Are Women Still Favored in HR Roles, or Has the Hiring Trend Changed?

A few years back, finding a good HR job was difficult, especially for males. There was a perception that females were more suited to HR roles.

Current Trends in HR Hiring

Are females still preferred over their male counterparts in HR, or has there been a shift in this trend?

Thank you.

Dear White Eagle,

Don't feel the way you think. Nowadays, it's not like that. I myself have come across a large number of males for interviews. Nothing is dominated by anyone. Even females exist in the field of technology and engineering, coming from teaching or stitching professions. We are global now; caste, creed, sex, class, and state do not matter. What matters are our qualifications, experience, knowledge, communication skills, and approach.

Thank you.

I agree it's a little more feminine... just by the average gender ratios, it tends to be more 'feminine' as compared to the others. But again, HR is a dwindling department... The era of the 60s is history anyway...

However, how far should one stretch the observation, well that's anybody's guess! Let's face it, men and women are different, and women often have to break the shackles of 'unwanted correlation' and might require to prove themselves more than often to make it to the top. That being said, the challenges for men could be different too... :-)

Dear Friends,

I feel we cannot generalize the statement "In HR, females are preferred." If you look at various HR functions, recruitment is primarily handled by female employees. However, when it comes to complicated contract management, labor management, industrial relations, trade unions, etc., it is male HR professionals who handle these tasks (with a few exceptions).

It was considered a safe and timely employment option for females in the past, as they also had to manage home responsibilities. But now, the scenario has changed. Females also contribute equally to male employees in terms of working hours and responsibilities.

In my view, it is pointless to argue about this; instead, we should focus on optimizing our energies, resources, and knowledge to seize the best possible opportunities.

Regards,
Vaishalee

Vaishalee,

I am not sure if the changes are known to all. Hence, you see the question from Kuldeep. Apparently, his experiences could be different. It may not be totally pointless.

I know that in B-School recruitments one often hears the 'skirt-factor'. Most say it's pointless, yet many believe it still exists. Your own post seems to confirm the existence, probably a point in the pointless :-)

In my opinion, girls are still preferred in HR. We can boast that the world is global, but the ratio of females to males in the HR industry is 80:20.

C'mon, guys, let's grow up...

The era we belong to does not distinguish between female or male. Let's work regardless of the area or function.

HR is considered feminine, marketing is seen as male-dominated, and what about science and technology? There is no gender domination in any field or function; it's all about your skills, competencies, knowledge, and expertise.

Archana, you are right, it hurts! But let me be honest for a second here. Gender ratio is an important concept in HR and is often talked about in most HR presentations. So, don't you think one should try to understand this in more detail?

True, one doesn't inherently try to do it (although in Europe, it is specified in every vacancy: Male or Female). Why is it that HR alone has a different gender ratio? Worth trying to understand... Don't you think so? Further, guys in HR (the respected members of this forum) seem to confirm some of these aspects...

I feel it is interesting because some of the most respected companies visiting some of the most respected campuses actually DO PRACTICE some things which imply gender biases. You can see how their recruitment patterns have been consistent enough to show a swing in a given direction.

Forgive me, I am not trying to get picky, but it's interesting to know what the others feel.

Reg,
Nikhil

Hi Nikhil,

It doesn't hurt at all, even if it is proved that HR is a female-dominated area, I would be very, very glad, as it would be one of the areas where we are ahead... :) What do you say?

But the discussion here does not talk about ratios. Even the subject line says "Is Still HR a female domain?" How can it be, considering many female employees in India leave their jobs after marriage or after having a baby? So, think about it.

There is no data provided by any of the members to prove the so-called facts. Let us do some research and bring out the facts. Then I would be more than willing to discuss such topics.

Yes, surely, it would be interesting to read what people feel about this, but with some facts and figures.

Here is a link that talks about women employment in India. Read the facts: [Women Employment in India, Employment Opportunity For Women, Education And Employment For Woman, Rights On Own Income Of Women In India](http://www.azadindia.org/social-issues/Women-Employment.html)

I hope this helps!

Dear Friends,

As said by Ms. Archana, we should not base any decisions on gender, caste, race, or any other scale.

Some work requires patience, and generally, women have more patience compared to men. Hence, the work has been entrusted to women. That's all. However, nowadays, everyone is competing and striving to achieve their goals.

Tasks that require physical strength and common sense are usually assigned to male employees, while work that demands patience and peace of mind are given to female employees. This explains why positions like Front Office Executive, Receptionist, Personal Secretary, Office Executive, Accounts, and HR are predominantly staffed by women, whereas roles in IR, Engineering, Mechanical work, Driving, Marketing, etc., are handled by men.

A simple example can illustrate why such a deployment is made: if a man is driving a car and encounters heavy traffic, he may try to break road rules to get through the chaos. In contrast, if a woman is driving in the same scenario, she is more likely to remain patient and wait for the traffic jam to clear.

