new approaches. by employee training programs, internal
complaint committees (ICCs) and
—Man, Project Manager mechanisms to address complaints.12
Gurgaon
** While the majority of surveyed
Reality Snapshot: Foundational organizations (88%) offered anti-
sexual harassment training, the
Approaches Demonstrate remaining 12% have yet to address
Breadth but Have Potential for this legally mandated activity.
Deeper Impact While such measures get women into organizations
and ensure a safe work environment once there,
Although gender parity at the societal level is still more systemic, culturally ingrained issues that
lacking in India in many respects,9 our data indicate affect women’s workplace experiences and career
that organizations are implementing ground-level trajectories such as gender bias, family support
changes to establish a foundation for their D&I role, and shifting demographics continue to
efforts. In particular, these initial approaches include demand more attention and focused effort.
broad efforts to attract women into the workplace
and ensure that women have safe and comfortable FIGURE 4
work environments once they are hired. Proportion of Women and Men Hired
in Fiscal Year 2014 (N=27)
For instance, going beyond campus recruiting,
where large numbers of graduates are hired directly Pipeline
from their college campuses, more than 86% of (Entry to
Manager/ 21% 79%
companies practice other recruiting strategies Director)
designed to help increase gender diversity. This is an
evident need given that hiring tends to skew heavily Managers/ 24% 76%
Directors
toward men, especially at senior levels, as seen in
Figure 4.
Senior
Managers 15% 85%
Another example of the breadth of inclusion
efforts employed by organizations relates to safe Executive
workplaces. To ensure that women recruited into the Officers 15% 85%
workforce are welcomed into safe environments,
organizations in India are working to mitigate risks
Women Men
to women’s safety and experiences of harassment
bias.11 For example:
From Intention to Impact | 5Impact Opportunity: Hold • Had dedicated staff working toward
the development and advancement of
Local Leaders Accountable women: 64%.
for Implementing Locally
While locally created and owned strategies,
Relevant Strategies programs, and policies may set the stage for local
accountability, this remains an impact opportunity
Complete change will take its time. There are across India, Inc. Though data suggest that the
different ways you do it. You change it from majority of organizations have a high degree of local
the root, or you change it at a demonstration
ownership of women’s advancement strategies,
level, when you demonstrate you have some
this does not always translate to individual leaders
commitment to it. I would say there is a lot
of dissonance, but…you then deal with the accepting ownership for action and impact.
dissonance one way or the other. At least you
recognize that there is a dissonance there. • 57% of all organizations held senior
That’s the first step. leaders accountable for gender diversity
goals or objectives,15 mostly (83%) through
—Woman, Head of Corporate Sustainability performance goals and/or ratings.16
Hyderabad
** Among those that do, only two
organizations held senior leaders
To achieve deep and sustainable change,
accountable by linking efforts to
programmatic breadth must be accompanied
(variable) compensation.
by contextual depth. In setting the stage for
greater inclusion, organizations must ensure
• 41% of organizations did not hold local
that foundational issues such as diversity- senior leaders accountable.
focused recruiting efforts and wide-ranging
safety and anti-harrassment offerings, are well
tackled. Attending to local needs is critical while Holding leaders accountable for translating
implementing D&I strategies, and identifying those intention into impact can be a crucial game-
specific foundational issues stemming from the changer in India Inc. Organizations that connect
organization’s local context requires local leadership particular local goals to achieve foundational D&I
be held accountable for “getting it right.” needs with strategic organizational objectives
and emphasize consequences (e.g., rewards for
A significant majority of organizations13 reported progress or penalties for lack of progress) are
having a formal set of strategies to advance able to hold senior leaders accountable and
women.14 Most organizations showed a high reinforce the organization’s commitment to D&I
degree of autonomy and local ownership: efforts. Local development and implementation
is key, but insufficient if not coupled with ongoing
• Developed local strategies: 71%. learning and refinement, stemming from a focus on
accountability.
• Created programs locally: 60%.
• Created policies locally: 71%.
6 | India Inc.:Strategies for Success: Expand CONSIDER THIS: RESOURCES
Recruiting Efforts to Achieve FOR TAKING ACTION
Both Breadth and Depth
Approaches to recruiting talent that involve a As you seek to accelerate your inclusion efforts,
focus on identifying and attracting qualified women reflecting on your organization’s own foundational
will enhance representation and improve the approaches to attract women, consider the
organization’s external reputation and brand. Broad following questions and Catalyst resources to guide
strategies such as a diverse-slate policy,17 whereby your next steps:
organizations’ talent acquisition teams as well as
external recruiters are required to consider a certain • How effective are your current D&I efforts?
number or proportion of women for all available How is your organization leveraging its
positions is useful, especially in traditionally male- strengths to attract and keep top talent--
dominated industries. But these high-level policies especially women?
may still leave key segments of talent untapped.
