| Rao, who was addressing the inaugural session of the two-day NASSCOM IT-Women Leadership Summit 2007, said HR sections, even those headed by women, were found to be wanting in their support for women when it came to promotions. Which is why women have to overcome such bottlenecks to advance up the career ladder. |
| This issue must be addressed by women collectively, and not individually, Rao said, and he mentioned the need for women to develop skills in communications. |
| "Women leaders are not often found making PowerPoint presentations or making their voices heard during a conference, unlike their male counterparts," he said. They must look into these details when managing and investing in careers. |
| Half done Bobby Mitra, managing director, Texas Instruments India, felt the absence of women at a meeting led to lack of diversity of opinion and methods in tackling issues. Companies must consider seriously employing women if they are keen about augmenting their business, he said. |
| Teresa Copping, CEO, Aviva Global Services, underlined the need for women in senior positions to act as role models and to identify talent a lower levels. Changing the male-dominated work culture was possible only if women were agents of change. |
| "It is essential to develop a leadership talent pool as India may soon face a shortage of leadership going by the rapid strides she is taking," Copping said. |
| Get involved According to Vinita Bali, MD, Britannia Industries, the capabilities of an organisation were only half-tapped when the huge talent pool of women was ignored. |
| She stressed the need for women to get involved saying, "You cannot stand on the sidelines and hope that the rules of the game will change. You must play the game", she said. |
| Nasscom president Kiran Karnik said industry required to focus on providing a conducive work atmosphere for women, offering flexible working hours and instilling gender sensitivity at the workplace. |
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