Looking for opinions from Indian Dopers or cultural experts

In My Humble Opinion
1

I work for a huge company. A large percentage of our employees are in India. The group I lead is entirely Indian with the exception of my boss and me.

I think The Indians are doing a great job wading through the cesspool of filth that is our account. With the exception of Indian Girl.

She’s the only woman on our team on the India side. She’s very nice, but she seems reluctant to take the initiative to perform the tasks that are basic to the job. She needs someone to hold her hand. When the shit hits the fan (which is quite frequently), she gets flustered and goes into “deer in the headlights” mode. One day, she actually called a co-worker and asked him to come back to the office to help her (a 2-hour trip, one way).

She’s been with us close to 2 months now. We don’t feel we can leave her to work by herself yet (everyone else on the team does this). I am working with her, but she doesn’t ask questions except when we’re in crisis mode, at which time I have to walk her through it.

My question is two-fold: Is this a cultural thing amongst women in India? It almost feels like she’s afraid to think for herself. I think she’s bright enough to understand what’s going on, but I’m not sure if she is used to being told what to do rather than telling others. I just don’t know that much about their culture.

Also, in trying to remedy this problem, do you think it’s better for me and my boss (also a woman) to work with her or should I let the guys on the team do this? I’m not sure if she’d feel better learning how to be more confident and aggressive from women who do it (but are culturally used to this sort of thing) or to let her fellow countrymen do it. We had an incident today where I asked her to do something, and then found out that one of the guys did it. When I asked why she didn’t do it, he said he didn’t want to take a chance. I’m not sure if they may be the reason she’s having a hard time.

But at the same time, the guys seem protective of her. She’s been put on an informal probation set up; we don’t let her work alone and we’re keeping close tabs on her (through the guys).

I like all these people a lot, but if there is a cultural “you can’t do this because you’re a woman” kind of attitude, I need to put the smack-down on that attitude.

Anyone have any insight or suggestions? Is she just the wrong person for the job or are we not understanding how women play into the workplace in India? Is there something else I should be doing?

My boss told me to tell the guys to make her do all the work next week and they can shadow her, so she’s forced to be more aggressive. I told one of the guys what the plan was, and he didn’t respond. I don’t know if that’s because they think it’s a bad idea or what.

2

I am Indian but I honestly have no idea. I don’t think it’s a cultural thing, I think maybe it’s a helpless female thing and she’s playing it to a tee. I haven’t seen Indian women shirk work for any such reason.

3

Thanks for responding. It doesn’t seem like shirking, exactly. I could see that working on the guys, but when I’m directly telling her what to do, she doesn’t seem to be able to remember the steps from one crisis to the next, and she just seems to get overwhelmed. Your comment makes me think maybe we just hired the wrong person.

4

I am not Indian (well, Native American Indian, but that’s different!), but the Indian women with whom I have had the pleasure of working were all very strong women who had no problem in the workplace. I think Anaamika may have nailed it with the idea that she is either a) playing the ‘poor little helpless female’ role or b) maybe she really is incapable. Either way, I honestly do not think this is a cultural issue based on the people I have known. Good luck with it, regardless!

5

Ditto Litoris, I’m not Indian but have had the pleasure of working with many Indian nationals. They were mostly guys, but some women who were all valuable and motivated employees with none of the problems you described. Granted I wasn’t their manager, but they were contractors, and contractors don’t last long if they can’t pull their own.

6

I’ve worked with Indians in the states, but these folks are all actually in India. I’m wondering if that makes a difference.

7

You may have a point, being in India, but honestly, I cannot imagine that the women suddenly become amazingly productive people just moving to the US. Perhaps you could talk to a friend outside of the company who is Indian?

Again, IANAI, but it is my understanding that women are still considered the weaker sex and treated with a bit of deference, and perhaps she is playing into that. Based on what you said, though, with her being shown how to do things and then not seeming to remember how to do it the next time…well, I am thinking she just might be a moron.

8

Which I find common amongst every race. :slight_smile:

9

I’ve begun calling it “the human disease.”

Friend: WTH is wrong with that person?
Me: They have the human disease!

10

I think that spending some time in a different culture could definitely change how they attack issues, especially if the expectation in India is for them to be more of a “shrinking violet” and the US expectation is to perform equally with men. When in Rome, and all that…

Unfortunately, I’ve been working from home for a few years now and I don’t know any Indians.

11

I like all these people a lot, but if there is a cultural “you can’t do this because you’re a woman” kind of attitude, I need to put the smack-down on that attitude.

I think she is not smart enough for the task though she may be intelligent. ( It may have a lot to do with her upbringing also, where small town girls are not exposed to harsh realities of life and work on their own. they may excel in studies but fail in a real life task ).

My classmate in engineering school, was the topper in our batch . She got the highest grades. but she could not tell difference between phase and nuetral in a 3 pin electrical socket :eek:

You need to give a target date your india team leader , to get her in line with your needs. with help from her team she should improve.

Most of the call centre girls I speak to are very smart and know their job very well. You seem to have an exception in your team.

12

I spoke to one of the guys on the team today. I asked him if he thought it was cultural and he said no. I told him what the boss’s new plan is, so he is going to get her into the swing of things for the remainder of the week so he can throw her to the wolves next week.

It’s not a call center, but she does have to work with a lot of technicians, giving them work and forcing updates from the slackers when they don’t want to do their jobs.