'Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus,' goes the popular adage. Research studies the world over have only reinforced the truth behind this statement, and we now live in a society wherein the differences in attitudes, aspirations, and intentions of both the genders have been widely acknowledged. Against this backdrop, egalitarian views that have come to supersede stereotypical notions on gender roles have paved way for women careers. However, the career progress rates of men and women are drastically different; for the record, though 27% of the entry level Indian workforce is women, only 5% of senior executives in India are so, as against a global average of 20%. Where does the change in approach or attitude (towards careers) between men and women come about? At what level and what age? Is there intentionality in career pathing by men? If so, where does it stem from? This report is based on a nation-wide survey of Indian professionals (men and women) and was aimed at finding answers to these pertinent questions. The respondents employed in the corporate sector typically belonged to distinctly different career stages namely early career, mid career, and advanced or matured career stages.

1. Aguirre, D., Hoteit, L., Rupp, C., & Sabbagh, K. (2012). Empowering the third billion : Women and the world of work in 2012. Strategy&. Retrieved from <a href=http://www.strategyand.pwc.com/media/file/Strategyand_Empowering-the-Third-Billion_Full-Report.pdf target="_blank">http://www.strategyand.pwc.com/media/file/Strategyand_Empowering-the-Third-Billion_Full-Report.pdf</a>
2. Badal, S. B. (2014, January 20). The business benefits of gender diversity. Business Journal. Retrieved from <a href=http://www.gallup.com/businessjournal/166220/business-benefits-gender-diversity.aspx target="_blank">http://www.gallup.com/businessjournal/166220/business-benefits-gender-diversity.aspx</a>
3. Bagati, D. (2011). 2010 India benchmarking report. Catalyst. Retrieved from <a href=http://www.catalyst.org/system/files/2010_india_benchmarking_report_web.pdf target="_blank">http://www.catalyst.org/system/files/2010_india_benchmarking_report_web.pdf</a>
4. Barsh, J., & Yee, L. (2011). Changing companies' minds about women. McKinsey Quarterly. Retrieved from <a href=http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/organization/changing_companies_minds_about_women target="_blank">http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/organization/changing_companies_minds_about_women</a>
5. Barsh, J., & Yee, L. (2012). Unlocking the full potential of women at work. McKinsey & Company. Retrieved from <a href=http://www.mckinsey.com/client_service/organization/latest_thinking/women_at_work target="_blank">http://www.mckinsey.com/client_service/organization/latest_thinking/women_at_work</a>
6. Diversity & Inclusion in Asia Network. (2011). Gender diversity benchmarking report, Asia 2011. Retrieved from <a href=http://www.communitybusiness.org/images/cb/publications/2011/GDBM_2011.pdf target="_blank">http://www.communitybusiness.org/images/cb/publications/2011/GDBM_2011.pdf</a>
7. Domenico, D. M., & Jones, K. H. (2006). Career aspirations of women in the 20th century. Journal of Career and Technical Education, 22 (2),1-7.
8. Fairchild, C. (2014, July 8). Women CEOs in the Fortune 1000: By the numbers. Fortune. Retrieved from <a href=http://fortune.com/2014/07/08/women-ceos-fortune-500-1000/ target="_blank">http://fortune.com/2014/07/08/women-ceos-fortune-500-1000/</a>
9. Hausmann, R., Tyson, L.D., Bekhouche, Y., & Zahidi, S. (2014). The global gender gap index 2014. The World Economic Forum. Retrieved from <a href=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GGGR14/GGGR_CompleteReport_2014.pdf target="_blank">http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GGGR14/GGGR_CompleteReport_2014.pdf</a>
10. Inderfurth, A. K. F., & Khambatta, P. (2012). India's economy: The other half. Centre for Strategic & International Studies. Retrieved from <a href=http://csis.org/files/publication/120222_WadhwaniChair_USIndiaInsight.pdf target="_blank">http://csis.org/files/publication/120222_WadhwaniChair_USIndiaInsight.pdf</a>
11. Lemmon, G. T. (2011, September 16).Hillary: Global economy depends on women. The Daily Beast. Retrieved from <a href=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/09/16/hillary-clinton-s-apec-speech-women-are-key-to-global-economy.html target="_blank">http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/09/16/hillary-clinton-s-apec-speech-women-are-key-to-global-economy.html</a>
12. Lyness, K. S., & Thompson, D. E. (2000). Do female and male executives follow the same route? Journal of Applied Psychology, 85 (1), 86-101.