xx Catalyst’s Vital Signs19 resources will
Such top-level strategies must also be help you diagnose your organization’s
complemented by locally relevant approaches inner D&I health and arm you with
that penetrate key market areas more deeply. For tools to create or expand workplace
example, a focus on sourcing candidates from inclusion. For instance, Vital Signs:
smaller towns and newer or upcoming colleges
Determining Actions for Inclusive Policies
and women’s colleges has proven useful to some
and Practices20 will help you evaluate
organizations in India.18 Senior leaders—hiring
your current policies and practices
managers, especially—must be held accountable
for seeking and fairly considering women for recruiting, advancing, and
candidates from such new areas. Organizational retaining women.
incentives for recruiters or hiring managers who • Is the business case for gender diversity
provide diverse applicants and/or hire diverse clearly defined and communicated in your
employees (in terms of gender and regional or organization?
educational background) can further support these
efforts. Diversity trainings for hiring managers xx Gender Diversity in India21 will provide
tailored to locally specific cultural norms to combat you with the major “pillars” that form
potential biases toward individuals from certain the business case for more women in
regions, cities, schools, or particular demographic India Inc.
backgrounds (such as class) can also be important.
From Intention to Impact | 7Flexible Work Arrangements Help Overcome
Sociocultural Barriers When Supported by a
Flexible Work Culture
One of the biggest challenges was . . . How While many surveyed companies (86%) reported
do I manage my career in the context of roles having a formal, written flexible work policy,
and expectations that people have of me in significantly fewer India-headquartered companies
the community, in my family, in society? had one compared to India subsidiary companies.25
—Woman, Founder and CEO • A full 93% of India subsidiary companies
Bangalore reported having a formal written flexible
work policy compared to just 67% of
Reality Snapshot: Organizations India-headquartered companies.26
Offer Flex Work Policies But Among the organizations that offered flexible
Insufficiently Promote Their Use work arrangements (FWAs):
• Flexible arrival and departure (94%) and
[The biggest need] is genuine flexibility,
telecommuting (86%) were the most
earned flexibility, unconditional flexibility.
commonly offered flexible work programs.
That…is really missing in its truest sense.
—Woman, Head of Corporate Sustainability • Job sharing (17%) was the least common.
Hyderabad
Women in the paid workforce in India are faced FIGURE 5
with a complex set of sociocultural challenges,
including social expectations and stereotypes about
Percentage of Organizations Offering
gender roles, the complicated clashes between FWAs, by Type (N=36)
modernization and tradition, and the impact of
globalization.22 There is an absence of reliable
infrastructure outside of work, including daycare or Flexible Arrival and 94%
transportation options. Moreover, as young families Departure Time
increasingly move into urban India for work, leaving Telecommuting/
behind a strong family and social support system Work from Home 86%
in their home towns and smaller cities, employees Reduced Work
in India—especially women—face great challenges Schedule/Part- 58%
integrating work and life demands such as raising Time Work
children while pursuing a career.23 Compressed
Work Week 28%
When organizations identify solutions to common
challenges, such as rigid rules around when and Job Share 17%
where to work, team inefficiencies, and employee
burnout, employees and businesses alike benefit.24
Yet, not all companies in India have a formal work-life
integration strategy to address such issues.
8 | India Inc.:Impact Opportunity: Promote and encourage a culture where flexible work is
accepted as a norm.
Inclusion by Promoting Work-
Life Integration A lack of tracking may be tied to FWA uptake
challenges, due in part to barriers and social norms
Despite a prevalence of FWAs “on paper,” most still prevalent in many organizations. Tracking FWA
of these programs were poorly tracked among use will help identify opportunities for culture
surveyed organizations, showing a need for greater change interventions—for instance, encouraging
accountability and cultural acceptance of FWAs. For managers at all levels to promote and role model the
instance, even telecommuting, which was offered use of FWAs where there is currently low utilization.
by a majority of organizations, was tracked by only Calling on leaders to mandate, role model, and
slightly more than one-third (39%) of organizations.27 hold themselves and one another accountable
This raises questions about how serious organizations for implementing change efforts around work-life
are about employees’ work-life effectiveness. integration is an essential step in improving women’s
Consequently, the extent to which employees actually representation and inclusion in India Inc.
feel empowered to take advantage of available FWAs
is uncertain. One way to create a flexible culture is
to review where employees are encouraged to use
FWAs compared to low employee use of FWAs. CONSIDER THIS: RESOURCES
FOR TAKING ACTION
Strategies for Success:
To understand the importance of flexible work
Encourage FWA Use options in retaining top talent, consider the following
by Employees questions and Catalyst resources to guide next steps.
You have other policies like flexi-time or • How do employees in India address work-life
work-from-home. But does the woman feel balance challenges?
empowered enough to even ask for those
flexi-time options from her manager? Would xx Expanding Work-Life Perspectives: Talent
she feel that if [she asks] to use those policies Management in India28 points out the
or… benefits, would it affect [her] promotion? challenges that work-life integration
What will my manager think? What will my poses for employees in India
juniors think? She’d be even scared to ask for
those benefits which are provided to her by
(especially women).
the company. I think that as the policy bit is • Why should organizations in India provide
taken care of, the sensitivity or the awareness
and the empowerment that is needed to
FWAs? Is it worth the costs?
make the best of the policies—that is where
the experience has been [not as good] as xx The Great Debate: Flexibility vs. Face Time—
what we’d like to have. Busting the Myths Behind Flexible Work
Arrangements29 describes the importance
—Man, Manager, Diversity and Inclusion of FWAs for employers interested in
Mumbai retaining top talent, and how FWAs are
increasingly the rule, not the exception.
