女性正越来越多地进入印度劳动力市场，但这种进步并未转化为高层管理岗位中的平等代表性。随着职业发展从初级职位晋升到中层管理，再到高级领导和董事会，这一差距变得更加明显。这就是Moelis India首席执行官玛尼莎·吉罗特拉在CNBC-TV18一场关于职场女性的讨论中提到的“漏管道”现象。尽管企业在职业起步阶段可能拥有更充足的女性人才储备，但能够一路晋升到最高层的女性却少之又少。
Women are increasingly entering India’s workforce, but that progress is not translating into equal representation at the top. The gap becomes more visible as careers move from entry-level roles to middle management and eventually to senior leadership and boardrooms. That is the “leaky pipeline” Manisha Girotra, CEO of Moelis India, referred to during a CNBC-TV18 discussion on women at work. While companies may have a stronger pool of women at the start of their careers, fewer make it through to the highest levels.
以高知特为例，据全球运营总裁兼高知特印度董事长兼总经理拉杰什·瓦里尔介绍，女性占其员工总数的40%以上。但女性在领导层中的比例仅从三年前的约13%上升至现在的18%。因此，问题不仅仅是如何让更多女性进入劳动力市场，而是如何确保她们留在人才管道中，并拥有公平的机会晋升到领导层。为什么管道会漏水？
At Cognizant, for example, women account for more than 40% of the workforce, according to Rajesh Varrier, President, Global Operations and Chairman & MD, Cognizant India. But women in leadership have increased from around 13% three years ago to 18% now. The question, therefore, is not simply how to bring more women into the workforce. It is how to ensure they remain in the pipeline and have a fair opportunity to reach leadership. Why does the pipeline leak?
原因并不局限于某一项职场政策或女性职业生涯的某个阶段。吉罗特拉指出，家庭优先事项以及她所描述的重男轻女心态，是持续影响女性职业发展的因素。即使企业提供居家办公安排和弹性工作时间，如果职场之外的期望没有改变，这些措施可能仍然不够。职业中断是问题的另一个方面。有些职业尤其难以与家庭责任兼顾。
The reasons are not limited to one workplace policy or one stage of a woman’s career. Girotra pointed to home priorities and what she described as a patriarchal mindset as factors that continue to affect women’s careers. Even when organisations offer work-from-home arrangements and flexible hours, those measures may not be enough if expectations outside the workplace remain unchanged. Career breaks are another part of the problem. Some professions can be particularly difficult to combine with family responsibilities.
AZB & Partners联合创始人兼管理合伙人齐亚·莫迪表示，在法庭工作三十年后，女性在那里仍然“屈指可数”。她形容法庭职业要求专业人士“随时待命，全天候在线”，同时还要不断证明自己。
Zia Mody, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of AZB & Partners, said that after three decades in the courtroom, women remain “literally a handful” there. She described courtroom careers as demanding professionals to be available “on tap 24/7” while constantly proving themselves.
当家庭责任增加时，这会让女性更难留在这类职业中。此外还有职场预设的问题。瓦里尔表示，组织有时会假定女性无法胜任某项工作，转而寻找男性。他认为，制度和流程可以提供帮助，但思维方式仍然至关重要。汇丰银行印度董事总经理兼银行业务主管阿贾伊·夏尔马也指出了他所称的“兄弟会”问题。他说，在海外生活二十年后回到印度，他注意到许多专业场合仍然由男性主导。
That can make it harder for women to remain in such careers when family responsibilities increase. There is also a question of workplace assumptions. Varrier said organisations sometimes assume that a woman cannot do a particular job and look for a man instead. He argued that systems and processes can help, but mindset remains critical. Ajay Sharma, Managing Director and Head of Banking, HSBC India, also pointed to what he called the “boys’ club” problem. He said he noticed how male-dominated many professional rooms were after returning to India following two decades abroad.
这些因素可能相互强化：高要求的职业结构使中断职业生涯更有可能发生，职场预设让重返职场更加困难，而高层职位中女性缺席又会让后来者缺少榜样。为什么仅靠政策还不够。企业已经推出了多项措施来留住女性，包括灵活办公、回归实习项目、产假和收养政策，以及招聘方式的改变。但专家表示，这些措施是否有效，最终取决于管理者和同事如何使用它们。
These factors can reinforce one another: demanding career structures can make breaks more likely, workplace assumptions can make returning harder, and the absence of women in senior positions can leave fewer role models for those coming behind. Why policies alone are not enoughCompanies have introduced several measures to retain women, including flexible working, returnships, maternity and adoption policies and changes to hiring practices. But experts say the effectiveness of these measures ultimately depends on how managers and colleagues use them.
