IT & ITES

One out of every five employees in the twin sectors is a woman. Reason? Women are increasingly opting for computer training. And thanks to flexi-timing, ITES boast a 1:1 gender ratio

FINANCIAL SERVICES

It's a no-brainer, really. Banks and financial services companies offer a gender-neutral work environment. The regular work hours suits women too

PHARMA & BIOTECH

In India women account for 11 per cent of the R&D talent pool. And in Big Pharma, women account for a fourth of R&D workforce. Their creativity and analytical skills makes them attractive recruits

Let's get this straight rightaway. Few employers, at least the better ones, go out recruiting with the idea of hiring only female-or, for that matter, male-employees. They go out looking for the best available talent, and if it happens to be a woman, so be it. That said, there are some industries that women are especially drawn to. Like it and ITES, pharma and biotechnology, advertising-marketing-media, market research, and financial services. Conservative estimates suggest that between 20 and 25 per cent of the white-collar workforce in the five industries is made up by women, up from around 10 per cent as recently as the 1980s. A dipstick survey of the country's two biggest online job portals shows that the number of educated women wanting to join the labour force is soaring. For instance, out of the two lakh vacancies (mainly services sector) filled up via Naurki.com last year, 70,000 were by women. As recently as four years ago, the number was just 25 per cent. Arun Tadanki, CEO of Monster.com (India), the bigger of the two job portals, confirms the trend. He says that a quarter of the 31 lakh resumes in his database are of women.

The reason, of course, is socio-political and economic. With concepts like gender equality and economic independence gaining currency in India, more and more women are entering the workforce. Not surprisingly, female literacy levels have risen to 54 per cent (as per 2001 census) from 40 per cent in 1991. The enrolment of women in higher education and professional colleges has also gone up from 33.3 per cent (of total enrolment) in 1991 to about 40 per cent in 2001. "This literacy drive coupled with the it revolution have made Indian women attain a certain degree of cultural and economic independence,'' notes R. Rajalakshmi, Director, Software Technology Parks of India in Chennai, who recently conducted a study on the new phenomenon of women in the it profession.

According to Rajalakshmi's study, the sector where employment of women is growing the fastest is IT & ITES, an industry not more than two decades old (ITES is barely five years old). Consider this: of the 12 companies surveyed in Rajalakshmi's study, nine have a gender ratio between 1:2.5 and 1:5. For instance, 45 per cent of the workforce of Infosys' BPO, Progeon, is made up by women, 40 per cent of L&T Infotech's, and 25 per cent of TCS' and Polaris'. Other companies like Infosys, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Sun Microsystems, and Oracle India employ one woman for every five men. But it's the fledgling BPO industry that has the distinction of employing the maximum number of (white-collar) women. "Despite the night shifts and the demands of dealing with US-based customers, the BPO industry has a gender ratio of almost 1:1," says Tadanki.

ADVERTISING, MARKETING AND MEDIA

Historically, women have gravitated towards this industry, attracted by its glamour, and by the money, and flexibility it offers. Large parts of the business-media planning and buying, and client servicing, for instance-are dominated by women

MARKET RESEARCH

It's a specialised area (it requires qualifications in marketing and psychology), and it also requires patience, understanding, empathy and the ability to make that intuitive leap. Need we say more?

What attracts women to the industry? ''ITES is a people-oriented business. Women have strengths in handling people, mentoring, counselling, even multi-tasking. It is a psychological warfare and women are extremely good at it,'' says Nandita Gurjar, Progeon's hr head. Her peers in the pharma and biotech sectors seem to agree with Gurjar's assessment. ''Women are typically credited with creativity and orientation to see patterns in data,'' says Udbhav Ganjoo, Director (HR), Ranbaxy Laboratories, where women comprise 18 per cent of the total headcount, while the R&D division has a higher 25 per cent share.