While many of the surveyed organizations
provide flexible work options and leave programs,
more of them must begin tracking FWA utilization
From Intention to Impact | 9Employee Leave Policies Are Insufficiently
Supplemented by Reintegration Efforts
The question is more about, they do come back, While the relatively long duration of maternity
but they leave after—very quickly after that. So leave coupled with high rates of return paint a
they come back, but after three months they positive picture, employees we interviewed from
realize this is becoming a bit too much, and they participating organizations shared concerns around
quit. So it is more of ensuring when they come long-term success and career sustainability. These
back that really we are able to retain them. return rates reflect short-term outcomes, while for
many—women with children, in particular—the
—Woman, Director—Business Management
double burden of work and family responsibilities
Mumbai
proves to be an insurmountable obstacle later.
Reality Snapshot: Organizations Exacerbating this challenge, nearly half of surveyed
companies (48%) reported not offering any family
Offer Employee Leave Programs care options such as on-site/near-site child care,
Yet Provide Insufficient emergency child care, referral and support services
for child and elder care. This presents a critical area
Post-Leave Career Support of opportunity in a country where family support is
crucial for women’s well-being at work and at home
Surveyed organizations offered a variety of leave and where external infrastructures leave much to
options, including “extra” maternity leave (paid be desired. Such a lack of organizational support
and unpaid) beyond legislated time off,30 adoption for post-leave caregiving responsibilities raises
leave/assistance, volunteer leave, paid and unpaid questions about the extent to which India Inc. is
paternity leave, and sabbaticals. For instance, fully supporting women’s ability to successfully
organizations generally offered more than the integrate work-life needs.
legally mandated 84 days of maternity leave, with
many women returning to work after that period.
Impact Opportunity: Provide
FIGURE 6
Paid and Unpaid Maternity Leave and Adequate Post-Leave Support
Percentage of Employees Returning to Employees
Post-Leave
An opportunity exists in providing organizational
AVERAGE NUMBER OF DAYS OFFERED support to employees returning from long-duration
leaves or career breaks. Such employees must be
Paid reintegrated using fair performance management
Maternity Leave 144 days31
practices. More than one-half (57%) of surveyed
Unpaid organizations focused reintegration efforts on
Maternity Leave 104 days32
performance management policies for employees
returning from long-duration leaves. However:
PERCENTAGE OF EMPLOYEES RETURNING
Paid • 41% of organizations still lack a formal,
Maternity Leave 85%33
standardized approach to determining
Unpaid appropriate performance review ratings
Maternity Leave
90%34 for post-leave employees.
10 | India Inc.:• Of those organization that do have a recognize contributions made. Organizations can
formal approach: build on the steps they are already taking to attract,
recruit, and reintegrate women returning from career
** More than half (54%) use a pro-rated breaks using a range of policies and benefits.36
performance rating approach.
Methods for recognizing performance of
** 13% use a uniform ”default” rating35 employees who take leaves reinforce the value
common to all returning employees. the organization places on talent, and support
the meaningful—and hopefully sustainable—
** 25% use a mix of approaches. reintegration of employees after leave.
Strategies for Success:
Reintegrate Post-Leave CONSIDER THIS: RESOURCES
Employees Using Fair and FOR TAKING ACTION
Inclusive Practices In helping organizations provide fair leave options
and then reintegrate employees into the workplace
Organizations in India must implement simple post-leave, consider the following questions and
but fair post-leave policies, ensuring that returning Catalyst resources to guide next steps.
employees—especially women—are not penalized
for taking leaves and are evaluated fairly based on their • What sociocultural barriers keep women from
performance in ways that adequately and effectively career advancement in India, and what can
organizations do to ensure they don’t lose talent
FIGURE 7
due to work-family integration challenges?
Percentage of Post-Leave Reintegration
Strategies, by Type (N=42) xx The Making Change in India Inc.37
toolkit focuses on how organizations
Flexible Post-Leave and individuals in India can overcome
Work Arrangements 62%
sociocultural obstacles to gender inclusion.
Specifically, Making Change in India Inc.:
Skills Training 26%
Tool 3—Reintegrating Women Into the Workplace
Networking Successfully38 addresses the barriers women
Opportunities 24% face upon returning to work after a career
break and provides organizations and
Counseling 19% individuals with recommendations for
“Buddy” System successful reintegration.
to Stay in Touch 12%
During Leave • What do employee work-life integration efforts
Skills Retention look like in different regions, and what might
Training
12%
be some lessons learned for India?
Manager Coaching for
Supervisors of Post- 29% xx Work-Life: Prevalence, Utilization and Benefits39
Leave Employees provides a quick look at employee leave and
None of the Above 31% flex work options across the globe, along with
some organizational success factors.
