Women And The War For Talent

The war for talent gets tougher every day and women are not excluded. It is more challenging to find the right women candidates as ladies are more discerning when it comes to selecting employers. Ladies look forward to welcoming as individuals with differentiating styles. It is an agreed fact that women are more deliberate in changing employers, probably because experience has taught them the importance of environment and culture in both their performance and job-satisfaction. While their male counterparts are more likely to weigh compensation as the leading factor, women consider myriad things such as the culture of the firm, colleagues, presence of women colleagues and role models before committing to join. Like any other place, the workplace throws novel challenges as women and fitting in to the accepted role is often a task. Perceptions change with gender and what is acceptable for men is often not considered the rule for women. To take example aggressiveness at the workplace is acceptable for a male boss but the same portrays the woman as irrational, over-emotional and bossy. Most workplaces are seeing the blasting of male-bastions, even the fighter pilot profession of the Indian Armed Forces is a beacon. The corporate too has its share of more and more women managers and leaders

The HR function of the industry has often been seen suitable for women although the logic of it as a ‘soft profession’ is highly debatable. Many tasks such as in-depth behavioural interviewing are seen as strength of women recruiters. In-Fact many Executive Search Firms like JBK Associates and the California based WSS Executive search are exclusively led by women boards. In India too Top Executive Search agencies comprise many women head-hunters whose searching prowess helps deliver key mandates. Yet despite their strengths women candidates face exclusion due to stereotypes. However even Top Executive Search firms may be at danger to exclude women candidates. Women candidates face questions about loyalty, stability, and capability in ways that men simply don’t. Even today, men are often considered the “default” candidate type, with women representing a “different” choice. Even when search consultants do try to include more women on their long and short lists, client firms will change their search criteria over time, the end result of which is weeding out women from the candidate list.

Women also face queries about their family life that men do not. Married women are at times considered risky choices, in that they wouldn’t necessarily be able to give “the extra-edge” to their job. At the same time, married men are considered more likely to be stable or loyal. Divorced or separated women too face a harsh judgement many times. Despite these troubling factors, women continue to grow and contribute professionally, slowly acting as harbingers of change in the world at large.