Career Breaks Hinder Women's Path To Leadership Roles, Says Ashwini Deshpande

Career breaks and longer job gaps hinder women's growth in the corporate ladder, according to Ashwini Deshpande, head of the department of economics at Ashoka University.

As a result, the section of female workforce with relatively lesser experience find it difficult to make their way towards leadership positions, she said.

To tackle this, Deshpande said that the formal sector should find measures to retain women professionals, and make it easier for them to restart their career following a break.  

“Someone who has very less experience can’t be catapulted to leadership position. So, the formal sector needs to think about how we get back women and make them restart their career after a career break,” she said.

Deshpande also highlighted the need for retaining women at workplace which will further assist in advancing them to leadership positions. Scores of reports also point out that having women in leadership positions also improves the condition women at the lower rungs of the corporate ladder, she added.

The disproportionate burden on women to complete the domestic chores is an added responsibility on them, and is visible across all classes of women, Deshpande highlighted. “Even when women can afford to hire help, it still becomes their responsibility to make sure the work gets done," she said.

"We need to talk about sharing household responsibilities within the family. It's essential to cultivate a culture where household tasks are seen as everyone's responsibility, and not just one person's job," she said.

Lack of availability of paid jobs closer to their house is another barrier faced by women, Deshpande pointed out. “Commuting is not easy, even in cities like Mumbai where there is better transport facility, she said. "Lack of adequate childcare centres along with insufficient workplace culture are some reasons that prevents women from contributing to workplace.”