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Schneider Ross + HSBC India: The CEO is a woman. So are half its managers. But HSBC wants more - Apr 2009
Sometime Ago, Naina Lal Kidwai, CEO, The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), India, ventured on a personal exercise. Kidwai, the first Indian woman to graduate from Harvard Business School (HBS), tried to locate women from her batch of 1982. She was in for a rude shock: only one other woman from her class was in active service. The others, over the years, had apparently fallen off the corporate map—a shame indeed, and an incredible loss of talent, considering that women made up 26% of a typical class at HBS even in the early-1980s.
Kidwai is apparently determined to alter the situation of brilliant women opting out because they couldn’t cope with domestic pulls and pressures. HSBC, which already has an enviable record for the advancement of women—50% of its top managers are women—is tweaking a remarkable ‘Women Returner Scheme’. The programme is expected to best the most celebrated one so far in India—the Tata Second Career Internship Programme (SCIP), which attracted 2,000 applications upon launch in March 2008.
The SCIP offers projects to home-bound women on a part-time basis “without the real promise of a job” on completion. “Our programme is much bolder. We’ll get women straight from a home into a job,” says Ina Bajwa, Associate Vice-President, Organisation Development-Diversity, HSBC.
Below The Radar
A survey carried out by HSBC in Delhi recently threw up a surprise. “Many women bankers who had quit were keen to return. It’s only that no one asked them,” says Aditya Narayan Singh Deo, Senior Vice-President, Organisation Development & Change “A few wondered whether they would fit in after such long breaks.” Talent retention is a huge challenge in the financial services sector. The loyalty of those who do return is higher, and with this, HSBC hopes to stem its attrition rate, which hovers around 27%.
HSBC’s gender ratio—64.5:35.5—is the best among foreign banks in India, but this hasn’t made it sit back. The accent now is on seeking the business case for gender and inclusive leadership. “We set up a task force of 100 employees, largely women, headed by business heads, to pursue gender diversity,” says Kidwai. The business heads have submitted three-year action plans, with oneyear milestones. The bank is unwilling to reveal the targets.
The bank’s strategy stems from the realisation that it’s no longer a ‘good to do’ but a ‘need to do’ activity. London-based consultancy Schneider~ Ross, diversity and equality experts, recently made a presentation to the management on the diversity imperative. It was revealed that many small and medium enterprises were in the hands of the second generation now, and they are not necessarily males. “As a bank, if we fail to comprehend the need for diversity in our ranks, we may lose out on this category of business,” explains Deo.
“We pay additional fees to HR consultants for appointment of women employees,” says Tanuj Kapilshrami, HR Head. Its programmes like the Flexible Work Arrangement are a draw for women. The bank is now pushing its flexibility agenda harder: for some functions, HSBC is considering employing people on an hours per year basis, instead of the conventional days per year basis. It all contributes to buidling a more diverse workforce.
Full article published in Outlook Business in April 2009
"Opening Old Doors: HSBC India - The CEO is a woman. So are half its managers. But HSBC wants more."
Kidwai is apparently determined to alter the situation of brilliant women opting out because they couldn’t cope with domestic pulls and pressures. HSBC, which already has an enviable record for the advancement of women—50% of its top managers are women—is tweaking a remarkable ‘Women Returner Scheme’. The programme is expected to best the most celebrated one so far in India—the Tata Second Career Internship Programme (SCIP), which attracted 2,000 applications upon launch in March 2008.
The SCIP offers projects to home-bound women on a part-time basis “without the real promise of a job” on completion. “Our programme is much bolder. We’ll get women straight from a home into a job,” says Ina Bajwa, Associate Vice-President, Organisation Development-Diversity, HSBC.
Below The Radar
A survey carried out by HSBC in Delhi recently threw up a surprise. “Many women bankers who had quit were keen to return. It’s only that no one asked them,” says Aditya Narayan Singh Deo, Senior Vice-President, Organisation Development & Change “A few wondered whether they would fit in after such long breaks.” Talent retention is a huge challenge in the financial services sector. The loyalty of those who do return is higher, and with this, HSBC hopes to stem its attrition rate, which hovers around 27%.
HSBC’s gender ratio—64.5:35.5—is the best among foreign banks in India, but this hasn’t made it sit back. The accent now is on seeking the business case for gender and inclusive leadership. “We set up a task force of 100 employees, largely women, headed by business heads, to pursue gender diversity,” says Kidwai. The business heads have submitted three-year action plans, with oneyear milestones. The bank is unwilling to reveal the targets.
The bank’s strategy stems from the realisation that it’s no longer a ‘good to do’ but a ‘need to do’ activity. London-based consultancy Schneider~ Ross, diversity and equality experts, recently made a presentation to the management on the diversity imperative. It was revealed that many small and medium enterprises were in the hands of the second generation now, and they are not necessarily males. “As a bank, if we fail to comprehend the need for diversity in our ranks, we may lose out on this category of business,” explains Deo.
“We pay additional fees to HR consultants for appointment of women employees,” says Tanuj Kapilshrami, HR Head. Its programmes like the Flexible Work Arrangement are a draw for women. The bank is now pushing its flexibility agenda harder: for some functions, HSBC is considering employing people on an hours per year basis, instead of the conventional days per year basis. It all contributes to buidling a more diverse workforce.
Full article published in Outlook Business in April 2009
"Opening Old Doors: HSBC India - The CEO is a woman. So are half its managers. But HSBC wants more."