Women have suffered long in the past but luckily we are living in an age where women are being given equal rights and freedom. Though women have largely taken to the primary branches of the profession and sports, they still face more challenges and some unconventional fields are yet to become ‘women-friendly’ from ‘male-dominated’. Today to achieve success and fulfill their dreams, women go the extra mile to become super women by going against the predefined norms and following their passion. From rural women going extra miles to provide for the family when there is no support from male counterparts, unequal pay scale or lesser opportunities at the workplace or women entrepreneurs balancing personal and professional life are some of the major topics that need to be worked upon. Below are the quotes from women leaders addressing these issues:
Surbhi Gupta – Sr. Manager – HR, E5 Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd says, “The acceptance of working from remote areas has made a paradigm shift, leading to managing cross-diversity within the organization. With the rise in awareness, initiating a conducive environment becomes imperative as an ‘HR leader’. As a POSH trainer, my part of learning has delved into dig-deeper issues that could help to create a balanced, flexible, and emotionally understandable environment to work for Gender. Though staying at home, has physically abstained from the Learning & Development exercises, mock drills, yet experiencing a new age virtual conducive meetings, enabling to get an individual to be trained on small yet leadership- skill-based learning programs. Gender exclusivity, conclusiveness has far most encouraged me to take upon all over challenges and to bring into adoption, while following the steps to the leadership role. As an HR-leader, it becomes my responsibility and it’s my privilege to work in the space given to me with a vast expanse on Gender balance, equal recognition, work-life-balance, stringent yet flexible working hours, reducing stress, and giving importance to the outcomes that could drive a healthy & conclusive work environment. Agility, Endurance & Adaptability are the key mantras of my life & help which has always helped me in maintaining my calmness & smile on my face in most challenging situations.”
Shabnum Khan, Founder, 750ad Healthcare & Mandrake Mydia said, “If you look at the bigger picture, there have been improvements in the social parameters in the country, but that does not imply on the economic acceleration and development of women. If you look at the urban lifestyle, women may have been able to fight for their equality at the workplace in terms of work acquisition, promotions and establishing their stance in the tech space. However, this reflects for only 50% of the urban women, the others remain under the pressure of developing a healthy work-life balance and also proving it to the society to be the so called “ideal” wife, mother and daughter-in-law. On the other hand, the rural women have also been revolutionary on their part and taken it upon themselves in situations when the male counterpart was unable to provide for the family or in case of scarcity but the questions around entrepreneurial dreams and the urge to be self-reliant amongst rural women still seems buried under the heavy load of societal pressure and responsibilities. So, I believe we still have miles to go before we even begin to say that all women amongst themselves are treated equally, rest alone the thought of gender equality. India is a vast country with people of different beliefs and hence the focus should not be on creating gender equality but more on the concept of “what women want” i.e., the freedom to take their professional and personal life decisions.”
Anu Khanna, Director, Gem Selections & Khanna Gems Group said, “Women in the entrepreneurship sector may thrive but at the same time also have to survive through the hardships of maintaining the balance between personal and professional life. Women in India continuously strive to prove their potential due to the lack of confidence towards them. Gender equality at the workplace may have gained some momentum in the urban cities but is a far fetched reality for the women in rural India. When it comes to support at workplace, equal partnership in terms of work is still an evolving concept. It would not be wrong to say that several boards and management teams even today are all-male. In the coming times we do hope that the entrepreneurship ecosystem evolves towards a more women centric approach.
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