medical devices in india - stellar...with india’s gdp growth pegged as one of the fastest in the...

© Stellar Search 2011

Medical Devices in IndiaThe Changing Landscape

A Stellar Search White Paper

From the Editor’s Desk

Indian businesses gained their real independence in the early nineties with the opening up of the economy and the dismantling of the license raj. The nation, from the tortoise like Hindu-rate of growth started to sprint towards growth rates that were missing double digits by a whisker. And this growth was being contributed by all sectors and economies.

The Healthcare sector’s contribution to this Indian growth story has been unmatched. On one hand the sector has attracted investments in growth from large Indian players and on the other it has seen the foray of many multinationals in domains ranging from medical tourism to clinical studies, and even investments in research and development (R&D.) According to forecasts by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) the healthcare industry is estimated to be worth $ 276 billion by 2020.

The healthcare sector offers immensely rewarding opportunities for growth, especially when the country sees a shift in its disease profile moving towards a higher incidence of lifestyle-related diseases. With the increase in life expectancy and rising income levels the need for better facilities in the country is emphasized.

The medical devices industry is poised to be a front runner, due to an increase in number of healthcare centers specializing in advanced surgery and with a relatively low customs duty rates (9.2 – 25%) India offers substantial opportunities even for the import of high-technology, specialized medical equipment, products and systems. However the road to exponential growth is impeded with a few speed-breakers. Talent challenges, low gender diversity, limited industry - academia interaction are leading to decelerating the growth story for the sector in particular. Heartening to know, that none of these systemic challenges are unsurmountable.

In the course of writing this report, Stellar embarked on a journey to meet and interview many senior management professionals in the medical devices space only to learn that the companies are working in silos to address these issues. Wide sweeping changes at both the industry-level and organizational level are still few and far between.

We hope this effort will serve as both an archival document and a useful guidebook for those interested in building the India business.


September 2011

Table of Contents

No Section Page

1 Introduction 4

2 Medical Devices Market 6

3 Talent: An Overview 13

4 Stellar Recommends 17

5 Annexures 22

Gender Inclusion in India: A TCS Survey by People Matters

MNCs play on innovation to tap the healthcare pie from The Financial ExpressMNCs play on innovation to tap the healthcare pie from The Financial Express


© Stellar Search 2011 ‣ 4

1 Introduction

The Indian healthcare industry is on a growth trajectory and is expected to continue its double digit growth over the next five years. Some analysts peg this growth at 15%, the devices industry however promises more. The overall healthcare industry, valued at $35 billion in 2006, is expected to be close to $70 billion by 20121.

What makes this growth sustainable is the convergence of many trends. Key among them are:๏ Development of infrastructure

๏ Creation of demand for higher levels of healthcare

๏ Rising awareness of end users

๏ Aggressive push of innovative insurance policies to complete the circle of the end user, payer and provider value chain.

With India’s GDP growth pegged as one of the fastest in the world, the 8% (average) growth is being fueled by the growth of the services sector including telecom, BFSI, retail and ITeS.

Changing lifestyle, brought about by higher per capita income, is transforming the disease profile from predominantly communicable diseases to non-communicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The personal healthcare expenditure by households has grown from 4 to 7% during 1995 to 2005 period and is expected to reach 13% by 2025.

The Indian healthcare industry, despite the healthy growth - both present and forecasted, is wrought with challenges for leading players. These often get amplified with poor quality of existing infrastructure, especially in smaller towns

and rural parts of the country. A look at the numbers, in light of this, reveals a realistic picture and also highlights the latent opportunity therein.

1.1 Demographics versus Healthcare Infrastructure

The world’s second most populous country remains rural in its character, with 70% residing in rural areas.

1 Medical Devices In India: Recommendations for NIPERs

Personal healthcare expenditure by Indian households has grown from 4 to 7% during 1995 to 2005 period and is expected to reach 13% by 2025.

And therefore it is no surprise that the healthcare market shows signs of severe under penetration. Less than 10% of the population is covered under health insurance, which is one hundredth compared to that of USA2.

India has just 0.7 hospital beds and 0.6 doctors per 1,000 people, well below the world average. And of these small numbers, 80% of doctors, 75% of healthcare delivery centers (or dispensaries) and 60% of hospitals situated in urban areas3.

There is a clear gap between supply and demand for affordable, accessible, high quality healthcare and therein lies the BIG opportunity and the challenge for the industry

Syringes, needles & catheters

12%

Figure 1: Where Does India Live?Source: Census of India, 2010

2 Riding the Growth Curve (A Deloitte Report on the Medical Technology Industry in India)3 Ibid



2 Medical Devices Market

The market for medical devices in India, currently estimated at $3 billion and growing at more than 20% per annum4. The industry is drawing investments from multi-nationals like GE, Siemens and Philips among others. The common strategy emerging is “Made in India – for India.”

The Indian healthcare industry ranks among top 20 in the world yet remains comparatively small, in value terms, translating to just under $3 in terms of per capita spending. Theorists suggest that economies follow a transitional growth trajectory when moving from being underdeveloped to developing to developed, with a spurt in healthcare spending at very inflection point. India’s rising healthcare spending and the recent surge in investment in healthcare industry is testament to this theory

2.1 Growth Drivers

India today stands at the cusp of momentous change, with a wide array of factors aligned to ensure rapid and never before seen transformation across the economic, demographic and social

4 Ibid

Others15%

Bandages7%

X-Ray Apparatus9%

Electromedical12%

Syringes, needles & catheters12%

Orthopaedic/Prosthetic20%

Instruments & Appliances25%


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Figure 2: Indian Medical Technology Industry

Source: Cygnus

landscapes. The key elements of the India story, as expected to unfold in the coming decades, can be summarized in the following points:

Demographics are ChangingImprovement of overall health status and socio-economic status is also exerting an impact on the constitution of the demographic profile. With a decline in birth rates, the population aged 0 - 14 has declined, and on the other hand with an improvement in life expectancy, the old age population has increased in the recent years. Both these are expected to continue.

Booming EconomyThe continuous growth of economy (and the correspondingly increasing per capita GDP) has led to better standards of living. Moreover, the ever increasing ‘class shifting’ Indian population is moving from ‘aspirers’ (annual household income between $2,000 - 4,500) to the ‘middle’ class (annual household income between $4,500 - 22,000.) (See Figure 4) These factors have cumulatively contributed to the pushing up of demand for medical devices and diagnostic industry in the recent years.

Increasing Healthcare ExpenditureIn India, the healthcare expenditure constitutes about 12% of the national annual expenditure5. The role of central government is limited to family welfare and disease control programs, and the state governments contribute towards primary and secondary medical care with a limited role in specialty care.

5 Medical Devices In India: Recommendations for NIPERs


Figure 3: Age Distribution of Indian Population

Source: Statistical Outline of India, 2011

0

20

40

60

80

100

1991 2001 2010

12109

595555

293536

0 - 1415 - 5455 and above

Perc

ent

82% of the total health expenditure comes from the self-paid category, while employers account for 9% and insurance covers 5% of the total healthcare expenses6.