Other 12%
From Intention to Impact | 11Leadership Development Programs Have Yet to Result
in Inclusive Growth
Every year there are so many women who sign ** Only two of the India-headquartered
up [for our women’s leadership development companies had mentoring programs
program]. Somehow they never had been for women compared to 13 (52%) of
registered for general programs, which then the India subsidiary companies.41
goes on to show that, in fact, these women
during their corporate lives don’t have access • 36% of surveyed organizations have
to quality training. sponsorship programs, yet:
—Woman, Professor
Ahmedabad ** Nearly half (46%) of India
subsidiary companies and no India-
headquartered companies had
Reality Snapshot: Though sponsorship programs targeted to
Prevalent, Leadership women.
Development Programs Don’t
It is possible that women are receiving such
Reach Enough Women opportunities through other general programs. But
a closer examination of organizational approaches
The broad category of leadership development to leadership development reveals that even
includes formal leadership training programs, these “general” programs might be not reaching
coaching, mentoring, and sponsorship. Programs women. Among surveyed organizations that
for leadership development in general were a offered leadership development programs,42 the
high priority for organizations. When it comes to groups targeted most often were high-potential
programs targeting the development of women, employees and senior leaders. Given that senior
India‑headquartered companies were less likely leaders and those in higher ranks of the India
than India subsidiaries to offer specialized programs Inc. pipeline are mostly men (see Figure 2), this
for women. programmatic approach raises some questions
about the reach of such talent development
• While 88% of surveyed organizations programs to those most in need: namely, women.
offered some form of leadership Developing existing leaders, most of whom
training, only three India-headquartered are men, precludes an opportunity to develop
organizations offered women-targeted emerging women leaders.
leadership training programs compared
to 20 (74%) India subsidiary companies.40
Organizations must evaluate whether these
leadership development programs reach
• 64% of surveyed organizations have
women—and whether women are reaping the
coaching programs, yet:
benefits of participation to the same extent as
**
men. Unfortunately, that question is difficult
No India-headquartered companies
had women’s coaching programs. to answer currently. In general, there was
insufficient utilization tracking by gender or
** Almost half (46%) of India subsidiary measurement of impact for these programs. This,
companies did not have women- again, calls attention to the need for greater
targeted coaching. accountability and monitoring mechanisms for
such organizational change efforts.
• 71% of surveyed organizations have
mentoring programs, yet:
12 | India Inc.:FIGURE 8
Among those organizations that did measure impact,
Percentage of Development Program most only measured participation and satisfaction at
Impact Tracking, by Type an aggregate level, rather than by gender.
NUMBER OF ORGANIZATIONS • For instance, while 80% (20) of organizations
OFFERING PROGRAM offering leadership training programs
tracked participation overall, only 36% (9)
Leadership tracked participation by gender.
Training 37
** Fewer than half of these organizations,
Coaching 27
48% (12), tracked career advancement
Mentoring as an overall impact measure, and
30 just 20% (5) tracked advancement by
gender despite the fact that the most
Sponsorship 15 commonly stated purpose of these
programs, especially for women, was
ORGANIZATIONS MEASURING IMPACT
advancement.43
Leadership
Training 68% • These patterns also hold for tracking
the impact of coaching and mentoring
Coaching 52% programs.
Mentoring 53% Among the relatively few organizations that did
measure career development and advancement
Sponsorship 60% outcomes, most measured promotions. Overall,
women’s promotion rates lag men at all levels (see
Figure 9).
FIGURE 9
Percentage of Total Promotions, by Gender and Organization Type (N=22)
INDIA HEADQUARTERS INDIA SUBSIDIARY
Pipeline Pipeline
(Entry to (Entry to
Manager/ 19% 81% Manager/ 28% 72%
Director) Director)
Managers/ Managers/
Directors 21% 79% Directors 24% 76%
Senior Senior
Managers 12% 88% Managers 19% 81%
Executive Executive
Officers 19% 81% Officers 24% 76%
Women Men
From Intention to Impact | 13Impact Opportunity: Ensure • Women represent 28% of executive-level
employee exits despite only representing
That Efforts to Advance Women 14% of the executive-level employee base.
are Monitored From the Top
• Only 15% of executive-level external hires
are women.
It has to be a top-down approach. We have
such young leaders on the ground [in India]—
first-line managers—who emulate what they • Fewer women than men are promoted
see at the top. So it’s extremely important for into executive-level ranks.
the CEO to be a role model and set the tone.
Combined, these factors serve to further exacerbate
—Woman, APAC D&I Head the current leadership gender gap in India Inc.
Bangalore
FIGURE 10
Introducing D&I programs and policies is an
Percentage of Senior Leader D&I
essential start, but to achieve sustainable impact,
executives and managers must be held accountable Accountability, by Outcome (N=24)
for initiative implementation and results.
