Indian Women in Banking Industry: Breaking the Glass Ceiling?
Details
Themes: HRM / OB
Pub Date : 2009
Countries : India
Industry : Services
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Case Code : HRM0061
Case Length : 20 Pages
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India Inc.: The Changing Gender Composition. cont...
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Of all the industries, Banking and insurance were among those, that provided huge number of opportunities to Indian women to exhibit their executive and business potential. Many believed that the nature of jobs in these two industries also increased the scope for women being employed. Especially after the 1991 economic reforms, there has been a tremendous growth in the Indian banking and Insurance sectors. Indian banks expanded their business operations (increased size of deposits and advances) at a rapid pace. With liberalisation and to keep up with the increase growth, there was a change in the recruitment policy. For the first time, various positions in banks were being opened for both - men and women. Recruitment was done on a systematic basis; candidates were hired based on merit through aptitude tests conducted by external agencies in an impartial manner. This gave opportunities to women and paved the way for future generations. Both public and private sector banks provided opportunities for women and this surged up women employment rate. |
However, prior to 1991, the presence of women at the top levels in public sector banks was
negligible. According to Press Trust of India (PTI) news report, only two women have risen to the
top positions in state-run banks in the 37 years since the banks were nationalised.19 In addition, the
report states that the industry took 31 years since nationalisation to get its first women CEO. India’s
biggest public bank, State Bank of India (SBI), which has 200 years of existence has not seen any
women as a CEO, yet. However, this is not the case with private and foreign banking institutions in
India. Gender was no more a factor for holding the top position in the organisations. Private and
foreign banks provided opportunities for proficient and efficient women.
Under the changing spheres of women employment, ICICI Bank has been one of the outstanding
examples. ICICI Group provides a wide array of banking products and financial services to corporate
and retail customers through a variety of channels and through its specialised group companies,
subsidiaries and affiliates in the areas of personal banking, investment banking, life and general
insurance, venture capital and asset management. In an industry traditionally dominated
by men, ICICI has provided conducive environment for women to excel, counting solely on their
merit and efficiency
19]"Too few women on top at public sector banks", http://www.livemint.com/2007/06/11002815/Too-few-women-on-top-atpublic. html, July 11th 2007