Q: I am a woman employee who works hard behind the scenes, but my seniors are perhaps oblivious to my contribution. In our organisation, there is great emphasis on team work, but a senior male colleague, who has established himself well in the system, takes all the credit and does not talk about my efforts. The colleague gets to hang around with higher-ups due to his seniority. It’s easy for him, I feel, because of male bonding. Being a woman, the going is tough for me. Please suggest how I can survive, if not thrive, in an environment where one keeps putting in hard work, without getting any appreciation for the same?
A: (Saundarya Rajesh): Let me assure you that the problem you are facing is actually gender-agnostic, experienced by men and women, young and old. When leaders are oblivious to changing workplace behaviour, it is a huge stumbling block to inclusion and belongingness.
Now, to your specific problem. First, a big hat-tip to you for the confidence with which you have audited your work. If you are convinced that you have really pulled out all the stops in delivering to the best of your effort, then that is the first step towards a very fulfilling, successful career. The satisfaction that you get when you love your work, are prepared to slog it out and present great outcomes is the bedrock of a long, impactful, rewarding profession. Remember, a series of jobs does not make a career. An intentional career is built, brick-by-brick out of occasions like the one that you describe, where you put your nose to the grind (albeit behind the scenes) and produce great output.
Let’s now assess your case using the lens of culture. I see that the senior colleague is a tenured employee in the organisation, established and networked. But what I also gather from your letter is that, teamwork is an important people tenet of your workplace culture. Which would imply that a grievance that goes against the principle of teamwork and that is strongly evidenced, would be given its due. You mention about the hard work you have been delivering, and I am sure you have enough organisational data to substantiate your contribution.
As the first step, you may want to review all significant contributions that you have made over the last six months and have a brief and powerful presentation prepared about it. Assuming that the senior colleague is your teammate and you do not have a reporting relationship with him, please schedule a meeting with your manager at the earliest, to present your case. While you may want to explain to your manager the need for such a discussion, once you have your manager on board, my suggestion would be steer away from the allegations route and focus on what you have accomplished. Not only will this project you as an intentional and self-aware professional, it would help your manager to be more invested in your case.
On a slightly different route, I have a question for you. Has this “lack of appreciation” affected your performance appraisal? Has your boss overlooked you for increments, bonuses or incentives? No? Then, I would urge you to reflect on your career aspirations. Many women, whom we counsel and mentor, often confuse short-term glories with their longterm success. Receiving accolades is very nice. Name & fame are very tempting incentives. But even more important is your actual growth in terms of numbers. If during this same period, you got a promotion or even a significant increment, then do not stress the small stuff.
If this has not happened and you have been denied both the soft & hard aspects of performance appraisal, then you may want to check with your HR on the grievance escalation matrix at your company to pursue this further. Your giving this your best and most strategic shot might set an example for other women colleagues as well and initiate important conversations on inclusion in the system. But if after following the proper channel, your voice remains unheard, I would suggest you look out for opportunities with employers that are known to be inclusive (such as the best companies for women in India).
You mention that it is easier for your male colleague to mingle with the seniors. The days of networking over chai & cigarettes where important decisions are discussed by the boys during smoke breaks is slowly becoming passé. More and more organisations (especially the ones that have unconscious bias training sessions & gender-sensitisation programmes) are realising that such gender-stereotypical ways of working do more harm than good to a company. I would urge you to find alternate channels and ways to connect with your seniors — does your organisation have an internal networking forum? Is there an ongoing mentoring programme? If yes, please avail of these forums to stay more intentionally networked. If not, use the opportunity to sensitise your management on the need for such forums, while you present your case.
Saundarya Rajesh is founder president of Avtar, a leading firm on workplace inclusion & belongingness.
Namrata Singh, TOI
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