Women CEOs Are No Better Than Their Male Counterparts???

Just a few days back, my dad had gone for a meeting with the CEO of a company. The name of that person he was supposed to meet was L. N. Chandra. As he waited in the reception area, he looked around. There was a buzz of activity all around him. Everyone wanted to be involved in friendly discussions, with a lot of smiles thrown around. My dad imagined that the CEO occupying the seat in the cabin to be a benign, suited booted gentleman with effective managerial skills. Very soon he was ushered in. Not to his very great surprise, he saw a diminutive woman welcoming him to have a seat. She seemed o be a bundle of energy, caught in a flurry of activity. She gave equal attention to what he had to say, she answered queries on the phone calmly and knowledgeably and my dad didn’t saw even a frown on her face in spite of the harrowing day she seemed to be having. After sharing this incident with me, he asked me, "Why did I imagine that I would be meeting a male CEO?”

Simply because the stereotypical image of a CEO in the media is that of a male! And the other reason being that there are very few female CEOs around. Yes, the glass ceiling does exist and, for whatever reasons there may be (including the clichéd one like women take time off to start and nurture a family), women CEOs are a very small breed not just in India but also all over the world. We can go on and on about how women are no longer shackled to home and hearth. Every time we talk about women in the workforce, the standard argument is, “Oh, but we have women President  and women astronauts and that goes to show that women have equal opportunities!” But we rarely mention that there is something called gender bias, sexual harassment in the workplace and several other problems that men generally do not face. And if a woman is powerful enough to combat and overcome all of these, the troubles are just beginning, because everything she does is held under minute scrutiny, not because she is inept but because she is female! So, then comes the ubiquitous question, “ Is she better than a male CEO?” Why doesn’t anyone ask, “Is she better qualified than the males in that office?” “Is she more effective as a manager vis-à-vis her male counterparts?” “Does she bring any special skills to the table that, perhaps, a male CEO would lack?” These questions are rarely asked because a woman CEO is often a threat to the male ego. So, what happens? The rumour mills run overtime and everything that she does becomes a grist for gossip. If the woman CEO is made of sterner stuff, she weathers the storm; and if she can’t take it, she resigns….So, we are back to where we started – why are there such few female CEOs around?

To my mind, there are two sharply contrasting styles of management : Autocratic and Permissive. Each style has its own characteristics. In the autocratic style, the CEO makes all the decisions by himself. In the permissive style, the CEO encourages subordinates to take part in the decision making process, the CEO consults the subordinates before making any decision.  While the first style is directive in nature, the second one is more democratic. Women are more prone to the second style because that is what they have been conditioned to do. They have to negotiate their way out in every situation. Perhaps, that is why they are perceived as weak. For them, it is like being caught between the devil and the deep sea. If they ask for opinions and ideas then “Oh!  She is a woman, she doesn’t know much and therefore, she has to ask the world before she takes a decision.” And if she is autocratic, then the common refrain is, “Oh! She feels constantly threatened by men in the office and therefore she never listens to anyone…How typically female!” So, for the woman CEO, it is often a no-win situation.

And now, if you think that the writer of this blog is biased in favour of women….you are absolutely right!!! I would say categorically that women CEOs are no better or no worse than their male counterparts. There are inefficient and inept CEOs everywhere just as there are good and effective CEOs all around the world. If Chanda Kochchar is a good CEO, it is not because she is a woman, but because she has certain managerial skills that, maybe, other men and women in ICICI, lack. Or, maybe, she is just good. If Steve Jobs is considered as the best, it isn’t because he is male but because his IQ is higher than average.

Well known international companies want their CEOs to be the people who have high levels of optimism, are better able to control their feelings ( not repress them) and are excellent stress managers…They should be the one who are more proactive and have better interpersonal skills. All these factors play a very crucial role in determining the growth and progress of individuals both professionally as well as personally. If a man has these qualities, then he is chosen to fill in the haloed position of a CEO and if an EQ test shows that it is a woman who has all these qualities, then it is She who wins he corporate war! It is as simple as that…Isn’t it???

