In the initial stages of your career, gender bias isn’t an issue. But as women move up the corporate ladder, the existence of the glass ceiling is more pronounced. Generally, thanks to the glass ceiling, women are unable to make it to senior management. And this is true not just at the CIO level but even at lower positions.
Also, I feel gaining entry into the mid-level is difficult. And even after making it and delivering results, when you opt to shift jobs, you have to start a level or two lower and work your way up again. Women in IT do not usually get the upward movement on shifting jobs that men generally do. So you have to prove yourself all over again in a new organization.
Even modern organizations—when faced with a choice between an equally qualified man and woman—would choose to promote the man and justify it as playing safe. Along with technical expertise, business expects IT leaders to understand business and women aren’t considered to be strong enough to propel the business forward.
The perception within organizations is that IT and finance, to some extent, are best left to men. That’s why there aren’t that many women CFOs. Another issue is that to be able to reach the CIO position, senior management’s approval is an imperative. And not all in that cadre consider women as capable of understanding the business and financial aspects of a CIO’s role.
There are also doubts with respect to a woman’s ability to handle business communication effectively. Not everybody is comfortable taking IT investment advice from a woman. It is a bit against the tide. Internal perceptions need to change and only support from stakeholders will encourage women to move up in IT.
I personally believe that there is no glass ceiling in IT. It is true that IT companies start with nearly a 50:50 male to female ratio and end up with only a 90:10 ratio at the top. But I don’t think this can be attributed to a glass ceiling. The real reason is that as the job gets demanding, women choose to opt out of the race.
You don’t see such a stark contrast in industries like banking because women have been a part of these industries for about three generations. I probably belong to the first generation of women CIOs in India and it is also due to the fact that IT as an industry is very new and young in the country.
I also think that the current IT scenario is favorable to women at all levels. Today, any employee can be given the option of working from anywhere. This ensures that I can work from home, while I am traveling, or on vacation. Having said that, I wouldn’t advocate less stressful jobs for women.
If you want equal opportunities, you should be willing to undergo the same rigor. You can’t have concessions because you are a woman. Today, even a man in a double income family faces similar pressures of running a family.
If a woman has delivered results and displayed the capability of handling the pressure that comes with a senior position then she—and not an equally qualified man—will be promoted. I personally would promote the one who is willing to take more responsibilities and is delivering better results. If a woman chooses her home over her career then she will experience the adverse impact of her own decisions. And that has nothing to do with a woman’s gender but only to do with her priority at that point in time.
Also, when a woman chooses to shift jobs she need not compromise on her experience and position. With lateral shifts, you can grow horizontally. And I also don’t believe that problems are compounded as you move up. On the contrary, with added responsibilities, women have more flexibility.
