March 7, '09; BANGALORE: One in two women professionals in India think they are not sufficiently challenged and welcome new assignments, even if there is a risk attached. Three out of four have no problems asking for help at work if they need it -- more than half say they work harder to be seen to be different.

These are some of the findings of a survey across 18 countries, polling 3600 professionals, men and women equally, carried out by technology and services outsourcing leader Accenture.


The majority of respondents in India (70%) said they have had to expand their skills and stretch their roles in order to remain competitive, during the current downturn, compared with just 22% in the Netherlands and 35% in both Austria and Norway. 89% of respondents in India -- vs. 79% of global respondents -- are confident in their ability to deal with difficult or challenging situations.

The report says:
"Successful women are more likely to look for career “stretch roles” – and, in fact, continue to challenge themselves. Women in several key emerging markets – particularly India, appear to be better equipped than their female counterparts in many developed markets. While 71% of respondents stretch themselves beyond their comfort zone regularly; this percent is invariably higher for women across countries. In India, of the 55% who are working harder in order to differentiate themselves from their colleagues, women are at 62% compared to men at 47%.
Globally, “under-utilized” is the way business professionals – both male and female – see themselves in today’s global workplace, and they believe their full potential goes largely untapped. In India, 69% regularly ask their superiors for new challenges. "

The full report " Untapped Potential: Stretching Toward the Future" in PDF format can be found here:
http://www.accenture.com/Global/About_Accenture/Company_Overview/Our_People/Women_at_Accenture/Research/UntappedPotential.htm