There are two types of healthcare spends by Indian households - payments to the healthcare providers and payments to health insurance premiums. The former constitute a major 98.5% of total healthcare expenditure thus indicating a potential for medical devices industry for its supply of medical equipments and diagnostics to these healthcare service providers.

Increasing Incidence of Lifestyle DiseasesThe type of healthcare service requirement and thus the demand pattern for medical devices in India has changed due to a rise of lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and diseases of the central nervous system.


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6 Emerging Trends in Healthcare (A Report by KPMG)


Number of households (in '000)



CategoryIncome

(in Rs lakh)Income

(in US$ '000) 2001-02 2005-06 2009-10

Deprived <0.9 <2 1,35,378 1,32,249 1,14,394

Aspirers 0.9-2.0 2-4.5 41,262 53,276 75,304

MIDDLE CLASS

Seekers 2.0-5.0 4.5-11 9,034 13,183 22,268MIDDLE CLASS Strivers 5.0-10.0 11-22 1,712 3,212 6,173

RICH

Near Rich 10.0-20.0 22-44.5 546 1,122 2,373

RICHClear Rich 20.0-50.0 44.5-110 201 454 1,037

RICHSheer Rich 50.0-100.0 110-220 40 103 255

RICH

Super Rich >100.0 >220 20 52 141

*Annual Household Income*Annual Household Income*Annual Household Income*Annual Household Income*Annual Household Income*Annual Household Income*Annual Household Income

Figure 4: Income Distribution in Indian Households

Source: National Council for Applied Economic Research

๏ Cardiovascular diseases: The mortality rate due to cardiac arrest and related causes was estimated at 2.4 million per annum7. With increasing urbanization the problem is also rising.

๏ Cancer: The total number of cancer cases in India was estimated at 924,790 in 2001. This is projected to increase to 1.22 million by 2011 and to 1.56 million by 20218.

๏ Ophthalmological diseases: The annual incidence of cataract in India, the cause of 80% blindness cases, is 3.8 million9. The total potential for surgical cataract removal is 1.75 million cases per year.

๏ Hypertension, diabetes and renal diseases: These stress and lifestyle related disorders are also on the rise. The diabetic population in India has increased from 40 million in 2001 to 47 million people in 201010. Hypertension is lower in rural areas but higher in urban cities and increasing rapidly.

๏ Neurological and psychiatric disorders and addictions: The current prevalence rate for neurological disorders is 15 to 20 people per thousand11. The most common ailments are epilepsy, migraine, cerebrovascular disorders, Parkinson's disease and peripheral neuropathies. It is estimated that 1% of the population is suffering from serious psychiatric illnesses, 10-15% have neuro-disorders, and 2.5% are mentally retarded12.

The opportunity for the industry clearly lies in the specialty segments which have become industry growth drivers

Emergence as a Hub for Medical TourismIndia is fast becoming one of preferred global destinations for medical tourism. Given the excellent perception of medical professionals of Indian origin in the west and the confidence inspiring English speaking Indian doctors, India is attracting patients for either urgent or elective medical procedures. Availability of immediate counsel and the affordability of world class medical procedures, coupled with state of the art hospitals and a large population of repatriating Indian doctors makes patients come to India to see a physician in private practice coupled with a tropical vacation.

According to the Confederation of Indian Industry, India has a potential to attract one million health tourists per annum, currently growing at an annual rate of around 25% that is predicted to bring in at least $2 billion within the next six years13. Another report projected that the industry is to grow by 30% annually14. The growth of medical tourism industry is to complement the growth the medical devices and diagnostic equipment industry. Orthopedic or arthroscopic surgeries are some of the medical procedures for which India has become a popular medical tourism hotspot.


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7 Medical Devices In India: Recommendations for NIPERs8 - 14 Ibid


Growing Number of HospitalsHealthcare in India is delivered through two channels - public and private channel. The private service provider’s contribute 63% and the remaining 37% being delivered by the public healthcare system. The increasing thrust on private healthcare services is resulting in a burgeoning number of private hospitals which creates additional demand for essential medical devices and diagnostics. So an expanding medical infrastructure (hospitals, specialized diagnostic centers, telemedicine centers, laboratories) is expected to fuel the demand for medical devices in future.

2.2 Challenges and Opportunities

In spite of the growth drivers, the industry is faced with many challenges. These road blocks mar the journey to success in the medical devices market. As the following points show, converting these challenges into opportunities is going to be the single biggest differentiating factor in determining which player emerges the winner in the high stakes and rapidly evolving Indian market.

Low PenetrationNotwithstanding the strong growth of the Indian medical technology market in the last few years, the industry is still plagued by low penetration for the most part. The per capita spend on medical technology in India is approximately $3, as opposed to $5 in China and $231 in Germany15.

For instance, the Indian market consumes 18,000 pacemakers per annum. However industry sources feel that India has the market potential of at least one million units. Most of this demand is generated from metros. With wider distribution and available medical infrastructure major cities (or tier II) towns offer a ready market. However penetration in smaller cities and rural areas remains low, owing mainly to lack of affordability, accessibility, awareness and availability.

AffordabilitySince the majority of the country’s population cannot afford even basic healthcare facilities, services providers thus are also cost-sensitive and pay careful attention in making their purchasing decisions. While big hospitals in metros are typically driven by quality while purchasing medical devices and equipment. The smaller hospitals, (particularly those in tier II and III cities) tend to opt for the cheaper options.

© Stellar Search 2011 ‣10

AccessibilityUnequal access to healthcare delivery has been a key issue afflicting the Indian healthcare system. Public health infrastructure is inefficient and inadequate, with low investments in medical infrastructure, including devices and equipment. As a result, access to healthcare is often found to be inadequate or absent in large swathes of rural India. Consequently, distribution of medical technology in these areas becomes an arduous task.

AvailabilityLack of innovation has also resulted in a scarcity of cost-effective products and solutions in the medical devises industry. At present, there are a limited number of such options available, and that too in select pockets of the country. There is a huge gap between the needs of the Indian consumer and what is available in the market.

AwarenessThere is growing awareness towards health related issues in the major cities yet a large proportion of India’s population remains ignorant about the latest advancements in medical technology. For example, the concept of Self Monitoring Blood Sugar (SMBG) is still not well-adopted in India as compared to the West. In India a meager 0.3%15 of diabetics use SMBG as opposed to almost 22% in developed countries. Lack of awareness regarding complications arising from diabetes and benefits of regular monitoring are key inhibitors in the adoption of SMBG.

Ambiguous Regulatory SystemIndia’s regulatory system is complex and can be challenging to navigate. Regulations regarding medical devices as a class have come in force only recently. Today, though, various devices (i.e., hypodermic syringes, cardiac stents, and orthopedic implants, among others) are designated as needing registration as drugs under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. A few specific devices, such as diagnostic X-ray equipment, have individual registration requirements instead. The government has drafted a medical device law, which may streamline the process but include many more medical devices (requiring registration) within a year or two.


