Women In The Workforce: Time To Fabricate New Archetypes Of Power And Leadership

By: Neha Bagaria, Founder, Jobsforher

She is helping women to start, restart and rise in their careers by networking women with job facilities, mentorship, reskilling, networking, community and motivation.

Over the past few years, the number of women in the country’s workforce has soared. More and more women are not only entering the workforce at junior positions but also restarting their careers post a break, taking on leadership roles, and many a times, becoming entrepreneurs.

However, as a report by Google and Bain & Company proclaims, “Despite improvements in social parameters, India’s growth does not translate into the economic inclusion and development of women.” Even today, despite social progress, women are still asked to choose between their personal and professional lives and find it a challenge to strike a balance between the two.

It is time to change this discouraging narrative. The world is at the cusp of revolutionary changes in several aspects – changes that will propel the future of women in the workforce, and it’s time to fabricate new archetypes of power and leadership to pave the way for women to enter/re-enter the workforce and reach the pinnacle of success.

Remote Working Opening Up Multitude of Opportunities for Women

The past year has been turbulent, to say the least. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted almost every aspect of life in ways we never imagined, and the future of work is at the forefront of this disruption. We are now rethinking our personal and professional lives, particularly career progress. Organizations are also recalibrating their way of working and remote working has not only become the norm but also evolved to a large extent.

Moving on from conventional roles such as Telesales, and Data Entry, the remote working norm has opened up several new avenues with unconventional roles such as SAP Consultants, UI/UX Designers, App Developers, Teachers, Accountants, and more. Remote working has also presented women who aspire to join/re-join the workforce with countless opportunities and has also encouraged women from Tier-II and Tier-III cities to apply for job opportunities that were previously inaccessible to them.

The Shift to Digital Underlining the Need for Women in Tech

Technology has been evolving continuously, and the pandemic has simply fast-tracked this. Organizations across the world are digitizing their operations, making technology an integral part of their day-to-day functions. To keep up with this change, increasing tech competency amongst employees is necessary. Organizations are also increasingly realizing the need to upskill and reskill their female workforce and encourage them to take up more technology-oriented roles.

However, a majority of women in tech roles were found to be at the entry-level and as the designation rises, the percentage of women plummets. Today, organizations are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that women can access the required resources to upskill/train themselves in technology to take on tech-centric jobs and progress in their careers in latest technologies.  

Reshaping Notions of Leadership

Time and again, women across the world have proven their capabilities in leadership roles. Particularly in the event of a global pandemic, countries led by women suffered six times fewer confirmed deaths due to COVID-19 as opposed to countries led by men, thereby establishing their ability to lead entire nations in the face of adversity. From the business standpoint, organizations are realizing the need for an empathetic and inclusive form of leadership.

In a bid to create a notable transformation and increase women’s participation in leadership roles, companies are even creating a pipeline of female leaders from their existing employees to lead the organization in the future. Continued efforts in the form of structured mentorship, sponsorship, improved infrastructure, and networking platforms dedicated to women are key steps in helping women climb the professional ladder and ensure that there are more women leading enterprises across the world.