The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Readiness to face challenges: Indian women on top

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Saturday, Mar 08, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Readiness to face challenges: Indian women on top

Special Correspondent

The survey covered 4,100 men and women executives in 17 countries
IT boom has given a competitive advantage
to Indian women

BANGALORE: It could well be a tribute to the skills and ability of working women in India on the eve of International Women’s Day.

A global survey undertaken by Accenture, a management consulting and technology services company, has shown that Indian working women top the world in terms of percentage of women professionals who feel that they are well equipped with the necessary skills to compete in the future global business economy.

According to the findings of the global survey titled “One Step Ahead of 2011: A new Horizon for Working Women,” 68 per cent of women professionals in India are optimistic over their readiness in facing the future competition (in 2011) as against the global average of only 43 per cent women professionals feeling that they are equipped for the future.

The online survey of 4,100 men and women executives from medium and large organisations in 17 countries, including 200 from India, reveals that the number of women business executives, who feel that they are equipped to face future challenges, are more in the developing countries than those in the developed countries. While India, China and Brazil account for 68 per cent, 61 per cent and 52 per cent respectively of women professionals being optimistic in handling future challenges, only 26 per cent and 24 per cent of women professionals of developed countries such as the U.K. and France feel that they have the necessary skills. France and the U.K. are in the bottom of the list.

Interestingly, the above ranking of countries holds good even for the men business executives.

Releasing the survey report at a press conference here on Friday, Rekha Menon, executive vice-president, India Geographic Services and Human Capital and Diversity of Accenture India, said the survey respondents (including men) were asked to rate their level of preparedness in six categories of skills on a scale of five. The six skills were agility, social responsibility, global skills, technology inclusion & diversity, and business relationships.

Even in this rating, Brazil (4.1 points), China (4) and India (4) scored higher than the global average of 3.7 indicating that their workforce was “very ready” to face future competition.

The survey report observes that it is likely that the technology and outsourcing boom in India has given India a competitive advantage to the women here. Nearly 79 per cent of Indian women forecast significant changes in the business world of 2011 as against 62 per cent of Indian men. The women professionals here expect more number of women to be in the management field by 2011 and that there will be more opportunities for women by then.

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