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15 Riding the Growth Curve (A Deloitte Report on the Medical Technology Industry in India)


There is growing awareness towards health related issues yet a large proportion of India’s population remains ignorant about the latest advancements in medical technology.

For devices that need registration, the process may take up to a year, and will require substantial follow up with the designated authorities in New Delhi. The manufacturer may authorize the importer to apply for registration, or may designate an independent third party (in-country) to make the application and hold the license, which helps keep distribution options flexible. Obviously, if a company has its subsidiary, direct registration is possible.

The big opportunity for leading international players lies in coming up with innovative, Made in-India for-India solutions which would allow them to overcome the core availability/accessibility challenge.


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3 Talent: An Overview

As the medical devices industry continues its evolution, addressing people related challenges will be a crucial element in the overall growth strategy for all leading players. This holds even more true for multinationals planning on significantly expanding operations in the coming years. Success within the Indian framework, with its unique set of demands unlike any other market in the world, will inevitably require innovative and out-of-the box thinking on getting the right people at the helm of affairs.

3.1 Getting the Right Fit

Given the nascent stage of the medical devices industry in India, most players in the segment are forced to look outside for acquiring the right talent.

Skills are not well developed in this industry and consistency of talent, especially in commercial organizations is completely missing. Unlike the Automobile or Pharmaceutical industries, other fast growing industries in India where the entry level academic qualification are standardized and in line with industry requirements, in the Medical Devices industry one finds a mixed bag of talent, i.e. engineers, commerce graduates, MBAs, pharmacy graduates selling highly technical devices or implants.

The human resource in the industry works with a belief that the industry is unique and its need is also a unique set of skills. And the skill is most likely to be found only from within the industry16. Averse to cross-industry pollination, they often fall prey to the Business Leader’s demand of “find me a candidate who can hit the road running.”

As a result, from a talent perspective, the industry is insular and incestuous, with average quality talent and lacks leadership capability to propel growth and sustain growth momentum.

3.2 Buy versus Build Talent

Given the pressures to meet high growth targets, business managers show a resistance to acquire and train talent. They often follow the “buy talent” phenomena, where talent acquisition costs go up by 40-45%. A key outcome of this is that average talent, highly paid, with


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16 Stellar Research17 Stellar Research


limited exposure beyond the industry. Also, trading of job-offers is very high, wherein a candidate picks up an offer from a company and leverages it to negotiate a salary hike with another, which is in all likelihood a direct competitor.

There is a clear convergence of opinion amongst human resource professionals who have migrated from industries such as FMCG, ITeS, etc, that the industry has lost a sense of what senior professionals in this industry bring to the table, and hence continue to pay more than what these professionals often deserve17.

The demand for talent is always existent as the industry is growing rapidly and hence all companies face the issue of engaging and retaining talent.

Evolved organizations in this sphere, have attrition rates of 15-20%. “Given the nature of the industry, of being a great pay-master and providing excellent work-life balance, a 20% turnover is considered alarming and given the time and money spent on training this level, overall acquisition cost becomes very expensive.”

The junior management level offers an even more disturbing picture, with almost 80 % of those joining leave the industry, primarily on account of lack of opportunities for progressing to the middle management ranks.

Ensuring a better quality of middle management is one of the more critical imperatives for the Devices industry today. Workforce planning is not as yet an evolved function in most companies operating within the devices segment in the Indian market, further exacerbating the issue, thereby putting even more pressure on the leadership pipeline.

3.3 Stable versus Visionary Senior Management:

There has been a clear consensus amongst HR Heads, that senior management has been extremely stable in this industry. Unfortunately, the high capability, visionary leadership required for transformational change is not found amongst the senior management.

3.4 Diversity

This industry is skewed in its gender diversity configuration in India. At the leadership level, it is completely missing. During a Stellar Research survey, the common reason stated was


Given the nature of the industry, of being a great pay-master and providing excellent work-life balance, even a 20% turnover is considered alarming

“...customers of this industry are not gender sensitive, and hence commercial organizations have few or no women.” However, several companies, like Agilent, BD, J&J have built excellent gender diversity in the larger organization, especially in functions like HR, Finance, Supply Chain, IT and Customer Service.

3.5 Understanding the R&D Talent Landscape

Given that this industry is building its growth story in India on the premise of frugal innovation, and moving away from being dominated by imports from the west, most companies are contemplating the establishment of R&D or Innovation Centers in India.

With the automobile and engineering sectors well established in India, these new R&D centers will have to compete aggressively to attract talent from the 400,0018 fresh engineers who join the workforce every year. At present, due to lack of collaboration between industry and academia, academic courses and academic research barely mention the medical devices industry.

The location of the R&D facilities in India is often driven by the wide disparity prevalent in the country when it comes to availability of qualified scientific talent across different regions of the country. The southern cities of Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai by far outclass their northern counter-parts on almost all parameters of providing a ready pool of scientists and researchers capable of undertaking cutting edge research within the healthcare domain. The southern belt of the country today stands ideally poised to supply the manpower required to fuel innovation within almost all spheres of scientific expertise. This has already resulted in the creation of the requisite infrastructure, both physical as well as academic within these urban centers.

Stellar Research shows Hyderabad as the number one destination for setting up an R&D center for a medical devices company, followed by Bangalore.

3.6 Without Local Innovation, R&D Not Sustainable

To look at reverse engineering, value engineering, and new product development, to become a sustained part of the growth story, it is very important for the medical devices businesses to find innovative go-to markets, and connect directly with the end consumer. This includes understanding of the local population, cultural sensitivities, region and race specific disease patterns, social norms, environmental conditions, and genetic predisposition towards diseases or disorders.


Innovation centers should be tasked with the responsibility of venturing, i.e. looking at investing or acquiring low cost manufacturers and continually monitoring market trends to influence business plans and product development.

The Adaptive and Automatic Insulin Pump developed by the Amrita School of Biotechnology, a premier teaching and research institution, is a prime example. According to the International Diabetes Federation, there will be 69.9 million diabetics in India by 2025. Yet, insulin pumps typically are not affordable to a large segment of the diabetic patient population in India. Amrita School of Biotechnology developed an insulin pump at one-tenth the cost of devices that are currently imported, which typically go for between $4,000 to $8,000. Amrita School of Biotechnology developed an embedded system using an existing mobile device platform thereby avoiding costly patents. This is an illustration of how an Indian company can develop an innovative business model and manufacture a product that is competitive in the marketplace.

GE Healthcare has also pursued a clear cut strategy of localization, along with an emphasis on the public private partnership ‘PPP’ model. Examples of some localized products are the ECG machine, Mac I, which is a low-cost portable unit that addresses the growing cardiovascular disease burden. The company has 14 products which are locally developed.


4 Stellar Recommends

As an industry leader in the senior talent acquisition space for the healthcare industry in India, Stellar Search recommends the following strategies for sustained long term talent development in the industry.

