Context: Globally while representation of women in the workplace has increased, it reduces to a trickle by the time they reach senior leadership in organizations - a phenomenon which has negative consequences both for women and a nation's financial and social health. While extant literature has examined the challenges disrupting women's career progression this paper explores how Women Independent Directors (WID), have navigated male-oriented organisational cultures, unfriendly HR policies presented in the garb of "merit-based" policies and gendered substructures to shape their career trajectories.
Study: A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews was conducted with 25 WID and 6 Male Independent Directors in India. The data collected was analysed using thematic analysis. The resultant analysis showed the presence of organizational bias impacting psychological safety, belongingness, and motivation in the women in the workforce. It demonstrated how systemic workplace practices and HR policies perpetuate opportunity, resource and income inequalities.
Apart from bringing out the systemic barriers that women face, the study showed organisational factors like visibility at work, mentorship, taking initiative and exercising of voice by the women, as enabling factors. The study revealed that the type of organisation like government, public or private sector along with its associated manpower intake policies appear to have a bearing on the longevity of the woman's employment and subsequently overcoming the systemic barriers and reaching the top echelons of management.
Implications of the findings: The findings highlight the need for HR Policies/ Service Rules to offer mentorship, training and enabling networks to help women grow in their professions. It highlights that organisations need to rally behind the women if the income, opportunity and resource inequalities need to be bridged.