Retention of Gender-
Among surveyed organizations that focused on Diverse Talent 79%
accountability, the most common aspects of diversity
for which leaders were held accountable included: Promotion of Gender-
Diverse Slates 63%
• Retention of gender-diverse talent (79%). 44
Sponsorship of High-
** 89% of India subsidiaries held senior Potential Women 58%
leaders accountable compared
to 50% of India-headquartered Promotion of use of
companies.45 FWAs and Other Work- 54%
Life Integration Efforts
• Promotion of diverse slates and/or Equitable Allocation of
appointments (63%)46 were approximately “Hot Jobs” Necessary 46%
for Advancement
equally emphasized by India-
headquartered and subsidiary companies. Increasing Women’s
Access to Mentors/ 38%
Mentoring Programs
Holding leaders accountable for both retention
and hiring is critical. At executive levels, women Other 13%
are leaving at a higher rate than at other levels.
14 | India Inc.:Strategies for Success: Require CONSIDER THIS: RESOURCES
Senior Leaders to Transform FOR TAKING ACTION
Intentions Into Impact
More than 40% of organizations fail to hold In reflecting on your organization’s current
senior leaders accountable for making measurable leadership development programs as well as
progress—impact—on D&I goals. Figure 10 reflects accountability structures and culture, consider the
the areas of accountability among participating following questions and Catalyst resources to guide
organizations that did emphasize senior leader next steps.
accountability. It uncovers opportunities to increase
senior leader involvement and accountability • What are the barriers to leadership for women?
among all organizations in all these areas and more.
xx Leadership Gender Gap in India Inc.: Myths
and Realities47 lays out the myths and
realities regarding women’s advancement
into leadership positions in India.
• What outcomes or indicators of development
and advancement does your organization
measure? Have you considered moving beyond
simply measuring promotions to measuring
outcomes such as increases in budget, P&L
responsibility, people management, or
additions to the organization’s succession
planning pool?
xx Enhancing measurement and tracking
efforts helps organizations closely
examine what is working, where, and
why. Good Intentions, Imperfect Execution?
Women Get Fewer of the “Hot Jobs” Needed
to Advance48 and High Potentials Under
High Pressure in India’s Technology Sector49
show how women often don’t receive
the career advancing “hot jobs” that
comprise true leadership development.
From Intention to Impact | 15Employee Engagement Is Essential to Achieving
Meaningful and Sustainable Inclusion
Managers are the ones who can create the are responded to appropriately “often” or
biggest impact. I keep telling them that the “almost always.”
numbers will increase as long as you create an
inclusive environment. Still, organizations can do more to connect this
sense of employee involvement to employee and
—Woman, APAC D&I Head business outcomes. Employee networks, also
Bangalore known as employee resource groups (ERGs), affinity
groups, or business resource groups, provide a
critical channel by which employees connect to D&I
Reality Snapshot: Leveraging issues and create a sense of community, fulfiling
the need for employee involvement.52
Employee Involvement
can Boost Organizational A majority of organizations reported having
employee networks (74%), but India subsidiary
Change Efforts companies were more than twice as likely to have
employee networks than were India-headquartered
A key strategy to spur a sense of employee companies.53
involvement and ensure workplace inclusion is
helping employees feel like they belong and • India-headquartered companies: 42%
contribute to the larger organization, while still
valuing their unique strengths.50 This is achieved • India subsidiary companies: 87%
by such practices as:
As with tracking of leadership development
• Providing opportunities for employees program outcomes, not all organizations reported
to discuss what D&I means to their assessing the impact of employee networks.
work group.
• Of organizations offering diversity
• Soliciting input from employees at all networks, 29% did not assess impact in
levels on how to improve D&I efforts any way.
within the organization.
• Companies that do track employee
• Actively responding to employee input. network outcomes primarily track
participation/attendance (61%)54 or
• Providing employees with structured satisfaction (39%).55
forums and opportunities to learn about
best practices related to promoting D&I • Of organizations that had employee
in the organization. networks, 90% reported having a network
”champion.”
Based on employee change effort engagement
metrics, most organizations indicated that their
employees were relatively highly involved.51 The lack of tracking once more begs the question
of accountability. Are these champions holding
• Approximately 83% of organizations networks accountable for business impact and
reported that employee suggestions on inclusion. Likewise, are they themselves being held
improving D&I efforts in the organization responsible for employee network success?
16 | India Inc.:Impact Opportunity: Involve • Among those offered, opportunities most
commonly (60%) included unconscious
all Employees in Efforts to bias training.
Create an Inclusive Culture
However, despite the fact that a majority of
Our senior sponsor for D&I in India is a male, surveyed organizations report providing such
which is wonderful to have. We actually have a opportunities to employees across levels, utilization
lot of male members in our [women’s network is notably low. Most organizations reported that
team]. There’s a lot of awareness, and there’s a opportunities for dialogue with men happen:
lot of discussion keeping this as a priority.
• Rarely: 31%.
—Woman, Director-Business Management
Mumbai • Once or twice a year: 38%.