4.1 Cross Pollination

Our research consistently shows that the top priority for any CEO in the medical devices space is to hire transformational leaders and rainmakers, who would accelerate the growth beyond the existing paradigms in the industry. Besides the FMCG and pharmaceutical industries, which have been natural choices to hire from in the past, other avenues device companies have looked towards for cross pollination have been the telecom and banking segments. Even within the medical devices industry, there are areas where talent is even scarce and rare to find. For instance the war for talent intensifies when looking for candidates with the right experience and profile for functions like R&D, rural marketing, analysts and economists, innovation and venturing, public-private partnerships and so on.

To address the challenges mentioned above, Stellar would strongly recommend greater talent integration and leadership sourcing from the automobile, material sciences and telecom industries in the coming years

4.2 Competency

The industry must move towards hiring for competence and not for the experience or exposure the candidate possesses. This requires the human resources in the medical devices companies to break current paradigms and experiment with cross industry hiring. Organizations which have successfully done this include GE , Philips and Becton Dickinson.

4.3 Creating a Strong Talent Pipeline

Exodus of personnel at the entry level has emerged as one of the more pressing concerns for the medical device industry in the country today. With high attrition levels being the norm, retaining people at junior levels is one of the most crucial people challenges faced by HR teams. Lack of a well defined roadmap for progressing them to the middle management level is cited as the most common reason for the exit. So far, the upper management in most companies


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seems to be unaffected, with most leading players succeeding in holding on to senior management, primarily on the back of highly competitive salaries that more than match (if not outmatch) compensation levels in almost every other industry. While high salary levels may seem like a good idea at this stage, as more and more firms expand their India operations, along with a concomitant ramping up employee numbers, we believe that holding on to such a compensation-driven retention model is likely to be an unviable proposition in the long run.

Some companies which provide an excellent learning for lateral hiring middle management program include GE and Baxter. GE and Baxter are two prominent examples of companies that have built excellent lateral hiring programs designed to allow access to the very best cross-industry senior talent available in the market. Their success has already had a knock-on effect on the industry as a whole, wherein we are increasingly seeing the idea permeate into large Indian conglomerates, as well as the FMCG industry, both of which are fast emerging as talent pools for business leaders of tomorrow.

4.4 Injecting Youth

For a country that has premised its entire growth story on an expected demographic dividend in the coming decades, MNCs in India are sticking to the tried and tested on the hiring front. The medical devices industry continues to hold on to its conservative legacy, wherein the idea of youth being equated with rash and careless behavior still holds good.

In fact, one of the biggest challenges faced by a majority of device makers in the country is the absence of an innovative approach to top management hiring. These companies would do well to bear in mind that a fast growing, highly dynamic and rapidly evolving Indian market calls for greater openness and acceptance of newer hiring paradigms.

Thus, it comes as no surprise to find top management across the medical industry landscape being almost entirely bereft of young talent, in contrast to the reality that prevails in other competing segments, which have increasingly opened up to the idea of incorporating more and more young talent into their senior management ranks.

4.5 Create Academia - Industry Alliances

At present, industry supported academic research is primarily concentrated in the automobiles, aerospace, IT sectors. The medical devices firms barely finding any mention at all.


The IITs, for example, in their undergraduate curriculum are primarily engineering driven. They are now expanding into medical programs as well. A good example of amalgamation of medical and engineering streams is the Stanford Biodesign program, as part of which the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and IIT, Delhi are working together. The industry needs to work together with the government and academia to nurture the right talent pool for innovation.

An important lesson to be learnt on this front comes from Israel, where excellent collaboration exists between education, R&D institutions, companies and entrepreneurs, both domestic and international. Israel is home to seven tech transfer organizations (TTOs) within the university system, and an additional five from within its leading research hospitals. The TTOs provide a valuable forum for connecting Israeli researchers and early stage projects with investment, sponsorship and partnerships from multi-national companies eager to benefit from Israeli innovation. This cross-fertilization has bridged the once impenetrable gap between basic and applied science and has made it easier for innovative technology to come to fruition.

4.6 Increase Gender Diversity

The missing piece in the India story for the vast majority of medical device firms has been the disturbing absence of female representation at nearly all levels and functions. A general aversion to hiring women in the industry has been premised on mistaken notions of what women would or would not be suitable for, without even giving them an opportunity to prove otherwise.

Forward thinking companies can do several things to maximize the opportunity:

Find Talent Early With so many women earning advanced degrees in the country, the best place to start looking for talent is the universities. Smart companies adopt a creative and targeted approach, differentiating their brand as employers of choice for talented women. For example, the Google India Women in Engineering Award was launched in 2008 to celebrate women pursuing engineering and computer sciences careers in college or graduate school.

Provide International ExposureWomen are more likely to break through the glass ceiling in multinational companies that make sure they are posted overseas for short periods.

However, in emerging markets these assignments work best when companies can provide flexibility and support to lighten the burden on spouses and families. For instance, the German


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pharmaceutical giant Boehringer Ingelheim has a short-term assignment program that enables less-mobile employees to gain international exposure. Its assignments— offered around the globe, with a current focus on the Americas—last three to six months and provide development opportunities for high potential directors and managers. Boehringer Ingelheim supplies housing and transportation in the host country, along with support for family members, including child care, elder care, paid monthly visits for spouses, or opportunities for family members to come along for the entire stay.

Formal Mentoring ProgramsIt is a well-known that people learn by example better. In order to lead, we need to be led for a while till we find our own leadership style. One of the biggest stumbling blocks vis-à-vis attracting women in the industry has been the often inhospitable work environment that prevails across most offices in the country. While not calling for an institutionalized framework that makes concessions in any way, it is important for organizations to evolve a gender conscious framework that sensitizes employees across all levels.

A good example of this can be found at the GE Women’s Network –a workplace initiative by GE Capital India, the Women’s Network has five priorities:

๏ Enhance women’s professional growth by providing information on coaching career paths, flexibility, and role models

๏ Develop new and existing commercial talent๏ Foster the retention and promotion of women in technology and engineering๏ Improve GE’s ability to attract, develop and retain diverse women๏ Cultivate the leadership competencies that reflect GE’s focus on growth

Build Communities Outside the CompanyMaximizing opportunities within the company produces great results for professional women, but it’s also important to help them build ties to their clients, customers, and communities in emerging markets. These external networks serve two purposes: one, establish a broader support system for women who are navigating pushes and pulls—particularly important when they have few role models at the top. The other is to strengthen the relationships that help them achieve business results.

The global pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has made it a business priority to engage and retain high-potential female talent in India—one of its top growth markets. The company recently piloted Creating a High Performance Community, under the guidance of its Global Women’s Council. The program has three main goals:

๏ Ensure that top female talent feels valued and supported


๏ Strengthen connections among Pfizer’s high-performing women and their women customers

๏ Test an approach potentially useful in other markets.

In the medical devices industry leading the way are J &J and Becton Dickinson both with 20% plus gender diversity with sub leadership levels.