I hope this clarifies why women are prominent in the HR field.

Hi,

Thanks to Yaasmin, dead soul, ngurjar, Vaishalee, Prashant, Preagni, Aftab, Archnahr, and boss2966 for their valuable feedback. Views shared by all of you are very interesting and enlightening.

In my opinion, whether we agree or not, female HR candidates always get a preference over males. As one of us mentioned, if she is beautiful, she will definitely land a job.

Equal opportunity, free from caste, gender, etc., is good to have on paper, but implementing them is not so easy. I don't think you need to be super intelligent to know that females are preferred, which is why the ratio of female employees in HR is higher.

Some may argue that females have the required skills and characteristics that fit the HR field, but it may be just a perception that is rejecting many male candidates during the screening phase and not providing them ample opportunities to prove themselves.

In my view, gender and other differences are still very relevant, whether we choose to accept it or not.

The above-mentioned views are personal, and everyone is free to have their own perspective.

Dear all,

When i was pursuing my PG, the time came to pick up a specialization and picked HR as my specialization, Those days my Friends suggested me to migrate into marketing from HR coz HR deserve only for Female.

Few times even i felt that i did a mistake by choosing HR after getting lots of rejection ration but one fine day i realize that the probe is within me not with the employer /interviewer if i am not getting short listed..

I did hard work on my feedback, result: Now, i am in HR...

That all depends how you take things up to you, If i would have listen my friends or surrounding that HR professional is only for Female's then i might have loosed my desire and dream...

I will give u best example:
One fine day, my Friend had been for an HR executive Interview and he had not been short listed by employer and when i asked him then he said as usual, employer preferring only female's then male and on the next day i had been to the same company for the interview but i had been short listed by the same employer and i could not find such things.
My mate was not been short listed might be he was setup his mind in to the wrong perception / Impression and not given his good shot or The employer / interviewer thought me that I am a female, LOLzzzzzz…

I am pretty shock that even today's era few are in impression that HR profession is only for females then male.
Guys, Change your perception / Impression coz none of profession is made for particular Gender.

It is all mindset. I did not find anywhere in my career of 22 years that females are preferred in HR/personnel departments. There must be one reason when people say that they prefer female candidates; it must be that they might stick to the organization a little longer than males. Male employees always yearn for growth faster and hence desire to hop companies frequently.

Whereas, female candidates in HR are complacent. They consider a lot of other factors like a reasonable salary, close proximity to their dwelling place, etc. They also have additional responsibilities of managing household chores. Even if they get an opportunity in other companies in a better position and salary where they might have to travel a little farther, they might not take up this offer as they need to take care of their children, in-laws, and a lot of other jobs at home. Hence, they prefer to stay back with the same company to work for some more period unlike male employees. This is actually an advantage for the employer, and hence the employer might prefer female employees rather than males.

People have to think in a broader perspective. Male-female discrimination is almost non-existent. Ladies are taking up positions in all fields, and they are equally respected. If someone says that only beautiful ladies are preferred and others, despite possessing ample knowledge and skills, are not considered, I only pity them that they need to mentally grow a lot.

Balaji

Read this article...... HR Is Female

HR is a 47-year-old white woman. She's married, with kids, and has pets that probably aren't cats. She has either an advanced degree or a nationally recognized certificate.

While HR is widely understood to be a difficult place to sell and do business, it's worth considering that the problem lies with the sellers, not the buyers. The uniformity of the profession's angst about salespeople, marketing, and vendor performance suggests that there's something really wrong with the way that vendors see their HR customers.

These are a few of the top-level insights from the new HRxAnalysts report, What HR Thinks and Feels: The 2011 HRxAnalysts Psychographic Survey of HR Professionals. Based on nearly 1,000 surveys (250 questions each), the report summarizes the first layer of our enormous database of HR lifestyles, attitudes, political alignment, sales orientation, career choices, and other details about the character of HR. Conducted over the course of two years, the study is both valid and reliable. The confidence interval is about 98%, and the margin of error is about 2%.

HR is the only predominantly female function in the contemporary organization. It is the beachhead of accomplishment in the generational move of women from home to the executive suite. While the oft-repeated stereotype is that men are HR's decision-makers, the truth is that women occupy two-thirds of the HR executive seats.

It's useful to imagine that the people who populate the HR Department are heroes. The function provides work, upward mobility, and access to the heart of organizational culture for a class of people with little organizational history.

Being a fundamentally female function, HR behaves differently than other parts of the organization. It's more networky and can be nurturing. It's natural that development is housed here.

The essence of HR might be its ability to make clear judgments about really intangible things like personality, potential, and match-making. These are stereotypical female things.

Having an extended conversation about the essential femaleness of one particular management discipline is a challenging thing to consider in our cultural environment. But if the real difference between HR and other functions is rooted in this difference, we'd better figure out how to have the straight talk. It's impossible to deliver really useful products and services without an unbiased view of your customer.

