Addressing the Mindset Gap in Gender Parity

Things We Can Do to Actually Make an Impact This IWD (And no, cupcakes aren’t it.) 1. Check Your Bias & Change Your Language Gender bias is real, and the words we use matter. Here are some actual things I’ve heard in conversations or have been said directly to me 🙃: 🚩 “Women don’t want leadership positions; they want to stay home with their kids.” 🚩 “If women wanted leadership positions, they’d be in them.” 🚩 “We can’t give a board seat to a woman right now because there aren’t many left, and we might need to bring our HR person on eventually - so we’ll tick the box then.” 🚩 “Equality is the hot topic with the boys at the moment.” 🚩 “I’m not biased in my hiring process.” (Proceeds to only hire from select private boys' schools.) 🚩 “She only got the role because she’s the token female.” 🚩 “She’s only been successful in business because she shows her body online.” If you’ve ever said or thought anything like this - it’s time to rethink and do better. 2. Acknowledge the State of Inequality Some key stats: 📉 The gender pay gap is 21.8%. (For every $1 a man makes, a woman earns 78c.) ⏳ At this rate, gender equality is still 100 years away. 💰 Women retire with 25% less super than men. 🧹 Women do 8 more hours of unpaid domestic work each week than men. (That’s 416 extra hours per year!) 💸 Only 4% of investor capital goes to all-female founding teams. 🏢 Women make up just 22% of CEOs and 37% of key management roles. (Meaning men still hold 63% of decision-making power.) (Sadly this list is in reality much longer than 6 points) 3. Do Something About It This does not mean making the women in your office order cupcakes, organise a morning tea, and clean up afterward. 🙃 We need to actually TAKE ACTION. And before you say, “I would, but I have a responsibility for my P&L…” - businesses with higher female representation perform better financially. (AKA more $$$ to your bottom line) You can also start making an impact at home. 👉 If you’re in a heterosexual relationship, ask yourself: * Are both of your careers valued equally? * How are you sharing the mental load? * Are responsibilities at home divided fairly? I know - these aren’t always easy conversations. But they matter.

A woman working 8 hours a day in corporate is paid in thousands on average, while a woman working almost 8 hours at home gets paid nothing. 👉Is managing a house not working?  👉Does work done at home require no skills?  👉Is raising children and managing the elderly not a full-time job? It definitely is. But that's considered a mandatory thing to do and not a work that women do at home. As per reports, on average, women in India spend 7.2 hours a day cooking, cleaning, and caring for their household members (children, elderly, sick or disabled). I totally understand that women are the wheels for tomorrow's existence, and apart from the economic aspect, women are the torchbearers of social growth. However, the disproportionate responsibility of unpaid care work on women results in gender inequality and time poverty, which impacts their ability to progress. Now, by being vocal about shared responsibilities at home and equal participation of women in economic, social, and political sectors, we are advancing towards a more equal society. But to achieve this in the truest form, we need to give due respect for the unpaid care work that women do at large. The World Economic Forum report released in 2023 estimates that at the current rate of change, the gender gap in economic participation and opportunity will take 131 years to close. That's a massive gap, and we need to speed up. 3 changes I believe need to be brought out are: 1️⃣ Normalize men taking on an equal share of household and childcare duties. We can start teaching these values right from our home to our boys. 2️⃣ About 82% of the total number of working women in India are employed in the informal sector. Measures like minimum wage coverage, maternity leave, health insurance, and old age pension schemes should be worked on. 3️⃣ Speak up when we see or hear gender stereotypes that reinforce women's role as primary caregivers and men as breadwinners. Whether it's cooking, cleaning, or childcare - every work is "real work". While the gender gap may seem daunting, change starts with each of us speaking up in our daily lives and taking action to get 1% closer to our goal of gender equality. What are some ways you think we can increase the value of unpaid care work? #womenempowerment #unpaidwork #genderequality

You don’t get promotions, bonuses, or recognition for this job. But without it, nothing works. That’s me with my girls, many years ago on a trip back to India. They’re young adults now and about to enter the workforce. For nearly a decade, I raised them as a single dad—while leading in senior leadership and C-suite roles. Grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, school matters, medical appointments, extra-curricular activities, friends, pick-up/drop-off runs… the list was endless. It wasn’t easy. I was juggling all day—work, kids, home—trying not to drop anything. And I was very fortunate to have had incredibly supportive leaders and team members who understood the challenge. But let me be clear—I’m not sharing this for your sympathy or support. I’m sharing this because the experience of raising my girls gave me a unique and often overlooked perspective on the hidden cost women pay when balancing professional careers and caregiving. For a moment, replace me with any other woman in your family—your partner, daughter, maybe even your mom—and you start seeing the bigger picture. This isn’t about saying men don’t contribute—many do. But the numbers tell a different story. 👇 🔹 Workforce gap – Women’s participation: 62.5% (men: 71.3%). 🔹 55% pay cut – Women’s earnings drop post-childbirth. Men’s? Unaffected. 🔹 Childcare penalty – High costs make full-time work unaffordable for many women. 🔹 Retirement gap – Women retire with 23% less Super, increasing financial insecurity. 🔹 Unpaid labour = another job – Women do 30+ hours/week of unpaid care (men: 22 hours). (Source: Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce, 2023 Report to the Australian Government). These issues are major contributors to the Gender Pay Gap. As a C-Suite leader, you have the power to break these barriers—starting now. Here are two steps you can take immediately: ✔️ Provide flexibility – Support caregiving without compromising career growth. ✔️ Encourage equal parental leave – Normalise men taking an equal caregiving role. 📩 If this resonates, let’s talk. I’d love to hear your thoughts—message me for a copy of my guide. "Closing the Gender Pay Gap & Accelerating Women into Leadership Positions." #Leadership #DiversityAndInclusion #GenderEquity #FutureOfWork --- For senior leaders navigating complex challenges, the journey to impactful leadership can feel daunting at times—but it doesn’t have to be walked alone. Anoop, with 30+ years of experience across three continents, a former Board member and CPO of a Fortune 10 company in Australia, and winner of the 2022 HR Leader of the Year award, advises senior leaders on making profound changes.

