Bangalore: Almost half of women business professionals around the world – and a similar number of their male counterparts – believe they are insufficiently challenged, despite being confident of their skills and capabilities, reveals new research from Accenture (NYSE: ACN).

Accenture's survey of 3,600 professionals from medium to large organisations in 18 countries across Europe, Asia, North America, South America and Africa found that 46 per cent of women and 49 per cent of men said they are not being challenged significantly in their current roles, yet more than three-quarters (76 per cent) of all respondents are confident of their skills and capabilities.

These skills include the ability to manage their workload and deadlines (70 per cent), to delegate tasks (68 per cent) and to negotiate (65 per cent).

The research, released ahead of Accenture's commemoration of International Women's Day, also found that almost six in 10 women (59 per cent) believe that their careers are successful or very successful. Additionally, nearly half (46 per cent) of women who consider themselves very successful reported that they are in jobs that require them to stretch beyond their expected responsibilities.

Yet, these women are challenging themselves further - more than eight in 10 women (81 per cent) who consider themselves ''very successful'' said they take on additional responsibilities and complexity to advance their careers, and three-quarters (75 per cent) reported that they regularly stretch themselves beyond their comfort zone. 

They are also learning new skills that can help them move to the next level, are willing to consider a new position or role (78 per cent), and are willing to travel globally to conduct business (76 per cent) or build relationships (68 per cent) and regularly ask for new challenges (65 per cent).

''This untapped potential offers great promise for organisations, which should engage their employees and build confident individuals with deep skills and capabilities,'' said Armelle Carminati, managing director of human capital and diversity at accenture. ''Through an agile and innovative approach to training and development, organizations can help ensure their success, particularly in this constrained economic environment.''

In November and December 2008, Accenture conducted an online survey of 3,600 business executives from medium to large organizations across 18 countries: Australia, Austria, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States.

Two hundred respondents from each country participated. Respondents were split evenly by gender and were balanced by age and level in their organizations. The margin of error for the total sample was approximately +/-2 pe rcent.

Success enablers
Technology may be one enabler of success: respondents who described themselves as ''very successful'' are significantly more likely than their counterparts to rely on technology.

More than three-quarters (79 per cent) of respondents who identified themselves as ''very successful'' said they rely on technology, compared with just 56 per cent of respondents who did not identify themselves as ''very successful.''

Overall, men are more likely than women to identify themselves as ''innovators'' or ''early adopters'' of technology (70 per cent versus 58 per cent, respectively).

For women, one highly touted but largely untapped resource is mentoring programmes.

When asked to whom they turn for career advice, just 14 per cent of women cited a formal mentor at work, compared with more than 50 per cent who cited either family (57 per cent), friends (51 per cent) and current or former colleagues (50 per cent).

Yet women acknowledge the value of a mentor: they report that their mentors help them think differently about certain situations (43 per cent), help with their current roles (41 per cent) and help them see more opportunities and possibilities (37 per cent). They also acknowledged other benefits of mentors, including help with identifying their skills and capabilities (34 per cent), increasing their confidence (34 per cent) and encouraging them to stretch themselves (32 per cent, respectively).

''Organisations that want to develop and advance all their people will regularly examine the objectives and outcomes of their programs, including their mentoring efforts,'' said Adrian Lajtha, Accenture's chief leadership officer.

''Forward-thinking organisations know that promoting careers - particularly for women - is not just about opening doors but about offering employees challenges and enhancing their abilities so they can perform at their highest level,'' said Lajtha.

Other key findings
Among the survey's other key findings:

The challenging economy has led some respondents - particularly those in emerging markets – to expand their skills and stretch their roles in order to remain competitive. For example, the majority of respondents in Brazil (86 per cent), China (79 per cent) and India (70 per cent) said they have done so, compared with just 22 per cent of respondents in the Netherlands and 35 per cent in both Austria and Norway.

One anomaly among more-developed economies is Italy, where 74 per cent of the respondents said they have expanded their skills and roles to remain competitive. 

• In several countries – the United States, Spain, Russia, the United Kingdom and Austria – women were more likely than men to report that they regularly ask their superiors for new challenges. The disparity was greatest in the United States (70 per cent of women versus 48 per cent of men) and Russia (57 per cent of women versus 44 per cent of men).
• Men overall were more likely than women to say they have asked for pay raises (56 percent versus 48 percent) and promotions (42 percent versus 37 percent).
• Generational status does not appear to determine optimism about future job prospects. In the current economic climate, 50 percent of Baby Boomer respondents (those born before 1964) feel secure about their future career prospects, compared with 45 per cent of Generation X respondents (those born between 1965 and 1978) and 48 per cent of Generation Y respondents (those born after 1979).