One indicator of an organization’s focus on • Most organizations (64%) did not monitor
the importance of gender diversity is the level of men’s engagement in D&I efforts.
employee involvement in D&I change efforts.56
Organizations in India that create opportunities
for employees to provide feedback to leaders— Strategies for Success: Increase
and for that feedback to be validated and
heard—on an ongoing basis will be better poised
Access to and Business Impact
for success. of Employee Networks
Employee networks are great forums in which At our company, our women’s network focuses
organizations can provide opportunities for on development of women at three main
employees to engage in meaningful dialogue with [levels]: starting-to-mid-management, mid-
colleagues and organizational leaders, including: management, and senior management. All
women can nominate themselves throughout
• Sharing ideas on what D&I means in the the year in India and APAC and even globally.
context of their work and work groups. Through the women’s network they can identify
mentors based on their own needs. They use a
• Providing input on how organizational tool to identify competency needs, [which] then
D&I efforts can be improved. maps [them] onto a mentor who can help with
those areas….Maximum focus is needed on mid-
• Learning about current strategies from management, to prevent leakage there….We
which everyone can benefit. need to have more role models….Women need
more people to look up to, to be better able to
resist societal pressure and give up their careers.
Another critical way to improve employee
involvement is to look to allies. Men, especially —Man, Assistant VP, Diversity & Inclusion
senior male leaders, have a critical role to play Noida
in D&I efforts.57 Not only are they represented in
greater numbers in more powerful, senior positions, Among organizations with employee networks,
they also personally have a lot to gain from more women’s networks were most common (94%),
diverse and gender-balanced workforces. followed by resource groups for persons with
disabilities (23%). Adding more employee networks
• 60% of surveyed companies reported to cater to more dimensions of diversity is another
having gender training/development opportunity by which organizations can increase
opportunities for men. employee feelings of belonging.
From Intention to Impact | 17Among organizations with employee networks:
CONSIDER THIS: RESOURCES
FOR TAKING ACTION • 81% were driven by HR or other diversity
groups.
In addition to employee engagement across the • Only 42% were funded through lines of
pipeline through key activities such as employee business.
networks, it is critical to ensure that other key
stakeholders such as senior leaders—and men, in This lack of connection to the business may make
particular—are engaged. Building employee involvement it easy to dismiss networks as a “nice to have”
rather than a critical facet that drives both D&I
through networks and bringing men into the movement
impact and business benefits.
as allies for change are critical. However, outcomes will
likely fall short in the absence of senior leader champions
Strengthening the perceived—and real—
and accountability for all. Consider the following connection between network activities and
questions and Catalyst resources to guide next steps. business outcomes can be very useful in improving
buy-in and leveraging such networks to support
• How can you engage key stakeholders meaningful impacts for participating employees
systematically in building the case for gender D&I? and the business alike.
xx Getting Ready for Change in India Inc.: A Step-
By-Step Guide58 will help your stakeholders Strategies for Success:
address key questions about internal and Engage Men as Champions
external success factors and creating a
business case for your organization. In to Accelerate Progress
addition, A Bright Spot Case Study: How
The full support of men—arguably the larger (in
Individual Champions Help Close the Gender
terms of numbers) and more powerful stakeholder
Gap59 demonstrates how individuals,
group in most organizations—is required to
especially male leaders, can make a accelerate progress toward ending gender
difference in leading inclusion efforts. disparities. But there needs to be more investment
in such efforts than merely counting male attendees
• How do you ensure that your organization pays at infrequent events. Organizations must work
attention to employee involvement and connection to raise awareness across the employee base
to organizational change in driving inclusion? regarding current challenges in the D&I landscape
as well as what all—women, men, and organizations
xx Think People, Not Just Programs to alike—have to gain from closing these gaps.
Build Inclusive Workplaces60 shows how
employee connection to company values Men must also be held accountable for
and the presence of visible workplace supporting D&I efforts and rewarded for role
role models help foster inclusion and modeling desired behaviors and acting as
champions for change. In so doing, organizations
offers recommendations for action.
can combat the zero-sum thinking that holds many
men back from fully supporting D&I efforts and
create pathways to greater D&I impacts of which
all employees can take ownership and from which
all employees can benefit.
18 | India Inc.:India Inc.’s Inflection Point: an Opportunity for
Intentional Organizational Change
Organizations are taking stock of the fact
that there are systemic biases that could be leave policies. Yet, addressing questions around
[getting] in the way of women [entering] the how to retain women by developing an inclusive
leadership pipeline. [They are] marking it up culture that encourages use of these policies
as an important project for them to be focused without penalties, stresses the need to provide
on, which is a big change. Today, I have seen career-advancing opportunities, and where
more conviction on why they want to do it. It’s men and senior leaders feel at least an equal—
not just [ticking a box]; it’s more about, “Let’s if not greater—stake in the game, will propel
make a difference.” [This] is a very positive organizations to the next level in gender inclusion.
thing…. What is hard is actually practicing it,
because understanding it and appreciating it at
Barriers to greater inclusion are rooted both
a rational level is different from implementing
within and outside the workplace in India.
it and executing it on the ground.
Organizations that understand what makes the
—Woman, Founder and CEO difference between stated intentions and achieved
Bangalore impact will serve as crucial game-changers in the
journey toward an India Inc. where women and
men have equal opportunities to succeed.