夏尔马举例说，一名女性从销售岗位被调整到灵活的非销售岗位，使她能够继续工作而不必中断职业生涯。他说，新冠疫情后，灵活办公也变得更容易被接受。在马恒达公司，农业设备业务先进技术主管鲁查·纳纳瓦蒂表示，公司有涵盖产假、收养和试管婴儿的政策，还有SOAR，这是一个帮助女性在职业中断后回归的实习项目。
Sharma gave the example of a woman who was moved from a sales role to a flexible non-sales position, allowing her to continue working without taking a career break. He said flexible working had also become more accepted after COVID. At Mahindra, Rucha Nanavati, Chief of Advanced Technologies, Farm Equipment Business, said the company has policies covering maternity, adoption and IVF, along with SOAR, a returnship programme for women coming back after career breaks.
她还描述了一条个人招聘规则：在候选人中女性占比至少达到30%之前，她不会开始面试。她强调，最终选择仍然基于资历。职场行为中的小改变也能影响人们的看法。
She also described a personal hiring rule: she does not begin interviewing until at least 30% of the candidate pool consists of women. The final selection, she stressed, remains based on qualification. Small changes in workplace behaviour can also influence perceptions.
纳纳瓦蒂表示，她在演讲中尽量避免使用“工时”这一术语，因为她认为即使是看似微不足道的语言变化，也可能影响人们对工作的看法。与此同时，瓦里尔指出，Cognizant公司采用了“反向指导”（reverse mentoring）的机制，即资深领导者可以从经验丰富的员工那里学习。这些观点的核心在于：虽然相关政策可以为女性创造机会，但领导者和管理者必须确保这些机会能够在实际工作中得到有效利用。
Nanavati said she avoids using the term “man-hours” in presentations, arguing that even seemingly minor language changes can affect how people think about work. Varrier, meanwhile, said Cognizant uses reverse mentoring, where senior leaders can learn from employees with different experiences. The common thread is that policies can create an opportunity, but leaders and managers have to make that opportunity work in practice. Does having more women in leadership change the equation?
那么，女性在领导层中的比例增加会带来什么变化呢？高层管理层的性别构成并不仅仅是一个数字问题；多位演讲者认为，女性在领导层中的比例提高可以改变决策的讨论方式，并为那些在组织中晋升的女性提供更强的支持。莫迪支持在董事会中增加女性的代表比例，但她指出：董事会中只有一名女性与有多名女性能够参与决策过程是截然不同的——虽然一名女性可能无法总是产生显著的影响，但两名或三名女性确实能够改变董事会的讨论氛围。
Representation at the top is not simply about numbers. Several speakers argued that having more women in leadership can alter how decisions are discussed and can create a stronger support system for women coming through the organisation. Mody supports greater representation of women on boards. But she made a distinction between having a single woman in a boardroom and having several women who can influence the discussion. She argued that while one woman may not always be able to make an effective difference, two or three women can change the dynamics of a boardroom.
吉罗特拉则支持将女性在董事会中的比例强制设定为33%；但她同时也强调，进入董事会的女性有责任积极发声、做好准备，并为后来者铺平道路。Hero FinCorp的首席运营官普里娅·卡希亚普表示，她的公司董事会中有三名女性，她认为从这些女性那里获得的指导非常宝贵。因此，对于企业来说，真正的挑战不仅仅是增加进入职场的女性人数。
Girotra supports mandatory representation of women on boards at 33%. But she also stressed that women who reach boardrooms have a responsibility to speak up, prepare themselves and create a path for those who follow. Priya Kashyap, COO of Hero FinCorp, said her organisation has three women in its boardroom and described the mentorship she has received from them as valuable. For companies, therefore, the challenge is not only increasing the number of women entering the workforce.
确保女性能够在组织决策层中得到代表，对于企业的长期发展至关重要。那么，企业能否从一开始就建立起一种不同的企业文化呢？对于那些成立时间较短的公司来说，一些障碍可能更容易克服，因为它们的企业文化仍在形成过程中。Secret Alchemist的联合创始人Akash Valia表示，该公司10位职能负责人中有8位是女性，董事会中女性也占多数。
It is ensuring that women are represented at the levels where organisational decisions are made. Can companies build a different culture from the start? For newer companies, some of the barriers may be easier to address because their workplace cultures are still being built. Akash Valia, Co-Founder of Secret Alchemist, said eight of the company’s 10 functional leaders are women and that women form a majority of its board.
