What slows the women manager\'s advancement to leadership roles in corporate India – A review of organisational barriers

Abstract

Successful organisations have identified the need for a gender-diverse and inclusive work culture which will enable them to deliver the desired results effectively. There are fewer women seen at the leadership level in organisations across almost all industry sectors. Gender-diverse boards and top management are the need of the hour. There are a complex set of factors identified to be impacting the progress of women managers to leadership positions. This paper proposes to examine the various organisational barriers which impact women workers at their workplace and is slowing their career advancement based on previous studies and literature available on the subject. This study finds that gender stereotypes and gender inequality are crucial aspects impacting women in the workplace. This manifests in several aspects of the organisation such as in its structure, culture, and policies, as male dominant hierarchy, training and mentoring challenges, and networking aspects. The methodology adopted was to review articles from journals, newspapers, and company reports and map them to these factors.