Conundrum : Diversity and 20 years plus professional experience

These are two diverse topic. Not only corporate India, but also globally corporate are grappling with the thought of how to manage "Diversity" and senior people having experience of more than 20 years.

Diversity: 

Corporates are eager to find ways to increase diversity in workforce and board. Even professional colleges are lamenting the low level of diversity. All of them searching for answers to increase participation of the women in the workforce. Some professional colleges in india are giving additional marks in entrance examination to increase women participation. On the other hand, a trend is seen in the corporate world to reserve certain position for the women. Recently, it has made mandatory to have certain number of independent directors in the board to be women. Alas, promoters are now appointing their women relatives as independent directors flouting the spirit behind it. 

Guess, in order to promote diversity, society should be empowered enough so that women can be given enough educational and professional opportunities to excel in their chosen field. Diversity should not be promoted at the cost of gender issue. It should be level playing field where men has to change its outlook towards women as they are still in driving position. The credo should be let the best talent win the game and slowly and steadily women should be treated at par with men.

20 years plus professional experience: 

There is a intense debate going on the corporate world whether the resources who have more than 20 year of rich professional experience are good enough to go on in the light of fast changing business environment. 

Financial Services and Information Technology  are the two industries which are evolving fast and furious and today's skill set may not be relevant tomorrow. The question is whether junior and middle levels are equip more with the latest knowhow and senior leaders are unable to cope with the changes & this becoming burden on the corporate. Yes, there is no right or wrong straightforward answers.

The idea is to have right mix of the young and senior professionals. The ideas can be germinated  by young generation while shepherded by the seniors who have seen several business cycles. 

Now a days companies, just to lessen the cost burden, trying to shed the senior professionals by making them redundant on the pretext of change in business environment. However, one can not doubt the experience they bring on the table. The key idea should be  let the person should be judged on the basis of his / her competitiveness and deliverable rather than just on the basis of seniority. If seniority and out of skill is the criterion in the new emerging environment, than those who are proposing ( must be senior professional) should go first, which, we have rarely seen.