Business

Saturday March 7, 2009

Half of female execs insufficiently challenged


ALMOST half of female executives around the world feel they are insufficiently challenged despite being confident of their skills and capabilities, according to Accenture’s global research study Untapped Potential: Stretching toward the future.

Accenture Malaysia executive partner Christina Low says organisations should engage these individuals and enable them to stretch further through various means.

“Given the current economic challenges, it is important for business professionals to remain flexible and agile and explore ways to stretch themselves,” she told a press briefing in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

The survey, which was conducted in November and December, covered 3,600 male and female professionals from medium to large organisations in 18 countries across Europe, Asia, North America and Africa.

According to the survey findings, while 76% of the respondents are confident of their skills and capabilities, almost 50% of them believe they are insufficiently challenged.

These skills include the ability to manage their workload and deadlines, to delegate tasks and to negotiate.

Meanwhile, four in 10 (46%) of the women who consider themselves very successful report that they are in jobs that require them to stretch beyond their expected responsibilities.

Yet, these successful women are challenging themselves further.

More than eight in 10 say they take on additional responsibilities and complexity to advance their careers and three-quarters report that they regularly stretch themselves beyond their comfort zone.

They are also learning new skills that can help them move to the next level and are willing to regularly consider a new position or role.

Low says the key enablers for business professionals to be successful are the use of technology and increased utilisation of a formal mentor at work.

For women, one highly touted but largely untapped resource is a mentoring programme, she says.

“At present, only 14% turn to a formal mentor at work compared with 50% of women who cited either family, friends and current or former colleagues,” she says.

More than three-quarters (79%) of respondents who identified themselves as “very successful” say they rely on technology, compared with just 56% who did not identify themselves as “very successful”.

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