New Delhi, Oct 27 (PTI) Nearly 73 per cent of emerging women leaders in the social sector believe that continued mentorship and networking support would boost their leadership ambitions, according to a recent survey.

The survey by India Leaders for Social Sector (ILSS) was conducted with an aim to understand the complexity surrounding women leadership in the sector by examining gaps and challenges, capturing best practices, exploring the scope of positive interventions and identifying possible support structures to build leadership capacities.

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In surveying women with seven to 15 years of work experience in fields across the social sector, its report captures an overarching image of these critical dynamics.

The report also highlights prevalence of socialised beliefs such as imposter syndrome, which limit one's leadership vision, with 50 per cent of women leaders experiencing this.

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Nearly 73 per cent of emerging women leaders in the social sector believe that continued mentorship and networking support would boost their leadership ambitions, it said.

The report also outlines some key support structures that can be implemented to support women leadership journeys. Critically, 84.1 per cent of respondents stated they believe a tailored capacity building programme would enhance their leadership journey, it said.

The survey found that a key want is the knowledge of leadership frameworks which specifically speak of their journeys as mid-to-senior career women professionals in the Indian social impact space, and the guidance on adapting it to their career path.

Similarly, there is a desire for building crucial cross-functional or management skills, including negotiation, conflict management and effective communication, the report said.

There is also a desire to build a personal leadership style with 75.6 per cent of respondents citing the desire to build their own leadership style based on the attributes of empathy, collaboration and inclusion, it said.

Other takeaways include the importance of having access to a peer community network and 76 per cent of respondents believe their leadership journey would benefit from having access to a network of like-minded women impact leaders who can freely share their experiences and collectively strategise on how to navigate and succeed in the social impact space, the report said.

Further, there is a clear statement that mentorship is a crucial element to amplify one's leadership path, it said

The report stated that respondents feel men have clearer access to cross-sectoral networks and mentorship opportunities with senior leaders.

Building pathways to match emerging women leaders with senior women leaders may play a crucial role in supporting their leadership journeys as 84.7 per cent respondents state, the report noted.

The report also looks into what structural changes need to occur in the development sector to systematically support women leadership journeys.

By building an ecosystem of support, ranging from working with organisation leaders to build inclusive leadership pipelines, platforming women leaders across the sector to embedding flexible working policies to support women with familial and childcare responsibilities, the sector can become a model for gender-balanced senior leadership, it noted.

"The 'Emerging Women's Leadership in the Indian Development Sector' study highlights the unique challenges that women constantly grapple with and proposes solutions to reduce the current gap in the leadership positions in the social sector," Founder and CEO, India Leaders for Social Sector, Anu Prasad, said.

"We, at ILSS, believe that this study is an important step to build conducive pathways for more women professionals to reach leadership positions, and for social sector organisations to emerge as spaces where we see inclusive leadership thrive," she said.

The report is based upon qualitative analysis of women leaders in social sector.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)