13. Mahapatro, S. R. (2013). Declining trends in female labour force participation in India: Evidence from NSSO (MPRA Paper No. 44373). Retrieved from <a href=https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/44373/1/MPRA_paper_44373.pdf target="_blank">https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/44373/1/MPRA_paper_44373.pdf</a>
14. Malloy, R. (2013, September 6). Don't let your career “just happen”. Harvard Business Review Blog Network . Retrieved from <a href=https://hbr.org/2013/09/dont-let-your-career-just-happ/ target="_blank">https://hbr.org/2013/09/dont-let-your-career-just-happ/</a>
15. Ming, W. H., Ahmad, A., & Ismail, M. (n.d.). Antecedents of career aspirations among women in middle management. Retrieved from <a href=http://www.jgbm.org/page/20%20%20Wu&Ismal.pdf target="_blank">http://www.jgbm.org/page/20%20%20Wu&Ismal.pdf</a>
16. Noonan, M., McGowan, S., & Licina, S. (2008). The ambition divide: Differences define women's career aspirations. Hudson Thought Leadership Series, 4(1). Retrieved from <a href=http://us.hudson.com/Portals/US/documents/White%20Papers/women-ambition-career-aspirations.pdf target="_blank">http://us.hudson.com/Portals/US/documents/White%20Papers/women-ambition-career-aspirations.pdf</a>
17. NSSO. (2010). Key indicators of employment and unemployment in India 2009-2010, NSSO report. Retrieved from <a href=http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/file/key%20indicators%20of%20employment%20and%20unemployment%20India%202011-12.pdf target="_blank">http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/file/key%20indicators%20of%20employment%20and%20unemployment%20India%202011-12.pdf</a>
18. Patten, E., & Parker, K. (2011). A gender reversal on career aspirations. Pew Research Centre. Retrieved from <a href=http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2012/04/19/a-gender-reversal-on-career-aspirations/ target="_blank">http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2012/04/19/a-gender-reversal-on-career-aspirations/</a>
19. Süssmuth-Dyckerhoff, C., Wang, J., & Chen, J. (2012). Women matter: An Asian perspective. McKinsey & Co. Retrieved from <a href=http://www.mckinsey.com/features/women_matter target="_blank">http://www.mckinsey.com/features/women_matter</a>
20. Turner, C. (2015, August 10). The business case for gender diversity. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from <a href=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/caroline-turner/the-business-case-for-gen_b_7963006.html?ir=India&adsSiteOverride=in target="_blank">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/caroline-turner/the-business-case-for-gen_b_7963006.html?ir=India&adsSiteOverride=in</a>
21. Watts, L.L., Frame, M.C., Moffett, R.G., Van Hein, J.L., & Hein, M. (2015). The relationship between gender, perceived career barriers, and occupational aspirations. Journal of Applied Social Psychology , 45(1), 10-22.
22. Wittenberg - Cox, A. (2010). Why women mean business : A step by step guide to profiting from gender balance business. USA : John Wiley & Sons.
23. Wittenberg-Cox, A. (2012). If your company isn't 'gender bilingual,' you're missing out. Talent Management. Retrieved from <a href=http://www.talentmgt.com/articles/if-your-company-isn-t-gender-bilingual-you-re-missing-out target="_blank">http://www.talentmgt.com/articles/if-your-company-isn-t-gender-bilingual-you-re-missing-out</a>