他在招聘时坚持“忽略性别因素”，只看重候选人的能力；同时强调让女性参与产品开发过程的重要性（而不仅仅是在产品面向女性市场销售时才让她们参与其中）。Plush的联合创始人Ketan Munoth指出，该公司约77%的员工都是女性，并且有意让女性担任那些传统上被认为不适合女性的运营或包装岗位。他认为，诸如工作安全与交通便利等问题完全可以得到解决，而不应成为排斥女性的理由。
His approach to hiring is to “forget gender” and focus on talent. He also pointed to the importance of involving women in product development rather than bringing them into the process only when a product is being marketed to women. Ketan Munoth, Co-Founder of Plush, said women make up around 77% of the company’s workforce. The company has deliberately included women in operational and packaging roles that might traditionally have been viewed as unsuitable for women. He argued that issues such as safety and transportation can be addressed rather than used as reasons to exclude women.
Plush还提供了诸如远程办公等便利措施，以解决女性在经期可能遇到的问题。Munoth认为，初创企业有机会从一开始就塑造不同的企业文化，而不是试图改变已经形成的旧体系。
Plush has also introduced measures such as work-from-home options for menstrual discomfort and menstrual leave. Munoth's broader point was that startups have an opportunity to build workplace culture differently rather than trying to change an established system later.
那么，为什么女性的代表性不仅仅局限于董事会层面呢？这种领导力的问题其实贯穿于整个企业的各个层面。Nanavati以农业行业为例：虽然女性占农业劳动力的70%，但往往是由男性掌控资金和资源。她认为，技术和政策可以改变这种现状（她提到了“Drone Didi”这样的创新项目）。Kashyap则介绍了一个在农村实施的金融知识普及项目，该项目教会了女性如何投资和理财；这些女性随后又将所学的知识传授给了其他人。这表明，女性的代表性不仅仅体现在她们是否担任公司的高层职位上。
Why does representation matter beyond the boardroom? The leadership question extends beyond corporate offices. Nanavati pointed to the agricultural sector, where women make up around 70% of the farm workforce, but men often go to the mandi and control the money. She argued that technology and policy can change that dynamic, citing initiatives such as Drone Didi. Kashyap described a financial literacy programme in villages in which women were taught about investing and growing money. Those women then passed the knowledge on to others. That suggests representation is not only about who occupies a corporate title. It can also affect who controls decisions, money, technology and opportunities in other parts of the economy.
这些因素也会影响谁能够掌控经济中的决策权、资金、技术以及各种机会。究竟是什么真正改变了这种现状呢？灵活的工作方式可以帮助女性继续留在职场中；重返职场（即“职业回归”）计划可以为那些曾中断职业生涯的女性提供帮助；招聘流程可以减少招聘过程中的某些偏见；董事会中的女性成员可以为其他员工树立榜样，并影响公司的决策过程；反向指导（即让资深领导者向年轻员工学习）可以让他们接触到原本可能无法获得的经验。
What ultimately changes the pipeline? Flexible working can help women remain in employment. Returnships can help after career breaks. Hiring processes can reduce some of the biases in recruitment. Board representation can provide role models and influence decision-making. Reverse mentoring can expose senior leaders to experiences they may otherwise not encounter.
然而，有一件事较难改变，那就是职场中的思维模式。莫迪本人的经历就说明了职场之外支持的重要性——在她父亲希望她成为一名儿子的时候，是她的母亲鼓励她去国外学习法律。她还强调了将女性在中层管理职位上的晋升与领导者的关键绩效指标（KRA）联系起来的重要性。这表明我们需要从更广泛的角度来重新审视责任分配的问题：不能仅仅期望女性通过适应现有制度来解决职场中的不平等问题；企业也需要审视工作设计方式、管理者的决策方式、对职业中断行为的处理方式，以及谁能够获得晋升领导职位的机会。
But one thing that is harder to change is: workplace mindset. Mody’s own experience illustrates the importance of support outside the workplace as well. She credited her mother with pushing her towards studying law abroad at a time when her father had wanted a son. She also spoke about the importance of linking the advancement of women in middle management to leaders’ key result areas, or KRAs. That points to a broader shift in responsibility. Women cannot be expected to solve the pipeline problem simply by adapting themselves to existing structures. Companies also have to examine how jobs are designed, how managers make decisions, how career breaks are treated and who gets opportunities to move into leadership.
印度或许正在让更多女性进入劳动力市场，但更关键的问题是：现有的制度是否能让这些女性留在职场中、取得进步，并最终影响她们所工作的组织的发展。
India may be bringing more women into the workforce. The harder question is whether the systems around them allow enough of those women to stay, progress and eventually shape the organisations they work for.