Despite a notable rise in women’s workforce participation to 37% by 2023, India continues to grapple with deep-rooted societal and workplace challenges that restrict gender parity. Nupur Garg, Founder of Winpe — a not-for-profit enhancing gender diversity in the investing ecosystem — an Independent Director on company boards, and a Senior Adviser in the PE industry, addressed these pressing issues on the latest episode of the podcast “What India Needs!”, hosted by author and media entrepreneur, Shutapa Paul. The discussion emphasised the need to close the gender gap by redefining leadership, addressing unconscious bias, and creating equitable workplace policies.

“Even though participation has increased from 23% in 2017-2018 to 37% by 2022-2023, women still face significant barriers to reaching senior positions in the workforce,” said Nupur Garg. “Traditional societal norms continue to assign women the primary role of homemaker, which hinders their professional advancement.“

Societal Norms and Gender Stereotypes

Garg asserted that societal conditioning begins at a young age, limiting women’s exposure to leadership roles. For instance, young girls are frequently tasked with household chores while boys are encouraged to handle finances. This conditioning in turn makes it less likely for women to be viewed as leaders or even see themselves as leaders. These norms, deeply ingrained in the fabric of Indian society, affect even highly educated women, who are often expected to prioritise family over their careers, delaying or limiting their professional growth. “Working women are doing 6x more work than employed men. It’s a lot of unpaid work which could be productive, constructive, paid-for work. Somewhere, we are also expecting women to be superwomen,” Shutapa Paul said, highlighting the impossible expectations that are often set for women.

Workplace Structures Designed for a Male Workforce

Discussing workplace dynamics, Garg touched upon the organisational structures that have historically been designed for men. She states that if women had always been a fundamental part of the workforce, companies would have implemented maternity benefits, parental leave, lactation rooms, and flexible work options much earlier.

Various industries are still lagging behind, despite the progress. Data from 2016 reveals that women made up only 20% of the workforce in alternative investments, a figure that has seen little growth since.

The Challenge of Unconscious Bias

As she reflected on her personal experience during training, Garg shared that even educated individuals carry unconscious biases shaped by societal stereotypes. Placing emphasis on the importance of raising awareness in organisations, she addressed the issue of unconscious bias.

She called for the implementation of objective, data-driven processes to minimise human subjectivity in hiring and promotions. “We need to move beyond awareness workshops to systemic changes that ensure biases don’t influence critical decisions,” Garg advised.

Rethinking Leadership Traits

Highlighting the challenges women face while navigating leadership roles, Garg noted that many leadership traits are still moulded on a historically male persona. Women in leadership positions are often labelled as aggressive or soft. This dichotomy, she observed, often makes it difficult for women to lead. She urged organisations to recognise the value of diverse leadership styles and to actively work on disrupting these entrenched stereotypes.

Re-entering the Workforce: A Daunting Task

The conversation also touched upon the significant challenges individuals of all genders face when trying to re-enter the workforce after a break. Garg pointed out that second careers often contain many compromises, such as job profile, seniority and even compensation.

“We also see some privileged women, who have support and the tools, but choose not to come back to working life. How do we keep them retained in the workforce?” Paul asked.

Garg emphasised that there are enough women in the workforce to drive change at the leadership level. Take the investing community for instance — research shows that while nearly 49% of entry-level roles are filled by women, only 2.3% of women in private equity and venture capital firms hold positions that influence capital allocation decisions.

“We need to focus on helping the women, who are already in the workforce, succeed and grow,” Garg urged. “Once they see a return on investment and a clear pathway to leadership, it will encourage others to remain in or return to their careers.”

The insights shared in this episode of “What India Needs!” reinforce the critical need to address societal conditioning and workplace structures. Although progress is being made, tailored efforts and policies are required to ensure women have equal opportunities to thrive in their professional journeys.

Watch the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybxnVpeoDc 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2KKCZqkXW5MmuINOj23Thv?si=5e9fa124e60944ef