Take a look at the HRxAnalysts' website. We are going to be deeply investigating the real character of the HR Profession. Our work suggests that things are way different than conventional wisdom suggests.

I think female candidates are always selected for recruitment profiles only, whereas male candidates are chosen for HR generalist profiles.

Regards,
Taksh Kumar

Hi,

As far as I have noticed, HR is well managed by ladies. There are pros and cons always. She acts as a mother, manager, and a friendly colleague. She can adjust and bring out colorful, reactive things inside the work atmosphere. She can easily make male employees feel at ease during times of disappointment. In fact, in our HR department, there are 4 ladies and 2 men.

Dear all,

I am very surprised after receiving all the feedback. What I have learned from the corporate industry is that it is all about your skills and talent. Nowadays, many females are entering the HR sector, and the reason behind this is that they are often perceived as being soft, diplomatic by nature, and capable of adjusting things as per the management's requirements.

There is no "X" factor; it all boils down to how well you handle policies, management, and the adaptability of your nature. However, to the best of my knowledge, there are still more males working in HR than females.

Thank you.

I really don't agree with the statement above that only females are given preference in this industry. All my senior authorities are male staff in HR, and we hardly have any female staff in HR. Also, many organizations nowadays are sending job vacancies preferably for male candidates.

Times have changed. Please move on! That kind of thinking, that females are more suitable for the job, is a thing of the past!

Yes, earlier, it was true because of their kind and generous nature. HR is completely a role focused on maintaining relationships. But nowadays, the scenario has changed. Many good companies have skilled HR professionals. It depends on how you handle the matter.

Good luck to all!

Regards,
Hari

Good to note the experiences where this is balanced out. Thanks, friends, for sharing the same. Thanks to many who even went on to admit that it existed. We have to kill hypocrisy when possible.

True, there are situations where it still exists, but let's 'ignore' them for the greater good and learn to move on.

Dear Yasmin,

I like your attitude and positive thoughts. There is no place nowadays that is dominated by anyone. Yes, there are specific domains or profiles in which either gender may dominate. For instance, in recruitment within the service industry, girls are preferred, while in Payroll and compliances, males are preferred due to the job requirements. Otherwise, opportunities are open to all.

I just want to say, "Winners are not those who never fail in their life but are those who never quit."

Regards,
Amit

Hey all, it's not like that. There are so many guys who are doing well as HR professionals. It's true that females are more prevalent in the HR profession than males, but still, guys are also in HR.

Hi All,

Yes, of course, I too agree. In most companies, male HR candidates are not recognized, whereas female candidates are selected within a few rounds of interviews or by direct interview. I have had a lot of worst experiences in this. This should change, and everybody should have equal rights, especially guys in the HR domain.

Thanks

Hi,

One can say that females are more preferable in the HR sector, but I think it depends on the type of industry where females may receive preference over males. The same applies to males as well.

We cannot say that only females are dominant in HR. Personally, I have seen males playing a key role in HR.

Regards,
GM

Dear Mr. Amit,

Thanks for the appreciation. I believe if someone is in the wrong state, then we should try our best to bring them out from the dilemma and make them comfortable in the global environment.

Nowadays, females take up recruitment jobs from home or work as freelancers, which is convenient and comfortable. And obviously, a job is given to a candidate based on their knowledge, experience, competencies, communication, capability, etc.

What if a woman or female goes for an interview lacking the above qualities? Would she still be preferred over a male who could have all these qualities? Gender never works for the organization, but our knowledge, qualifications, competences, and experience do.

It was considered a safe and timely employment option for females, as they had to attend to home responsibilities too. But now the scenario has changed. Females also contribute on par with male employees in terms of working hours and responsibilities.

We are experiencing a social change and we have to accept it for the larger good.

Number of educated and trained ladies is growing every day, and they are equipped and ready to take all kinds of jobs earlier dominated by males.

It is obvious that ladies will first enter the jobs more suited for them, but slowly they are also entering the jobs which were taboo for them earlier. In short, no job is going to remain 'only for men' and both ladies and gents will be competing for a job on merits and not based on gender.

Some male friends are feeling uncomfortable, but that is the order of the day. Let's face it.

Again, those who are cribbing that only fair and good-looking ladies are selected today were heard saying only boys with good communication and personality got selected yesterday. Personality and presentation do play an important role in selection, but that is not the only criterion.

No, it's not. It's a very wrong perception. Please don't bring gender bias into corporate environments. It's a job for both genders. If my perception is wrong, please do correct and guide me, my seniors.

With regards,
Saranya

Hi,

I have more than 12 years of experience in top IT corporate companies as an HR. I would like to express that both genders are getting opportunities, but when it comes to finalization, girls always seem to win the toss. The situation won't change unless men start preferring men for the domain.

Manoj
M.Sc. IT, M.B.A., LL.B., Ph.D.

I agree with Yasmeen. It's not the case that only females can be HR professionals. I think it could be both males and females.