It's easy to see why women prefer the knowledge or services sectors. Typically, hr practices in these industries are more progressive than in, say, the automotive or chemicals industry. There's very little of the blue-collar component, and many employers in these sectors offer flexible hours and remote working opportunities. Such factors appeal strongly to women, who have a harder time striking work-life balance than men. From an employer's point of view, hiring women (given that everything else is equal) is a smart strategy. Although there are no studies proving so, most hr heads will tell you that women are infrequent job hoppers and more loyal than men. And since they are less aggressive than men, their decision-making is also more thought out.

The job market, however, isn't the easiest of animals to understand. A host of complex factors-including industry performance, global trends, industry practices, among others-determines the flow of talent and remuneration. What's easy to see is that women are increasingly becoming a bigger force in wealth creation.

In The Company of Eves

If men are from Mars and women from Venus, then managing an organisation where one out of three employees is a woman must be a nightmare, right? Wrong. All it takes is greater understanding and flexibility. Just ask Biocon.

By Venkatesha Babu

It's no cake walk: Biocon's Nirupa Bareja spearheads the company's HR initiatives

Over the last four years, the Bangalore-based biotech company, Biocon, has lost a mere 2 per cent of its workforce annually to rivals or retirement. But that's not the interesting bit. Majority of the people who've left the 26-year-old firm have been men. Women, who make up a stunning 30 per cent of Biocon's payroll of 1,400, just don't seem to want to leave Biocon. ''A married woman with kids rarely leaves us,'' says Nirupa Bareja, Group Head (HR), Biocon. ''They are the safest and most productive employees we could ask for.''

So how does Biocon, which does not consciously hire female employees, do it? Not by going out of its way to treat its women employees preferentially, but by merely being sensitive to their special needs. That should be easy. After all, Biocon was founded, and is still headed, by a woman: Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw. For example, four years ago, when Mazumdar-Shaw heard that the reason why a talented woman employee was leaving was the lack of a creche, she immediately had one set up. The employee stayed back. Today, the creche, free of cost to all Biocon employees, also hosts for a fee children of employees of neighbouring companies such as Infosys, Wipro, and Narayana Hrudayalaya. ''Productivity actually improves because the mother can go in and see her child any time she wants,'' says Bareja. ''Otherwise, imagine having a sick child back home and being worried about it all the time.'' In fact, that was one of the key reasons why a senior scientist from a Delhi-based pharma major agreed to join Biocon.

Multi-tasking: Women are a large part of Biocon's research army

To build camaraderie among its female employees, the company offers an internal portal called Biowoman. This has several information posts and discussion boards on issues relating to female health. That apart, Biocon organises an annual health camp for all its employees, including women, and as a matter of routine, women employees working late get a drop home. On the 8th of March every year-it is the International Women's Day-women employees are presented with a rose and a card each. ''They are made to feel special, and it is a male co-worker or the immediate superior who presents the card to them,'' says Bareja.

Apart from being more stable employees, do women bring any special skills to their job? Bareja thinks so. According to her, Biocon has found them to be better at multi-tasking. Little wonder then that in areas like research and development, testing, and clinical trials, the percentage of women is higher than the companywide average of 30 per cent. Marketing, however, is one area that has one of the lowest proportion of women employees, although the eight-member sales department consists entirely of women.

Corporatising childcare: The day care centre was one of the reasons a Delhi-based scientist agreed to join Biocon

Surely, there must be a flipside to having so many women employees? Yes, says Bareja. ''It sounds clichéd, but most women tend to be extra emotional. It has been our experience that they are very sensitive to criticism. It requires tact to handle them.'' She recalls an incident where the company found a woman employee's productivity drop dramatically in a matter of months. A bit of probing revealed that her poor performance at work was due to personal problems. Biocon not only counselled the employee but also spoke to her family members.

At the end of day, Bareja says, it's good hr practices that pay. Every employee, be it a man or a woman, needs to be handled differently. It is just that if you have a greater percentage of women in your workforce, it is a good hr strategy to be a little more understanding and responsive.