India Inc. is at a critical inflection point. With
gender D&I a strategic imperative, next steps Leaders who find themselves and their
require a sustained commitment to implementation. organizations at this inflection point have a choice
Given the increasing size of the Indian workforce,61 to make: accept the status quo and stagnate, or
the opportunity to make large-scale impact is build on lessons learned and capitalize on key
unprecedented. opportunities to propel their organization’s D&I
agenda. Insights from this report on the landscape
Organizations certainly have ticked many of the of women’s inclusion in India Inc., the current
right boxes when it comes to addressing acute and realities and associated opportunities for change,
apparent barriers to gender equity—such as anti- and the strategies for success can support this
sexual harassment training, FWAs, and maternity move from intention to impact.
From Intention to Impact | 19Endnotes
1. FICCI-EY, Reaping India’s Promised Demographic 24. Lisa D’Annolfo Levey, Meryle Mahrer Kaplan, and Aimee
Dividend—Industry in Driving Seat (2013); K. Ramkumar, Horowitz, Making Change—Beyond Flexibility: Work
“Demographic Dividend or Burden?,” Forbes, February Life Effectiveness as an Organizational Tool for High
25, 2013. Performance (Catalyst, 2008).
2. “Close India’s Gender Gap to Open its Competitive 25. The difference between the India-headquartered (N=8)
Potential,” World Economic Forum press release, and India subsidiary companies (N=28) was significant at
November 16, 2009. p49. Aarti Shyamsunder and Nancy M. Carter, High Potentials Under 56. Travis and Pollack.
High Pressure in India’s Technology Sector (Catalyst, 2014). 57. Jeanine Prime and Corinne A. Moss-Racusin, Engaging Men
50. Dnika J. Travis and Alixandra Pollack, Think People, Not Just in Gender Initiatives: What Change Agents Need to Know.
Programs to Build Inclusive Workplaces (Catalyst, 2015). (Catalyst, 2009); Jeanine Prime, Corinne A. Moss-Racusin,
51. The mean was 3.8 on a 5-point scale. and Heather Foust-Cummings, Engaging Men in Gender
52. Employee networks can help develop and advance women Initiatives: Stacking the Deck for Success. (Catalyst, 2009).
by providing access to role models and mentors, providing 58. Catalyst, Getting Ready for Change in India Inc.: A Step-by-
actual leadership experience, tapping into women’s skills Step Guide (2012).
and identifying talent early, providing support through life- 59. Catalyst, A Bright Spot Case Study: How Individual
stage and career challenges, and being a source of visibility Champions Help Close the Gender Gap (Catalyst, 2013).
and engagement simultaneously. See Meryle Mahrer 60. Travis and Pollack.
Kaplan, Emma Sabin, and Sarah Smaller-Swift, The Catalyst 61. India will add about 120 million people to its working
Guide to Employee Resource Groups (Catalyst, 2009). population by the year 2020, making up 28% of the world’s
53. The difference between the India-headquartered (N=5) workforce, according to the Deputy Governor of the
and India subsidiary (N=26) companies was significant at Reserve Bank of India (RBI); “India to Have 28 pc of World’s
pAcknowledgments
This report is an example of the outstanding Practice; Jeanine Prime, PhD, Senior Vice President,
teamwork and dedication of many individuals. Research; Jan Combopiano, Senior Vice President,
Aarti Shyamsunder, PhD, Director, Research, Research, Chief Knowledge Officer; and Nancy
Alixandra Pollack, Director, Research, and Dnika Hendryx, Editorial Director, Marketing, all of
Travis, PhD, Vice President and Center Leader, whom provided invaluable feedback throughout
Catalyst Research Center for Corporate Practice, the content-development process; and Courtney
designed the study, collected the data, analyzed it, McCluney, Molly Forgang, Rochelle Olivares, and
and authored the report. Shawna Vican, who transcribed and coded the
qualitative interview content.
Subject-matter experts and team members who
contributed to the creation of this report include Finally, we wish to thank the Catalyst India Inc.
Deepali Bagati, Executive Director, Catalyst USA who member organizations that provided the insights
showed the way with the 2010 India Benchmarking and data upon which this report is founded and
Report;62 Shachi Irde, Executive Director, Catalyst the Catalyst Research Partners, whose support
India WRC, who assisted with outreach and data enables us to co-create important research and
collection; Julie Nugent, Vice President and Center actionable findings to help develop inclusive work
Leader, Catalyst Research Center for Corporate environments around the world.
22 | India Inc.:Board of Directors
Mary Beth Hogan, Esq. Stephanie A. Streeter John F. Smith, Jr.
Chair Co-Chair, Litigation Chief Executive Officer (1998–2001)
Peter Voser Department Libbey, Inc. Chairman & CEO
Chairman Debevoise & Plimpton LLP General Motors Corporation
Christopher J. Swift
ABB Ltd
Muhtar Kent Chairman & CEO Thomas J. Engibous
Chairman & CEO The Hartford Financial Services (2002–2005)
Secretary The Coca-Cola Company Group, Inc. Chairman, President & CEO
Texas Instruments Incorporated
Maggie Wilderotter Chanda Kochhar Richard K. Templeton
Executive Chairman Managing Director & CEO Chairman, President & CEO Charles O. Holliday, Jr.