Create ConnectThe proverbial elephant in the room for the medical devices industry is the rather unflattering image it currently enjoys in most people’s minds. Unlike its more glamorous FMCG, consumer, or even pharmaceutical industry counterparts, the medical devices sector has yet to make its presence felt in leading engineering and b-School campuses across the country. This creates a supply bottleneck at the beginning of the chain itself, with the best young talent emerging from the country’s premier academic centers choosing competing industries. Better positioning in the mind space of both the young, aspiring manager passing out business school, as well as the experienced business professional looking for a mid-career change, would go a long way towards a attracting better quality of professional to its ranks.

Front runners in this exercise have been GE, Phillps, Agilent and Becton Dickinson.

ConclusionThere can be no denying the tremendous opportunities that lie ahead for the Medical Devices industry in India. With the Indian economy on a seemingly irreversible upward curve, the industry is poised for unparalleled growth in the coming days, in large measure on account of the ever expanding, health conscious Indian middle class, which has more disposable income in its hands today than at any other point in the country’s history. It is, however, equally important to bear in mind that the glass is, as of yet, only half full, with the other half still having a lot of catching up to do. As this report has outlined in detail, the big challenge for device making companies in the coming decades will be to tap into the massive potential that exists in the Indian hinterland- its small towns, villages, and the many regions lying in the back of the beyond, where a majority of this country’s population lives, and will indeed continue to live for many more years to come. Issues of accessibility, availability and awareness will play a critical role in determining whether or not global and domestic firms will be able to effectively make use of arguably the greatest market opportunity to be found anywhere in the 21st century. These opportunities will bring along with them their own unique set of challenges, with people and talent specific issues set to dominate the agenda for the foreseeable future. Succeeding in the Indian market calls for a thorough understanding of the innumerable complexities, contradictions, regional disparities, and the cultural richness that define the essence of what the country stands for. Getting on board the right people to don the mantle of your company’s operations will indisputably be the first, yet most critical step on the path to success.


Annexures

50 • People Matters • November 2010

Traditionally, women have been under-represented in organizations and the argu-

ment for equal opportunity employment has not borne suficient results in India.

It seems, however, that pure economics is out to correct this. As organizations

struggle with a scarcity for talent, smarter companies are beginning to recognize

the opportunity in grooming and retaining women. There is a rare commitment

among CEOs today towards gender inclusion. In a survey commissioned by Tata

Consultancy Services, People Matters engaged leaders from the HR community to

share gender-related information from their companies. This report is a compila-

tion of the information obtained from 116 companies and gives an insight into the

practices, policies and metrics regarding gender inclusion in Corporate India


A TATA ConsulTAnCy survey ConduCTed by PEOPLE MATTERS

Gender

Inclusion in

India

GENDER INCLUSION SURVEY

People Matters • November 2010 • 51

The issues around gender equal┽ity and diversity in the workplace remain complex┻ On the one hand┸ CEOs are increasingly recognizing gender inclusion as ╅Business Case╆┸

beyond the traditional ╅Values Case╆┹ women need to be represented at the highest levels of decision making process as it is important for companies to gain insights in developing and marketing products and services and also to attract and retain talented women in their organizations┻ However┸ on the other hand┸ CEOs╆ commitment is not necessarily cascad┽ing down to a designed and executed change process within the organization to create an environment to attract┸ retain and groom women in the workplace┻

Will time by itself erode the gap between women and men╂ The きかがか McKinsey report shows that against common wisdom┸ the increase in the number of female university graduates does not seem suポcient in itself to close the gender gap in top management posi┽tions┻ The growth in female graduate numbers per se will have a marginal impact on women╆s representation in executive committees unless it is supported with changes in the policies and practices within the organizationsが┻

The term ╅glass ceiling╆ was ボrst coined by Wall Street Journal きぐ years back┻ And unfor┽tunately even today┸ the number of women in top management and leadership roles are

not representative of the workforce popula┽tion┻ Time alone is not the answer for gender inclusion┻ This so called ╅glass ceiling╆ is today a metaphor that describes an environment in organizations that does not create an ecosys┽tem for women to grow into those leadership roles┻

What is the situation today╂ How to create this ecosystem for women to stay and succeed in organizations╂ What are the barriers they are facing today╂ How are organizations making this change╂ What organizational practices are required to support this change╂

Addressing speciic needs with

Customized solutions

- dr. ritu Anand, Vice President, HR, Tata Consultancy Services

Gender diversity in organizations, especially in the IT/

ITES industry, is critical. The outcome of this is relected in

organizations like TCS, where over 30% of employee strength

constitutes of women as compared to 10% two decades ago and

improving year on year. Social conditioning, change in societal

patterns like dominance of nuclear families and lifecycle stages often

tilt the balance and we ind women dropping off the career ladder at

junior to mid levels. These result in restricting the available pool of

women who could have grown to mid and senior leadership positions.

While there is an emerging trend of women returning to work post a

break, the next leap in creating a conducive environment will come

from ensuring that we look at each level in the pyramid and address

the needs speciically with customized solutions”.

“

Key FIndInGs

Tata Consultancy services survey on ’benchmarking Gender

Inclusion in Corporate India’ conducted by People Matters

• Women are under-represented in organizations, especially in senior management

roles and corporate boards.

• Women continue to face many barriers on their way to the top that are unique to

their gender.

• Most CEOs and Top Management realize the beneits of gender diversity and are

committed to the mandate of gender inclusion.

• This commitment is, however, not translated into actions.

• CEO commitment, women’s individual development and practices that allow a lex-

ible work environment are at the center of a conducive environment for women to

succeed.



1. 2010 Women Matter study, McKinsey


A total of ががけ companies responded to the Tata Consultancy Services Survey on ╅Bench┽marking Gender Inclusion in Corporate India╆ commissioned to People Matters and included the largest employers in India across sectors┻ People Matters also asked the HR leadership community about their views on how orga┽nizations can make the best of the women talent pool┻

Representation of Women┺ Show me the Numbers╂

The percentage of female employees ゅat all levelsょ in Indian companies varies greatly from industry to industry┻ As per the survey responses┸ the concentration of respondents in these ががけ companies is in the bracket of ╅Below ぎかガ women representation╆┻ In the global context┸ India is one of the coun┽

tries with the lowest percentage of female employees along with Japan ゅきくガょ┸ Turkey ゅきけガょ and Austria ゅきごガょ┻ The United States ゅぐきガょ┸ Spain ゅくこガょ┸ Canada ゅくけガょ and Finland ゅくくガょ display the highest percentage of total female employees from their sampleき┻

In industries like the Service sector and the IT sector┸ while women are well┽represented overall┸ they are mostly concentrated at the entry levels┻ Service sector shows a more heterogeneous picture with くきガ of respon┽dents having less than ぎかガ women in their workforce and がげガ of respondents having up to ぐかガ women┻ げかガ respondents from the IT sector claimed to have up to ぎかガ women while がげガ respondents claimed ぐかガ women repre┽sentation in their workforce┻ Other industries have an even lower representation of women in their workforce ‒ in Finance sector┸ げぎガ respondents claimed がぐガ women representa┽tion┹ in manufacturing non durable sector┸ ぐかガ respondents claimed up to がぐガ women while がぎガ respondents said they had more than ぐかガ women┻ In the manufacturing non┽durable sector┸ こかガ respondents claimed to have up to がぐガ women in their workforce┻

