Women Ask for Less Final

Why Women Ask For Less
Business survey 2008 reveals that number of professional graduates passing out each year in
India is 1, 50,000. Among them, !" to #1" are $omen. But only a fe$ of them are able to
reach higher echelons. %s. Indra &ooyi '(hairman and ()*, +)+,I(* ltd- is one such $oman
$ho succeeded in her career. %s. (handa .ochar '()*, I(I(I Ban/- is another such successful
personality $ho fits in the scenario. 0hile Indra &ooyi ta/es a monthly pay of about #.5 crores
of Indian 1upee, ho$ many of other professional graduates from India, are able to dra$ a
monthly pay of 25,000 rupees. 2he survey sho$s that average monthly income of $omen is
around !" as compared $ith that of the men.
2hese are the only $omen $ho $ere able to mar/ their footprints in top level and a fe$ more.
But $hat happens to the rest3
%anagement studies in the $est are no$ focusing on ne$
aspects that are unnoticed by the east. *ne among such topics $as 4056 0*%)& A,. 7*1
8),,9, $hen compared to men, $omen are not li/ely to be selected to a high salary and
position after a certain limit, even though they are e:ually good performers in the scene. 2he
recent recipe that adds $orth is the study by 8isa.A.Barron, Assistant +rofessor at the
;niversity of (alifornia, Irvine<s =raduate ,chool of %anagement, in $hich it $as inferred
that $omen $ho negotiate >ob offers generally as/ for lo$er initial salaries than men do
1
.
0riting in the ?une edition of 5uman 1elations %aga@ine she concludes that this finding is
partly due to different beliefs about $orth, entitlement and proving oneself. In India, these
$omen commonly return to less challenging roles or pro>ects or get lo$er performance ratings.
,uch eAplicitly discriminatory behaviors although they violate company policies, continue
unchec/ed, even though the multinational companies $hose hopes for gro$th are pinned on
the emerging mar/ets.
2his is believed to be the first study to eAamine beliefs lin/ed to
differences in men<s and $omen<s salary re:uests. 2he findings from previous studies that
sho$ed men gain more than $omen from negotiating salaries, and that $omen feel less
comfortable $ith negotiating than men do. In a recent survey, 8" of $omen also said they
need to prove themselves on the >ob, $hile B#" of the men said that proving themselves
should be done during the >ob intervie$ or the performance evaluation process. 2he relatively
lo$ participation of $omen in the $or/force is not due to lac/ of education and high s/ills,
rather, it is more li/ely a result of combination of factors ranging from cultural and religious
sensitivities through the geographic isolation from ma>or employment foci. 2hese limiting
factors, $hich hinder the advancement of $omen and in turn ,negatively affect economic
development, is of ma>or concern.
Another ma>or concern is that $omen eAecutives depart from their positions t$ice more li/ely
than men. About !.2 " of $omen eAecutives left their >obs compared to .8" of men
according to a recent survey

.
2he most common barrier for almost all $omen $or/ers are family and children. 2he second
being the facilities available to the $omen are inade:uate. A range of social and cultural barriers
mentioned in the study related to $omen participation in ne$ generation business relates that
$omen not $ish to $or/ in inappropriate environments, not $anting to $or/ closely $ith
un/no$n males, and the pressure from families and husbands against engaging in >ob seen as a
demeaning or culturally unacceptable to $omen $or/ers from countries such as India
#
.
A survey points out to different vie$s of $omen perception relating to this topic. It states
that $omen as/ for less pay because ma>ority of $omen see >ob as a status factor, rather than an
earning factor. A $oman $ho is $or/ing is more respected than one $ho is not, so compared to
getting a >ob, feeling the income ta/es a bac/ seat. 2here is a general feeling that $hen it comes
to a $oman, she values her personal interest more than company interest. In most of the country,
$omen are treated as second grade citi@ens, even more denied of their fundamental rights and
companies choose this as a situation and priority to eAploit the human resources in such countries
and offer them position and status rather than income. 0hen financial independence is offered to
a $omen , she doesnCt often thin/ about the maAimum she could get, she >ust settles for
something is better than nothing attitude.
2he countries that have large proportions of $or/ing professional $omen tend to
offer more fleAible $or/ing arrangements and more $or/Dbased facilities for $omen. 2hese
arrangements can include partDtime $or/ing, fleAible hours, return to $or/ after maternity
leave, >ob sharing, and soDon. Burdens coping $ith the role of the Eto/en $omenC, lac/ of role
models and feelings of isolation , strains of coping $ith pre>udice and seA stereotyping and
overt and indirect discrimination from fello$ employees, employers , the organi@ational
structure and climate. 2hese stresses on top of trying to maintain a family andFor home are
creating enormous pressure on $omen in management.
Author(s)
Dr.B.Chandrachoodan Nair
'Girector,%anagement ,tudies,&oorul Islam ;niversity,.umaracoil,2amil &adu-
Ram Krishnan.S
'1esearch ,cholar,%anagement ,tudies,&oorul Islam ;niversity,.umaracoil,2amil&adu-
References.
1.9 0hen compared toH..9 pg.I 1- A study by Lisa A. Barron, assistant professor at the
University of California, July 7 2003.
2. With reference to “Enterprisin !o"en “by Carol .#.$.
%. “Another "a&or''"en( p.) *+-“Wo"en e,ecutives t!ice as li-ely to .uit &obs as "en, says
study( by /A01 for 2he Econo"ic 2i"es #aily, Chennai34ochi 1upple"ent dated 56-*5-25*5
+.(2he "ost co""on barrier'inade.uate.( p)2- 78a,i"i9in !o"en:s participation in ulf
cooperation council !or-force, the e,a"ple for ho"e !or-in 7 by Chris ;o!ley ,Willia" 1cott
<ac-son , Andre! =roteus,Basher 4arie",A"ira >arb,Effective E,ecutive,/U=
=ublications,Auust 25*5.
5. 0omen )arn 8ess 2han %en, But 0hy3 D httpIFFblogs.payscale.com by .atie Bardaro
1esearch Analyst, +ay ,cale, Inc.
6. $$$.0i/ipedia.com
 Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi - (hairperson and (hief )Aecutive *fficer '()*-
of +epsi(o Incorporated,
 Chanda Kochhar - %anaging Girector '%G- of I(I(I Ban/ and (hief )Aecutive *fficer
'()*-.
 Lieutenant General Punita Arora - the first !o"an in /ndia to don the second hihest ran-
i.e Lieutant ?eneral of /ndian Ar"ed @orces. and the first Aice ad"iral of /ndian 0avy.