Frontier Communications ICICI Bank Ltd. Texas Instruments Incorporated (2006–2008)
Corporation Chairman & CEO
Ellen J. Kullman John B. Veihmeyer DuPont
Treasurer Chair & CEO Global Chairman
DuPont KPMG LLP James S. Turley
Thomas Falk (2009–2013)
Chairman & CEO T.K. Kurien Mark Weinberger Chairman & CEO
Kimberly-Clark Corporation CEO & Executive Director Chairman & CEO Ernst & Young
Wipro EY
Linda Addison Honorary Directors
Managing Partner A.G. Lafley Thomas J. Wilson
Norton Rose Fulbright LLP Chairman, President & CEO Chairman, President & CEO Tony Comper
The Procter & Gamble Allstate Insurance Company Retired President & CEO
John Bryant Company BMO Financial Group
Chairman, President & CEO
Michel Landel
Historic List of
Kellogg Company Michael J. Critelli
Group CEO Board Chairs Retired Chairman & CEO
Ursula M. Burns Sodexo Pitney Bowes Inc.
Thomas C. Mendenhall
Chairman & CEO
Marc B. Lautenbach (1962–1976) Thomas J. Engibous
Xerox Corporation
President & CEO President Retired Chairman & CEO
Ian Cook Pitney Bowes Inc. Smith College Texas Instruments Incorporated
Chairman, President & CEO
Gerald Lema Donald V. Seibert Ann M. Fudge
Colgate-Palmolive Company
Former Chairman and President, (1977–1980) Retired Chairman & CEO
Mary B. Cranston, Esq. Japan Chairman of the Board Young & Rubicam Brands
Retired Senior Partner Baxter International Inc. J.C. Penney Company, Inc.
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Charles O. Holliday, Jr.
Sheri S. McCoy Lewis H. Young Retired Chairman & CEO
Pittman LLP
Chief Executive Officer (1981–1984) DuPont
Michael S. Dell Avon Products, Inc. Editor-in-Chief
Chairman & CEO Business Week Karen Katen
Dell Inc. Beth E. Mooney Retired Vice Chairman
Charles W. Parry Pfizer Inc
Chairman & CEO
Jamie Dimon (1985–1986)
KeyCorp Ilene H. Lang
Chairman & CEO Chairman & CEO
JPMorgan Chase & Co. Denise Morrison Aluminum Company of Retired President & CEO
President & CEO America Catalyst
William A. Downe Campbell Soup Company
Chief Executive Officer Richard E. Heckert Reuben Mark
BMO Financial Group Indra K. Nooyi (1987–1988) Retired Chairman & CEO
Chairman & CEO Chairman & CEO Colgate-Palmolive Company
Eric J. Foss PepsiCo, Inc. E.I. du Pont de Nemours
President & CEO Anne M. Mulcahy
& Company
Aramark Kendall J. Powell Retired Chairman & CEO
Chairman & CEO Reuben Mark Xerox Corporation
Deborah Gillis General Mills, Inc. (1989–1990)
President & CEO Barbara Paul Robinson, Esq.
Chairman & CEO
Catalyst Stephen S. Rasmussen Retired Partner
Colgate-Palmolive Company
Chief Executive Officer Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
Marillyn A. Hewson Nationwide John H. Bryan
Chairman, President & CEO James S. Turley
(1991–1995)
Lockheed Martin Corporation Ian C. Read Retired Chairman & CEO
Chairman & CEO
Chairman & CEO Ernst & Young
Sara Lee Corporation
Jacqueline Hinman Pfizer Inc
Chairman & CEO G. Richard Wagoner, Jr.
J. Michael Cook
CH2M HILL Companies Ltd Feike Sijbesma Retired Chairman & CEO
(1996–1997)
CEO & Chairman General Motors Corporation
Chairman & CEO
Managing Board Deloitte & Touche LLP
Royal DSMCATALYST 120 Wall Street, 15th Floor New York, NY 10005 United States T +1 212 514 7600 F +1 212 514 8470 CATALYST CANADA 8 King Street East, Suite 505 Toronto, Ontario M5C 1B5 Canada T +1 416 815 7600 F +1 416 815 7601 CATALYST EUROPE c/o KPMG AG Landis+Gyr-Strasse 1 6300 Zug Switzerland T +41 (0)44 208 3152 F +41 (0)44 208 3500 CATALYST INDIA WRC 106 “B”, Damji Shamji Corporate Square Melville Estate Off Ghatkopar-Andheri Link Road Pant Nagar, Ghatkopar East Mumbai 400 075 India T +91 22 6700 0785 CATALYST AUSTRALIA c/o Hayes Knight (Melbourne) Pty Ltd Level 12 31 Queen Street Melbourne, Victoria 3000 Australia T +61 (0)3 8844 5600 F +61 (0)3 9826 3642 CATALYST JAPAN T +81 (0)3 6860 8450 catalyst.org
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