The representation of women across organizations drops as the seniority of the role increases┻ The overall numbers of women are mostly found at the entry level and drop dramatically in senior and board level roles┹ きぐガ respondents and けげガ respondents claim having no women at all at these levels respectively┻

2. World Economic Forum Gender Corporate Report 2010

Percentage of Respondents

Industries Upto がぐガ Between がぐガ Between ぎがガシぐかガ to ぎかガ to ぐかガ

Service きぐくきがげがげ

IT がぎげかがげか

Finance げぎがこごか

Manufacturing ゅNon Durableょぐかがぎきぐがぎ

Manufacturing ゅDurableょこかきかかか

Majority of companies have either up

to 15% women (43% of respondents) or

between 15-30% (36% of respondents)

Overall Women Representation at the workplace


Note: Percentages may not total to 100% due to rounding


Women Representation across Sectors


Gender Mix by Levels

What Really Matters to WomenInterestingly┸ respondents felt that factors

like ╅leadership development programs╆┸ ╅mentoring and networking opportunities╆┸ ╅sensitization of managers to gender╆ along with some hygienic base of ╅flexible work arrangement╆ and ╅assistance in the form of leaves╆ are vital to retain women ゅthese factors were chosen by more than げぐガ of respondents as very importantょ┻ Factors like company providing ╅child care facilities at the workplace╆ and ╅internal women forums╆ were not seen as that important┻

Respondents Perception on Women Retention Factors

Vital Factors ゅMore than げぐガ respondents considered these factorsょ

ぇ Leadership development programs 85%ぇ Mentoring 【 networking opportunities 81%

ぇ Sensitization of managers and team members to gender speciボc needs 78%

ぇ Flexible work arrangements 78%ぇ Assistance in the form of sabbatical leaves 76%

Important Factors ゅbetween けぐガ to げぐガ respondents considered these factorsょ

ぇ Reintegration program after returning from a career break 72%

ぇ Workplace Clubs┸ Health workshops to promote work life balance 66%

Desirable Factors ゅLess than けぐガ of respon┽dents considered these factorsょ

ぇ Women forums at the organizational level 62%

ぇ Childcare facilities at the workplace 60%

From Head Count to Capability

- satish Pradhan, Group HR Head, Tata Group

Managers look at talent as “owned assets” and they

quantify their teams in terms of headcount. Today,

there is a need to change the mindset of these

managers from ‘access to headcount’ to ‘access to capability’.

That transformation means creating lexibility in the manager’s

mindset based on access to skills and capabilities for the

duration of the project’s requirement; this approach is very

different from the traditional allocation of talent. This lexibility

has to be created with respect and with genuine care of not

falling into the trap of creating ‘second class’ groups in the

organization. In the reintegration program that Tata Group runs,

this is exactly what we aimed to achieve.”

“



Note: Percentages shown consider only respondents who clicked on these factors having an importance

larger or equal of 3 (in a scale of 1 to 5). Percentages do not total to 100% as multiple responses were allowed.


respondents considering these factors were くかガ┸ ぎけガ and ぎくガ respectivelyょ┻ Interestingly┸ factors like ╅lack of networks and mentoring╆┸ ╅lack of opportunities of critical work experi┽ence and responsibility╆ and ╅lack of adequate information about existing diversity policies and practices╆ were not considered by many respondents as a barrier for women to grow┻

Work-life balance is for everybody

- nandita Gurjar, Senior Vice President and Group Head, Human Resources,

Infosys Technologies

Organizations need to look at the importance of work-life balance overall for

their employees to be more productive, more engaged and more satisied;

this is the fundamental premise for organizations before starting any other

program that addresses special needs for groups. Then there are groups within

the organization that require unique interventions to ensure that the environment

is conducive for their success and growth. Women employees need a different

environment that supports their growth. On the policy side, we have introduced

many changes to support speciic requirements from the women population like

lexible transfer policy, maternity leave extended to one year and part-time working

policy of ive hours a day once the employee returns to work after maternity.

Recently, we introduced a new ‘working from home policy’; women now work two

times a month from home if they have children below the age of three. This policy

will extend to once a week very shortly.”

“

What is Pulling Women Down╂Participants were asked to share the areas

that they felt were problematic for women to grow in the organization┻ Majority of respon┽dents felt that factors like ╅lack of ━exible work solutions╆┸ ╅masculine and patriarchal corporate culture╆ and ╅lack of adequate work life balance priorities╆ are most problematic factors for women to rise ゅthe percentage of

Barriers for Women reaching Senior Leadership roles


Note: Percentages shown consider only respondents who clicked on these factors having an importance larger or equal of 4 (in a scale

of 1 to 5). Percentages do not total to 100% as multiple responses were allowed.


Institutionalize Work-life balance

- rajesh nambiar, VP & General Manager, Global Delivery, IBM Global

Business Services

One way to make lexible work options work better is to encourage and

institutionalize lexible work options across the board. This makes it

fairly usual for any employee to work from home thereby encouraging

managers to consider this option for speciic circumstances for women

professionals with greater openness. Once the organization is convinced of the

business beneits of gender diversity, it can be driven as a leadership imperative

across the board, in which case lexible work arrangements and other enablers

like mentoring could naturally get leveraged to advance gender diversity.”

* * *

Key Ingredient: Policy & supportive Culture

- Prithvi shergill, Human Resources Lead, Accenture India

Professionals today are looking for enablers that will help them take

advantages of the opportunities available to them. Flexibility and work

life balance is clearly a very important factor for women retention as

career opportunities intersect with the different life stages. For women to

be able to accomplish their goals both in terms of their professional and

personal life, lexibility is crucial in terms of work arrangements, working hours

and most importantly an environment that supports this lexibility without

discriminating.”

* * *

Creating a Cascading effect

- Prabir Jha, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Tata Motors

It is all in the mind. Line Managers must support the practice because it

makes sense and not because it is a iat from the top. Firstly, it is imperative

that women members of the team are the right talent and they deliver; that

will make the idea more credible. Hiring right is key here. Once women have

demonstrated impact, leaders too will be willing to be lexible with various

policies. Little moves and positive experiences over time create a cascading

effect. Some jobs are more amenable to be done with lexi-practices and

others are not. This does place a practical constraint which must be respected.

However, creating successful examples of leaders and women team members

create the positive spin for institutionalizing gender inclusivity.”

