Between tradition and modernity: Why so few Indian women are employed and what this means for your company – Part 4
“Marriage is not an end goal”
Why “empowerment coaching” is so valuable for your Indian employees and for you as a company.
Highly educated, young, modern and committed – and yet for many Indian women, marriage is the end of the road professionally or their careers don’t even begin. In our previous series of articles on the low employment rate of Indian women, we shed light on the causes of this phenomenon – and highlighted the opportunities for you as an employer (click here for part 1, part 2 and part 3 of the series). In this article, we look at specific options for action: How you can specifically promote your female employees in India and thereby strengthen your company.
Coaching specifically for your Indian employees
“But something changed in me during that session. When I listened to my colleagues talk about their backgrounds – that they had even fewer opportunities than me and still managed to overcome barriers and get to where they are today – it touched me deeply.” (Quote from an employee after a workshop)
Empowerment workshops in particular have proven to be a very effective tool in practice. They help to retain Indian women in the company in the long term, improve their performance and promote their own initiative. The focus of such special coaching sessions is on consciously confronting social role models, family expectations and inner blockages.
In a protected environment – moderated by professional female coaches – the participants reflect on stereotypes and their own imprints, share experiences and develop new perspectives. This emotional, often very personal exchange creates trust, promotes cohesion and strengthens the identity of each individual woman – and thus that of the team as a whole.
A key moment for many: The realization that marriage does not have to be the final goal in life: “Mariage is not an end goal” (quote from a participant) – an attitude that was still a source of controversy in many families in Germany a few decades ago.
With this view of their own future and the resulting inner attitude, many Indian women are able to focus more strongly on professional aspects of their own personal development.
Meaningful content of the empowerment workshops
“Think of yourself as a brand every morning”
In their day-to-day work, your employees in India often face different challenges to their German colleagues. That is why the empowerment workshops focus on practical skills, such as:
- Speak powerfully, because your messages need to come across clearly to the other person.
- Increase your visibility in the workplace. Assertiveness takes practice and time.
- Inspire people instead of putting pressure on them to increase their creativity, motivation and willingness to cooperate.
- Learn to deal with different communication styles, because communication is more than just language.
- Don’t let up. Growth is only possible through change – but a change in mentality requires patience and perseverance.
- Network as colleagues and support each other, because your difficulties are not unique.
Conclusion: Invest in mental strength – for sustainable success
Indian women need fair pay, childcare facilities, safety at work and on the way to work. But not only that. They also need mental support from you as a company – especially in the form of targeted empowerment workshops. After all, an empowered female employee is more confident in negotiations, contributes more visibly to the team and stays with you as a company in the long term.
Would you like to attract female managers to your company? Avoid losing a valuable employee? Or better exploit the potential of your existing teams? Get in touch with us. We have been providing practical India consulting for your company for more than 20 years.
