Indian Women in Banking Industry: Breaking the Glass Ceiling?
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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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Women in Banking Sector: The ICICI Effect"So far as the financial sector is concerned, I feel women are always better with managing finance."20 - Chanda Deepak Kochhar, MD & CEO, ICICI Bank "The significant number of women in our top-end senior management is essentially because we run a meritocracy at ICICI Bank. Women have risen because they have proven themselves. We stay away from any other trappings which may be adopted ostensibly to create gender equality."21 - K.V. Kamath, Non-Executive Chairman, ICICI Bank Ltd.
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Industry pundits call ICICI Bank as women CEO factory. It's definitely not without reason.
Since the monumental reverse merger of ICICI with ICICI Bank in 2002, the bank's CEO K.V.
Kamath spearheaded the scorching-paced growth with women executives occupying the key and
vital divisions. In mid-1980s the chairman and managing director of ICICI, Suresh S. Nadkarni
exhorted Lalita Gupte, to prove her potential in the organisation. He advised: "If you do not succeed,
there will be no other woman in this organisation."22 She came out as a high achiever and that
created the equal opportunity culture at ICICI Group. From then, the company was clear in providing
opportunities to its employees based on merit and performance.
The company believes in judging a person on his/her ability to perform rather than any other
idiosyncratic factor. For instance, "A woman is not punished if she takes a break due to family
constraints and nor is she rewarded if she stays away from her family for work. At the same time,
the organisation would give extended leave to a deserving woman if she wants to devote time to her
family at a critical juncture, it would be equally accommodative if an employee wants to take a study
leave or has sick parents to look after. However, it will not do it for all, because it involves a certain
cost that the organisation has to bear and it would only bend itself for people who deserve it, male or
female,"23 expressed Madhabi Puri Buch, MD and CEO of ICICI Securities.
Above and beyond, the company's motive behind the success of women executives at top hierarchy
is that it is an extremely entrepreneurial enterprise. It motivates employees to implement strategies
independently, which allows meritocracy to prevail. "ICICI encourages you to think like a professional
and dream like an entrepreneur,"24 commented Renuka Ramnath, former MD of ICICI Venture.
20]"Women manage finance better: Kochhar", http://businesstoday.intoday.in/
index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11163&issueid=59, April 30th 2009
21]"First Among Equals: ICICI Bank's Women Power", op.cit.
22]Ibid
23]"First Among Equals: ICICI Bank's Women Power", op.cit.
24]Ibid