“

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Support from the Leadership ┃ Orga┽nization

While almost half of the respondents said that gender inclusion is an integral part of the value system and the work ethics of their organizations┸ when it comes speciボcally to the CEOs╆ commitment┸ only きぎガ respondents said that their organization had a formal endorse┽ment of gender inclusion mandate by their CEO┹ くかガ responded that their organization actually creates mechanism to enhance visibility of this commitment across the organization┻

As per the results of the survey┸ there are systems and policies in place in most organiza┽tions that have been designed to provide equal opportunity to women in terms of policies┸ prac┽tices and work environment┻ These questions were addressed to understand the intention of the organization in terms of gender inclusion┻ Around けかガ of respondents said that their poli┽cies and practices are designed to ensure equal opportunity┸ げぎガ said that the performance management process is conducted fairly and けくガ claimed to have a conducive environment for all talent segments┻

The Real PictureRespondents were also asked to share

what policies or practices they have to create an environment for women to succeed profes┽sionally┻ A host of initiatives are already being undertaken by organizations┻ Respondents were asked┸ amongst a list of beneボts┸ which

of them was provided and if so┸ in what ways┻ Following was the response to what frameworks and policies are provided by the organizations┻

ぇ Prevention of harassment and anti┽discrim┽ination┺ こけガ respondents claim their orga┽nizations have a policy on prevention of harassment and anti┽discrimination┻

ぇ Post┽maternity leave for childcare┺ けけガ respondents claim that their organizations provide post┽maternity leave for childcare┹ among those organizations that do so┸ くぐガ grant leaves between three to six months┻

ぇ Availability of ━exible work arrangements┺ ぐげガ respondents have ━exible work arrange┽ments in their organizations┹ がぐガ of women in these organizations avail these arrange┽ments at any given point┻

ぇ Gender diversity initiatives being part of employee surveys┺ ぎげガ respondents say their organizations ask for employees╆ opin┽ion on gender diversity initiatives in their employee surveys┻

ぇ Capturing feedback and inputs on gender diversity initiatives┺ ぎくガ respondents claim that their feedback on gender diversity gets captured┹ くぎガ say feedback is captured through surveys while ぎぎガ say through focus group discussions┻

ぇ Training and sensitization for managers on gender inclusion to avoid gender bias and stereotyping┺ ぎくガ respondents say that their organizations impart formal training

Policy and Human Resource Focus




to managers on gender inclusion┻ Training is conducted either through Leadership Connects ゅぎきガょ┸ Classroom Training ゅきぐガょ or Discussion Forums ゅきぐガょ

ぇ Existing women╆s forum 【 community┺ ぎぎガ respondents say that their organizations provide networking groups or communities for women┻

ぇ Mentoring and networking opportunities┺ きこガ respondents say that their organizations provide opportunities for mentoring and networking for women┻ This includes track┽ing the eプectiveness of these programs by just capturing feedback from the mentors ゅきぎガょ and using measures like frequency of these meetings to track eプectiveness ゅきがガょ┻

ぇ Executive training and further educa┽tion for developing women leaders┺ ききガ respondents claim that their organizations have speciボc training programs for women leaders┻ This also includes capturing the impact 【 eプectiveness of such programs by just asking for feedback ゅぎぎガょ and actually measuring the impact by tracking career progression of program participants ゅきごガょ┻

ぇ Childcare facilities┺ がごガ respondents say that their organization provides child care facilities┻ While some organizations have onsite facilities ゅくこガょ┸ few provide it through tie┽ups ゅぎけガょ┻

ぇ Reintegration programs┺ Only きガ respon┽dents claim that their organizations have a formal reintegration program┻ This seems to draw major attention as there is no assistance being oプered to women employees who come back after a career break┸ especially when the survey shows that lack of these programs are a barrier for women rising to senior positions ゅきごガ said that lack of reintegration programs are a ╉problematic╊ barrierょ┻

Gender Inclusion is a Journey

- Prithvi shergill, Human Resources Lead, Accenture

The difference of percentages indicate that there is a long way

to go. While CEOs talk about gender inclusion, the predica-

ment of organizations in terms of having budgets / resources

or measures or targets to track their eficiency in their gender initia-

tives just shows us at what stage we are in this journey. Overall in

India, we are at a very early stage; some companies have a separate

team and separate budget to drive this change. Like at Accenture, if

you would have asked us 10 years back, it would have been a differ-

ent picture. In my opinion, over time, we will see CEOs endorsement

cascading into tangible allocation of time, resources and teams.”

* * *

next organizational Models

G. ravindran, CEO, SHRM India

Next practices in gender inclusion will be determined by next

practices in organization models; how they are structured

and what their strategies are. Organizations can only go

that far with classic ‘box+line’ structures. The future is compelling

businesses to adopt other fresh ways of doing things. This will

intrinsically include inclusivity and not just gender. Globally, we are

already seeing businesses leveraging their ‘environmental posi-

tioning’. Inclusion is about people and thus far more fundamental

than this. The sooner businesses face up to this reality, the more

they will succeed.

“

“

There is no assistance being offered to

women employees who come back after a

career break, especially when the survey shows

that lack of these programs are a barrier for

women rising to senior positions



Addressing the real pain points╂Respondents see lack of ━exible work solu┽

tions┸ work┽life balance and lack of an inclusive work culture as important barriers hindering women from rising to the top┻ At the same time┸ they believe that training programs at the executive and leadership level┸ mentoring opportunities and sensitizing managers will help retain women┻

While most organizations are taking care of addressing the barriers┸ more emphasis must be laid on what will actually ensure in retention┻

Key Findingsぇ Lack of adequate re┽entry opportunities

ゅきごガょ is a problematic area┻ However┸ only きガ of organizations provide for reintegra┽tion programs┻

ぇこぐガ respondents feel that leadership development programs are key retention measures for women┻ However┸ only ききガ respondents claim that their organizations provide such programs┻

ぇ Mentoring and networking opportunities is another key measure to retain women┸

Leadership ┃ Organizational Commitmentぇ Gender inclusion endorsement by CEO and Senior Management┺ Only

きぎガ respondents have a clear and formal endorsement of gender inclusion mandate by their CEO and Senior Management teams ゅくきガ said ╅No╆ to this question and ぎぐガ said ╅Somewhat╆ょ┻

ぇ HR policies and practices being designed to ensure equal opportunity┺ Total of こきガ respondents said that their HR policies and practices were designed to ensure equal opportunities ゅぐこガ said ╅Yes╆ and きくガ said ╅Somewhat╆ょ┻

ぇ Performance driven culture being conducted with fair and neutral appraisals┺ Total of こくガ respondents said that their performance driven culture is fair and neutral in terms of appraisals ゅげぎガ said ╅Yes╆ and ががガ said ╅Somewhat╆ょ┻

ぇ Conducive work environment and equal opportunity being provided to all talent segments┺ Total of こぐガ of respondents said that their workplaces were conducive to provide equal opportunities to all ゅけくガ said ╅Yes╆ and きがガ said ╅Somewhat╆ょ┻

state こがガ respondents┻ However┸ only きこガ respondents claim that their organizations undertake this initiative┻

ぇけきガ respondents claim that having an inter┽nal women forum is an important reten┽tion factor for women┻ However┸ only ぎぎガ respondents claim that their organizations have such a forum┻

Gender Metrics┸ Reporting and Budgeting┺ Signals

The results show that organizations are not allocating their budgets┸ resources and targets to support the mandate on gender inclusion┻ Data shows that only がくガ organizations have budgets and resources allocated within their organizations to drive this mandate┻ Only がけガ of CEOs actually have the gender inclusion agenda as part of their scorecard┻

When it comes to measurability┸ こぐガ respondents claim that their organizations do not have quotas on gender inclusion┻ It will be interesting to highlight here that ぎきガ respon┽dents claim that there are measures to track women performance in particular when asked about tracking mechanisms┻




support from the Top must be visible

- Tiger vn Tyagarajan, Chief Operating Oficer, Genpact

Just like any other corporate program, gender inclusion too needs to be driven by the

top management. Firstly, the leadership team needs to articulate the program in the

backdrop of a broad strategy of increasing diversity in the workforce with a very clear

rationale on why gender diversity is so important for business. Secondly, the program

needs to be communicated visibly and broadly about what the beneits are. Often, women

will make an assumption that if they avail lexible work regime for some time, they will lose

out in the race. It is very important to show with examples that it works. Let women know it

is ok to ask for such arrangements for certain periods of time.”

