Gender Diversity Can Deliver Up To 66% Higher ROI In Business: Anthony A. Rose, Founder Chairman and CEO, House of Rose Professional

Headquartered in Singapore, House of Rose Professional Pte has been touching lives and helping people succeed via the Public Relations, Publishing and People solutions. Anthony A. Rose, Founder Chairman and CEO, House of Rose Professional Pte, Ltd speaks to BW Businessworld about the growth of this global network and his passion to touch people’s lives.

Excerpts: 

What cultural shifts are needed to have equal representation of women leaders in the corporate world?

Gender sensitisation training of the youth so that at a very early stage gender diversity is understood as an asset: It must start in school, college system, the top academic institutions as the pipeline for leaders in business is formed. Young women leaders must be encouraged to excel and pursue careers of their choice. 

Education on and acceptance of the business case for gender diversity at a Corporate level: Multiple studies have shown that companies with the highest number of women leaders on their boards have a higher return on investment than companies with the least number of women on their boards. Women in leadership is a business enabler and an enabler in society.  So more training and education of male leaders on the positive impact of gender diversity and the business case for it. 

Support systems and policies in organizations that are flexible and enable women leaders (and male leaders as well) to manage work-life priorities: In India currently, most of the duties related to the home still fall on the shoulders of women. It is simply not possible for women to therefore give their careers the time it needs if the home duties are not shared equally by the men.  Over time, as men share more of these home duties, the full potential of women leaders will be further realized. 

Could you share some highlights of the upcoming summit in Mumbai?

Break the ceiling touch the sky – the success and leadership summit for women is based on research done for my book “Break the ceiling touch the sky: success secrets of the world’s most inspirational women” and further leadership insights gathered from interaction with over 7000 women leaders since 2012.  This one-day summit consists of action-focused panel discussions, keynotes and a special speed mentoring segment led by C-Suite leaders sharing the latest techniques for success and leadership. This enables women leaders (and male leaders) to learn, network and achieve.  Incidentally, royalties from book sales of the book mentioned above go to Save the Children to enable tests and treatment for underprivileged women with maternal anemia in Bihar, India. 

The 2018 India Edition of Break the ceiling touch the sky features some of the top leaders in India who will share their best practices for success including Nishi Christina Ruggiero, Chief Executive Officer, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd; Richa Singh, CEO, Philips Home Healthcare; Sam Balsara, Chairman, Madison World; Mohit Anand, Managing Director, Kellogg India Pvt. Ltd; KrishIyer, President & CEO, Walmart India; Stephanie Keen, Singapore Managing Partner,Hogan Lovells Lee & Lee Singapore; P.K. Hariharan, General Manager – India Consumer and Professional Beauty Coty Inc.; Richa Arora, Chief Operating Officer, Consumer Products Business, Tata Chemicals; Lynne Anne Davis, President and Senior Partner, FleishmanHillard Asia Pacific; Priyanka Aggarwal, Partner and Director of BCG India; Annurag Batra, Chairman, BW Businessworld and exchange4media Group; Praveen Jakarte, Former Chairman and Managing Director, Hershey’s India; Harish Sadani, C-Founder and Chief Functionary of Men Against Violence and Abuse (MAVA). 

The forum is focused on specific actions that leaders can take in their organizations and their own lives to be more successful and be better leaders. 

According to you, where does India stand as far as equal opportunities for women in the corporate world is concerned? 

My personal perception is that at there is currently an evolving awareness that is sweeping across Corporate India of the important role that women leaders have in business.  Companies are indeed making efforts to get more women leaders into top leadership roles with varying degrees of adoption across different industries. Certainly, there is progress but more work to be done.

Some surveys suggest that India needs to do much more. Only 7 percent of the senior management (CEO/ Managing Director) roles are held by women in India according to a global survey  (5500 businesses in 36 economies) by Grant Thornton – Women in business: New perspectives on risk and reward.  

How can inclusive leadership become a dominant practice?

Companies can do three simple things to make inclusive leadership a dominant practice: 

1. Be clear about what is inclusive leadership and the kind of behaviours they expect from their leaders:  Inclusive leadership? What does that mean?  What are the specific traits? How is this awareness being spread within organizations. How is it being taught? How does it manifest? 
2. Ensure policies and practices that are flexible and support women in leadership.
3. Celebrate inclusive leadership as the sought after style with a clear appreciation of leaders that demonstrate inclusive leadership and are delivering on their businesses – give them bigger assignments, celebrate these heroes, document their best practices and enable them to share these practices at credible forums like Break the ceiling touch the sky® 

What would you call the three biggest challenges facing the corporate leadership today both in the global and Indian context?

I actually see it more from an opportunity standpoint.  Here are three things that should be top of mind for corporate leadership in India today: 

Gender diversity: Too few women in powerful leadership positions.  Gender diversity can deliver up to 66% higher ROI in business. The most successful teams are gender diverse. Gender diversity has proven to have a direct positive impact on business, community, and innovation. How can corporate leaderships do more to unlock this opportunity? 

Closing the gap between the haves and have nots:  Great partnership opportunities exist between the corporate sector, social sector and government to create shared value partnerships that can deliver a more successful, more inclusive India.  How can we extend the success we see at the top of Corporate India to other sections of society? How does corporate India influence a better life for all Indians?  

Future Talent: We look to a time when every young graduate in India dreams of a long-term career in India versus a career in the USA, UK, Dubai, Hong Kong etc. What is the role of corporate India in contributing to an India that is so aspirational, safe, and satisfying that the slogan “Incredible India” becomes so real that every youth wants to play a role in building that Incredible India? Everyone wants that.  All Indians and well-wishers of India must work towards that. Collective action is the answer.