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Tag: WICCI

  • Prof Akshaya Vijaylakshmi, Associate Professor, Marketing, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA), who has been onboarded as the Knowledge Partner for the initiative

    Second edition of ‘I Lead’ survey alunched

    By Our Staff

     

    We have our views on the Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry but must say that its PR & Digital Marketing National Council, one of the 150-plus Councils the association has, is superactive. The Council has launched the second edition of the ‘I Lead’ Women Leadership Survey. The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and Public Relations Consultants Association of India (PRCAI) have joined hands with WICCI to support this survey, notes a communique

     

    Prof Akshaya Vijaylakshmi, Associate Professor, Marketing, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA), has been onboarded as Knowledge Partner for the initiative. Said Prof Vijaylakshmi: “We talk about how it takes a village to raise a child but what we also need is an organization to come together to help a mother not just stay at work but also succeed and grow in the firm. This is just one example. The ‘I Lead’ Women Leadership Survey by WICCI aims to get a wholesome understanding of what organizations are doing to help women thrive. This survey is the much needed roadmap that we need for the future.”

     

    Announcing the launch of the survey, Kavita Lakhani, National President of WICCI PR & Digital Marketing Council said, “It is a known fact that gender equality is key to unlocking greater chances for women to prosper at leadership positions. Through the ‘I Lead’ Women Leadership Survey, we will attempt to understand from CXOs of communications firms firstly on how much they believe in providing equal opportunities, equal respect and equal empowerment.  Secondly what is their formula for an equal future – specific programmes, partnerships and policies within their organization – all designed to support women and to break down any barriers to recruitment, retention, development and leadership.” The  survey can be taken on mobile.  The survey link www.enswype.com.

     

  • Gender discrimination, workplace bias, limited growth and development opportunities, tokenism, policy gaps remain roadblocks for growth of women in the communications industry, notes  a study conducted by the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode and WICCI

    Women aspire to lead but are hesitant: IIM-K study

    By Our Staff

     

    The Women’s Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry’s Public Relations and Digital Marketing Council and the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode (IIMK), have announced the findings of the first edition of the ‘I Lead’ survey – a collaborative study launched to capture the experiences and challenges for women to reach leadership positions in the field of communications. The study also reports the progress made so far by organisations and offers a framework that organisations can adopt to move towards a gender-inclusive workplace.

     

    The ‘I Lead’ survey conducted in early 2021 received a response from 1000+ women communication professionals (across genres of Journalism, Advertising, Public Relations, Digital Communications, Content Writing, Corporate Affairs and Corporate Communications).

     

    As per a recent World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Gender Gap report of 2021, this year India slipped 28 places, and was ranked 140 among 156 countries, indicating the need for enabling policies to support women in the workforce.  In the communications industry, despite women already forming a very large part of the workforce, almost 34%, compared to a national average of 14%, the ratio drops to just 11% at senior management positions, and a mere 3% in boardrooms.

     

    The findings of the recently launched ‘I Lead’ survey corroborate this reality. Less than half (42%) women believe that equal pay for equal work is not practiced.  Two third (68%) respondents stated that their organisation does not have a formal mentoring program for aspiring women leaders. More than half (53%) respondents said that organisations don’t have a clear career growth path for women joining post maternity leave or critical care breaks. 79% women stated that their organisation considers home investments as gaps during promotions or assignment of critical assignments. More than half (53%) respondents said that their organisations do not recruit and engage in formal succession planning to ensure gender diversity. The study indicated a mere tokenism approach exists currently, with Diversity and Inclusion policies being more of a ‘tick-in-the-box’ with little ability to eliminate gender discrimination, increasing instances of workplace bias and deep routed sexism, limited mentoring and training support, and lopsided HR policies. These startling numbers re-emphasize the need for the communications industry to walk the talk of creating an inclusive and equitable work environment for women.

     

    Said Kavita Lakhani, Director Operations, Weber Shandwick and National President, WICCI Public Relations and Digital Marketing Council: “While 66% respondents of the survey agreed to the existence of gender diversity at their workplace, 61% respondents stated that equal number of men and women are not in leadership roles. The ‘I Lead’ survey underscores the need for a gender inclusive culture that enables high-performing women to grow into leadership roles – and above all have complete control and freedom to drive their career journeys in the direction they desire. To empower more women to reach the top, organisations must expedite action in three key areas: modeling leadership and building confidence through role models/networking, progressive policies, and support systems to nurture ‘women of future’ and providing corporate development programs that propel qualified women who aspire to lead.  It is my fervent belief that this study will inform and encourage leaders to take clear and decisive steps to develop the leadership potential of their female employees – and that we will all be stronger for it.”