My Journey in Enactus-MLDC

Power, fame and a lush lifestyle - they all lie in the conscious mind of an individual; celebrating on the cruise with champagne ready to be uncorked and the most expensive fruits laid on the platter next to it. There is no point denying that this is the mindset of most of us young adults.

But the subconscious mars the play of our consciousness. Slumdog Millionaire, Nirbhaya, an innocent malnourished infant, Transgenders or a differently abled adult seeking, begging for money and food, a mother selling hairclips and such small accessories with her little baby in a zhola on her back; we all feel for them, emotionally get attached to them, we want to reach out to them and tell them that they'll survive and it isn't such a worst place to live in - but we don't, we can't, we shouldn't because we know they are forced to do all those things and that giving them money would only make them dependent leading to their further exploitaiton.

When opportunities knock at your door, grab them and make the most of it. So, when in the year 2008; Enactus knocked our door, we grabbed it as an opportunity and since then, there is no looking back. It offers the most worthwhile activities to students whilst still in college that can be justified with pride by each of its members.

‘Enactus’ – the International Nonprofit Organization is formed to create a better and more sustainable world, to make the world a beautiful place to reside in by creating opportunities for those who couldn’t even imagined that they existed for them. These opportunities are sourced out by over 66000 students, business and academic leaders in 1600 Universities across 37 countries; by applying economic and business concepts. The students strive to elevate the standard of living of the people in need by implementing their academic knowledge in the practical world. It follows the principal of “Empowerment through Innovation”.

Enactus endeavors to restore the masses’ faith in humanity and there’s no better option to do that than to be done by the young students who are responsible to build a stronger and healthier nation. Every woman you impact, every hope you give to a differently abled, every young entrepreneur you show a brighter future to, every family that you help, every life you light, every smile you’re a reason for – these tiny moments of joy will be treasured for eternity unlike the wealth.

Enactus gives this opportunity to enjoy those memories by building a social enterprise and empowering the world. It’s a slow and a gradual process done in parts but gives infinite happiness when you see 115 countries on the map impacted positively, and you are the reason for one small part of it.

When I joined Enactus M. L. Dahanukar College of Commerce in July 2012; I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. Marketing experience in Vile-Parle Grahak Peth, the National Competition rush, the continuous brainstorming sessions, building – scraping and building again the business models to impact larger number of people, the early mornings and the late evenings on the field, all hands in one lunchbox with your team – all of it became like the survival necessity of my life. Your project becomes your baby, your team members become your family, your juniors become your kids, your target audience becomes your emotional attachment and your faculty advisor and alumni becomes your lifetime support!!!

Approaching the corporations to financially assist your project gets your nerves racking. The boardrooms shouldn’t decide to fund the food for thirty million children or a year’s ration to thirty thousand women as their CSR initiative. Funding the empowerment of the target audience with the aim to elevate their standards of living and quality of life in the long run would be the apt choice.

Companies like Walmart, Syntel, KPMG, Mahindra, The Tata Group, etc have been strong supporters of Enactus. Enactus MLDC received the Walmart Women’s Economic Grant in the Preliminary Round and the grant has enabled us to empower a lot of our project beneficiaries.

Enactus MLDC pioneers student leadership, social responsibility and commitment to community upliftment. The most beautiful milestone achieved by us was to see the financially unstable women in Sawarsai Village (Penn), to establish their own business by creating links overall in Mumbai and finally breathing the air of freedom and to see the young entrepreneurs persuing their passion as a career and setting up their own venture in this highly competitive market.

Together we pledge to take action, together we commit to apply our passions and talents and ideas to impact as many lives as we can, Not to hand out help to people in need but to work side by side with them to create opportunity. So every person and community we touch is empowered to live up to their fullest potential…..

Each of us within us has an entrepreneurial spirit, Each of us has an ability to transform lives, Together We ARE Enactus!!!! 

Hello people...
We Enactus MLDC introduce you all to one of our latest projects undertaken for celebrating a happy and safe diwali.
Hope you all like it :)
Waiting for your positive comments.