Rooting for equal opportunity employers

Quintiles is an equal opportunities employer and we have a significant percentage of women employees, not only across the organisation, but also in senior positions.

In fact, an analysis of the top 25 organisations that feature in Great Place to Work Institute’s World’s Best Multinational Workplaces 2012, will reveal that Quintiles has the highest percentage of women in executive/senior management at 52 per cent which is significantly higher than most other companies that feature in the listing (http://www.greatplacetowork.in/best-companies/worlds-best-multinationals/profiles-of-the-winners/687-23-quintiles).

In India, Quintiles recently received the Highest Percentage of Women Employer-ITES award by the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), Government of India and the Department of IT, BT and ST, Government of Karnataka for the year 2011-12. So women are well represented at all levels within our organisation not just in India, but across the globe.

I believe the question should not be whether an organisation has policies for equitable representation of women at the board level as much as whether it is an equal opportunities employer and has policies that foster and encourage women in the workplace. If an organisation is able to create a woman-friendly work environment and women have a level playing field to further and grow their careers, then it should be on merit and not on gender that should be the determinant of a woman’s climb up the career ladder and whether or not she will occupy a seat at the board.

I believe that senior positions, irrespective of gender, need to be earned and therefore it is important that the culture of the organisation recognises and supports the needs of working women which will create a conducive environment for women to progress their careers and assume senior and board positions.

– Suneela Thatte, Executive Director – Customer Operations, Quintiles India