About two months ago, we launched a new section called, ‘Couples in Partnership,’ primarily to highlight the increasing number of women from the Indian community engaged as partners in business with their husbands, participating in the decision-making process.
The new Section also emphasises the positive aspects of relationship between men and women as partners at home and in business, and underscore the rising importance of our women in the business community.
In this context, we consider the speech of Ethnic Affairs Minister Judith Collins (at a conference of the Women’s Committee of the New Zealand Indian Central Association on April 6 at Rotorua) timely and appropriate.
She called upon Indian women to seek membership to the government appointed boards, committees and advisory groups.
A Credit Suisse Group Survey (see our March 1, 2013 issue) has found that companies that have women on their management boards perform better with higher levels of productivity and profitability, an international report has revealed.
The Report said that gender diversity improves business health, creates better working environment and delivers higher average returns.
Despite rising concerns about the safety of women in some parts of India, the country accounts for a large number of women in top executive positions. Women are also active in politics, business, community work and other sections of the society.
As Ms Collins stressed, Indian women in New Zealand are yet to realise their potential and be involved in national boards, and bring the benefit of their expertise and thinking power for the good of the country.
On a broader note, it may surprise some to realise that women are still in minority in the corporate world.
In her book, ‘Lean In,’ Facebook Chief Executive Sheryl Sandberg has argued that women derail their own careers and lose out in the workplace because they do not negotiate for themselves and are punished if they do.
According to her, women forfeit the change to take additional responsibilities at work, thinking that they may one day want to have a family.
“As a result, they find themselves with less meaningful jobs and often do not return to full-time work after maternity leave. Don’t leave before you leave,” she said.
Ms Sandberg annoyed many feminists, but she remains undaunted.
She is today worth more than US$ 400 million and her critics say that they may not like to work for a company with an intractable sense of its own transgressive nature.
But many analysts say that the critics miss the point.
Ms Sangerberg believes that women are not solely responsible for their lack of leadership and that corporate structures and cultures also work against them.
“American companies, for example, are not obliged to offer paid maternity leave, not to mention paternity leave. Childcare costs have risen twice as fast in the past decade as the median incomes of families with children, which means returning to work often makes little financial sense,” they said.
Corporate America notwithstanding, we believe that women of Indian origin in New Zealand have made their statement: “We have the ability to participate in the running of commercial enterprises, managing such delicate matters as sound financial discipline, human resources and customer service.”
As mentioned in a recent issue, the presence of women on the management boards of companies and as entrepreneurs encouraged us to include the ‘Best Businesswoman of the Year’ category in the annual Indian Newslink Indian Business Awards. According to our independent panel of judges, this category is among the most popular of the Awards, attracting people from various industries and highlighting the significant role played by our women in the decision-making process and management of companies.