* * *

Merit must Prevail everytime- Prabir Jha, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Tata Motors

Personally, I do not support afirmative action. Organizations have to compete in a very

tough environment and must advance the best talent, irrespective of gender or any

other criteria. Merit must prevail every time. If organizations can ensure a level playing

ield, it will sufice since there are many women who will qualify in their own right and not

because of crutches. I again do not want to put everything on the poor CEO’s scorecard. I

wonder if we expect a CEO to be a superman! Be that as it may, it is important for CEOs and

senior leadership to set the pace and signal the intent, which is often missing. The senior

leadership must get serious at exploring ways of improving diversity; the signal of intent

matters more than budgets and quotas. Creating a quota mindset is in the long run not

going to institutionalize the philosophy but will create more rancor at the workplace.”

* * *

Gender metrics - a Part of business Goals- G. ravindran, CEO, SHRM India

I agree with the need to make gender-metrics a part of business goals, but don’t agree

with what you are calling a principle. The real fundamental issue is answering the ques-

tion: “Does society exists for business or is it the other way around?” The answer is a

no-brainer; everything (and not just rewards) should be linked to how business serves the

holistic needs of society. Tomorrow’s enterprise will succeed by leveraging this position.

Those that don’t will be marginalized and not be counted.”

* * *

organizational Conviction - Most Important- rajesh nambiar, VP & General Manager, Global Delivery, IBM Global Business Services

The most important point to consider while attempting to enhance effectiveness is

organizational conviction, starting with conviction among leaders that there are

clear business beneits associated with diversity in workforce. Having metrics could

be easier once the reasons for improving gender diversity are adequately clear. If there is

clear conviction on the business beneits of diversity, then the organization could choose

to have certain targets in terms of diversity population at all levels and work towards those

numbers as an indicator of progress to achieve a larger goal.”

“

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business beneits of diversity

rajesh nambiar - VP & GM, Global Delivery, IBM Global Business Services

“It is imperative that management understands the business beneits of diversity

(which could be manifold like better perspectives in decision making and innovation,

et al), and then sets the right targets for some of the outcome metrics and drive them

through focused programs. If an organization underpins its diversity agenda on

solid understanding of why they are driving it, then institutionalizing would be very

similar to any other business objective like growth, productivity, et al, as the expected

business outcomes would help the leaders to internalize the diversity agenda.”

requirement for sustained & Accelerated InvestmentsPrithvi shergill, Human Resources Lead, Accenture India

“The next practice will be when we do not talk about gender inclusion anymore. We

will see few paradigms arising during this journey as we get closer to that destination.

One will be that companies will continue to hire more and more women at all levels.

Second, companies will continue to nurture those groups to ensure they are given

the exposure they need to grow to more senior roles in the organization and take

higher and higher responsibilities. And inally, we will need to sustain and accelerate

the investments depending on what stage you are in this journey.”

leadership Commitment is the First step to Pursue

the Path satish Pradhan, Group HR Head, Tata Group

“To create an organizational transformation in the area of gender inclusion, the

leadership team should irst relect the level of commitment they have to this

mandate; only when the commitment is high is it worth pursuing this path.

Secondly, the leadership needs to understand the context of the organization and

the social environment to identify the programs that will work for that context.

Finally, they need to break the comfort zone and open their minds to non-tradi-

tional and non-tested ways of managing talent, which might create certain organi-

zational discomfort.”


Metrics to ensure Women at all levels

dr. ritu Anand, Vice President, HR, Tata Consultancy Services

“The weak link is the ‘metrics and goal driven approach’, which is the next level of maturity

that this important area needs to move to. There are no two views that it is important

to create metrics for the expected beneits and output like it is for all business processes

for it to cascade and become part of the organization’s thinking pattern. Appropriate

metrics, which track the number of women in leadership positions, which is still abysmally

low in Corporate India and improve the pipeline at the mid and junior layers need to be

formulated but within the tried and tested and now very well accepted and understood

backdrop of performance and potential as key drivers for talent to rise and progress. “


Metrics are Key for ChangeTiger vn Tyagarajan, Chief Operating Oficer, Genpact

“Change is all about metrics; at the leadership level set goals for diversity that

leaders have to achieve as part of their overall professional and personal goals. This

can be done in many ways, for example by creating mandates that ensure enough

women candidates as part of the interview process for external hiring (specially

for mid and for senior roles). Similarly, for internal job movements force the metrics

that one in three have to be a woman internal candidate for critical job moves. As

important is to measure as it is to recognize – ensure that you highlight and recog-

nize great performers in board reviews and other forums.”

Institutionalizing Gender Inclusion across the systemnandita Gurjar, Senior Vice President and Group Head - Human Resources, Infosys Technologies

“Organizations should work towards changing the culture of the organization by

institutionalizing gender inclusion across processes and introducing policies that

will support women employees when needed while maintaining meritocracy. On

the process side, we have introduced tracking mechanisms to ensure that women

are included in interview panels, are represented among candidates for job open-

ings, both internal and external, and we ensure that there is fairness in performance

ratings across levels. On the one hand, top management needs to be committed

about the mandate and cascade this commitment across levels, and on the other

hand, women need to be sensitive to use these beneits maintaining meritocracy and

ighting against favoritism stereotypes.”

Money MattersG. ravindran, CEO, SHRM India

“The one thing that makes sense to every line / business manager is money. The

education and maturity will come, but for starters we need to show the economic

value of gender inclusion. There are two points here. Firstly, inclusion of women

increases the talent-supply-pool and secondly, lexible arrangements open the

possibility of reducing ‘total’ costs. Both of these are business necessities and

managers don’t have an option.”

retention equals PreventionPrabir Jha, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Tata Motors

“Gender inclusion must ensure that women do not fall out of the talent pipeline. This is

particularly true in India because of certain socialization where many women after their

marriage opt out of jobs. The other thought is to actively promote a second innings

for women, either full time or part time. Technology has enabled many jobs that can

be done from home and paced depending on individual convenience. How do we

leverage this to many more jobs? There are various Indian organizations that are revisit-

ing their policies and programs to widen the appeal to women employees. The only

caution is to avoid appearing patronizing or seem endorsing mediocrity for a cause.”


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