As a psychologist, over the last 15 years, I’ve worked with over 200 patients individually. The 1:1 experience is incredibly valuable as each person has a unique story shaped by their history, genetic tendencies, and relationships—and feeling seen and valued in that individuality is a crucial part of the healing process. But after listening to hundreds of stories, I also have the experience of aggregate data over time….meaning that I see trends. And one troubling trend stands out: Women who are successful on paper but silently exhausted, overwhelmed, and stuck in self-blame. They come to me asking the same question: “Why does everyone else seem to be handling work, kids, and home so much better than I am?” From my seat, here’s what I tell them: 1) That’s not true, most people are struggling. 2) You are not the problem. One of the real issues that’s often missed is the impact of the cognitive or mental load: the invisible work of holding every task, reminder, and responsibility in your mind all at once- 🔹 Both at home and at work. And the data from Eve Rodsky & The Fair Play Policy Institute backs this up: -Women carrying the mental load alone experience more depressive symptoms -Higher levels of burnout and exhaustion -Worse physical and mental health These impacts ripple into relationships and work performance. But here’s the hopeful part: ✨ This is a fixable problem. When workplaces bring in training for fair play- when they help employees and managers understand the mental load (at home AND at work), and understand the gender politics behind it, they are able to make changes. Leading to: -More balanced workloads -Happier, healthier parents -Better outcomes for everyone When the mental load is shared, women finally gain space. To breathe. To think. To lead. Gender equity at home is essential for true equity at work and workplaces can help make it happen.

I was shocked when I read this statistic. 🤯 👉 65% of women believe they’re underrepresented in leadership positions due to ONE factor: Lack of confidence. (source: TeamStage) Not lack of ability. Not lack of experience. Not lack of education. Just confidence. This isn’t just a statistic to me. Last month, I watched a colleague—brilliant, experienced, with an MBA—hesitate to apply for a senior role because she “only” met 8 of 10 requirements. Meanwhile, her male colleague with 6 of 10 qualifications applied without hesitation. He got the interview. She didn’t even try. The data confirms what I witnessed: 📉 43% of young women regularly doubt their professional abilities, compared to 36% of young men. (source: American Survey Center) And here’s why it matters: At current rates, gender parity for women of color will take 48 YEARS to achieve. (source: McKinsey & Company) We can’t wait that long. For women reading this: ✅ Apply for that job even if you meet just 70% of the qualifications. ✅ Speak up in that meeting even when your idea isn’t fully formed. ✅ Put yourself forward for that promotion even if you’re scared. For allies and organizations: 🔍 Examine your job descriptions—are they inviting the best candidates or just the most confident? 🙋♀️ Actively encourage qualified women to apply—don’t wait for them to volunteer. 🎯 Specify clear requirements instead of vague phrases like “several years of experience.” (source: Rowing News) The business case is clear: Companies with 10% greater gender diversity see higher gross profits, and diverse leadership teams consistently outperform homogeneous ones. (source: TeamStage) Because here’s the truth: No one feels 100% ready. The successful ones jump anyway. What ONE action will you take this week to close the confidence gap—for yourself or others? #MondayMotivation #WomenInLeadership #ConfidenceGap

Women in the workplace face the biggest obstacle not at the glass ceiling itself, but at the first rung of the ladder, according to Lean In. For every 100 men promoted, only 87 women and 82 women of color are promoted. The gender and leadership gap is a significant challenge we must address head-on, and we can do so by improving corporate cultures. Forbes offers 5 steps we can take to bridge this gap and create a more equitable workforce: 1️. Enhance your talent pool to embrace diversity. 2. Implement neutral bias monitoring for fair evaluations. 3. Expand the scope of your organization's DEI metrics. 4. Empower women with leadership coaching. 5. Promote affinity groups with executive sponsorship. Beyond embracing diversity and having metrics in place to ensure an organization is reaching its goals, I have seen firsthand how coaching and mentoring can be game-changing for anyone seeking growth. It not only provides upskilling and networking opportunities, but coaches set an example for the rest of the organization by welcoming women to excel and offering support to get there. It's time to tap into the immense potential of women in leadership positions and create a corporate culture that values and retains them. #WomenInLeadership #CorporateCulture #GenderEquality

Telling women to “choose between career and family” is not advice! 👩 A woman’s career is not a backup plan. It’s as important as a man’s career. Too often, women are taught to see their careers as negotiable as something they might keep if life allows it. But I believe that mindset is holding back not just women, but entire industries. As a scientist and researcher, my work depends on depth, focus, and consistency. I bring that same energy to my stance on female professional development. We can’t build strong research teams if we keep treating women’s contributions as temporary. We can’t expect breakthroughs if women are forced to choose between ambition and acceptance. What I believe : – Women don’t need permission to lead they need systems that stop punishing them when they do. – Career gaps aren’t weaknesses. They’re a reflection of broken support structures. – Identity includes work. For many of us, it’s how we create, lead, and contribute meaningfully to the world. The goal isn’t to give women more options. The goal is to stop treating their careers like they’re optional in the first place. If you believe in building spaces where women don’t have to choose, repost this. Because real inclusion starts with how we value identity and whose we recognize. ♻️ Follow Abhilasha Singh for more simplified insights on complex topics.