7-13 February 2014
C over S tory
07
Give Them A Hand! Contd from p 1 financial security, so I don't need to make any compromise on time and quality. I think that everything is doable if you learn to delegate the right things to the right people," she says. Besides having the right team at work, the women also recognize the support base at home. Shradha calls her parents-in-laws ‘new age parents’, who understand and support a working woman. Her mother-in-law, for instance, was there when she shifted residence from Hyderabad to Gurgaon, and when she was expecting her baby. However, to get this kind of support from parents-in-law, one needs to build a sense of trust and give due respect to family values. More than her experience, her
good equation with the elders and neighbours help her focus on the job. Radhika Biswas, HR Manager, NIIT, says, “We recruit women in Finance, IT, HR, and Management. Most of them are now married and have children. Many planned their pregnancies after joining the organisation. The Company still prefers women employees, as they have a better track record in terms of retention. We believe in recognizing and accepting the difference between the sexes, and trying to get the best of both. For example, women are generally better communicators (and this is ‘scientific’ too, as they have communication receptors in both the left and right hemisphere of their brains - whereas men have only in the left). Therefore, in assignments where communications skill is critical, we prefer women.” More than 70 per cent of the employees
in the Delhi/NCR branches of the Company are women! Radhika, who started working in her early twenties, feels that the City provides endless opportunities for women. Talking about her own journey from Mumbai to Gurgaon, Radhika says, “I started working in Mumbai when I was 22. I continued my studies, and after completing my MBA I came to Gurgaon, as I got a job with NIIT. Gurgaon has proved to be a dream city for me. When I was in Mumbai, I never had money to enjoy any nightlife. Gurgaon, however, offers both money and fun!” Truly, a working woman not only requires support from her family, she needs also to have a good time with her friends. Working women face a lot of challenges, and so it is impor-
tant that they take out some quality time for themselves. And it is not just about alcohol. Gurgaon offers many networking groups for working women. Recounting the benefits of such groups, Dr. Susmita Roy, a City-based Parent Counsellor, says, “Many times they organise workshops and discussions on work-life balance. They also help in spreading awareness about domestic violence, and even arrange gender sensitivity programmes.” Further, networking with others in similar situations helps women to better orient themselves to their jobs. Many women also indulge in sports and recreational activities. While Yamini loves to play golf on Sundays, Karuna goes for a brunch with her child and participates in various activities in her society’s club. “I moved to Gurgaon from Pune in 2010. I was a little worried about the kind of facilities here, but I am glad the City
has something for everyone. While I love golf, my husband prefers to cook over the weekends!” smiles Yamini. Karuna likes Gurgaon for its cosmopolitan culture. She doesn’t have to worry about her neighbours and society, even if she reaches home late after work. “Unlike Delhi, Gurgaon has developed a cosmopolitan culture, where the concept of a single mother is not alien. In fact my child has never faced any issue in the school and neighbourhood,” says Karuna. As in the case of every social change, there is a difference between attitudes and behaviour, when it comes to a working woman. While people may be willing to accept the idea of a career woman,
she is rarely allowed to compromise on the home front. At the workplace, women face very different challenges. “Their hairstyles and clothes are a constant source of conversation and gossip; their sexuality is also a topic of speculation. Unfortunately we are having a wrong dialogue about women in the workplace,” feels Saurabh, a Senior HR Executive at Sapient. The attitude towards women at the workplace is in fact not really different from that towards housewives. Being a woman manager is even more challenging. Yamini recalls, “I remember the time when I was the only lady Business Development Manager in a team of 40 people. Dealing with the ‘rough language’, their ‘body language’ and behaviour was a big challenge.” But she braved all the odds and raised her daughter pretty well. It all paid off when
her daughter scored 99 per cent in the Boards and cracked the All India Medical Entrance Test. Many working women also experience a feeling of guilt. Raman Ahuja, a single mother, says, "I feel terrible leaving my one-year-old baby in a daycare, but I have no choice. It's not easy being a working mother. I come home tired from work, but I know have to look after the baby and cook. I am afraid that my child may start feeling neglected and seek stimulation outside the house. Maids can only look after a child's basic needs; they cannot be made responsible for the child's intellectual, social and emotional development." It is important to realize that a mother’s anxiety is transmitted to her child. Dr. Susmita Roy says, “When a mother is anxious, she makes everybody anxious. Working mothers are often guilty of not giving enough time to their children. Sometimes the child feels isolated; at other times the mother succumbs to the child's demands very easily and thus the child starts giving more importance to material comforts. It is important to understand that all children desire and need warmth and emotional security, more than any gadgets or toys.” Maybe there is an ‘ideal work-life balance answer for women. When Yamini’s fatherin-law was hospitalised in 2011, it was very hard for her to juggle work, home and hospital visits. She opted to work from home for four weeks and then chose flexi-hours, to meet her family commitments. "I was present just for a few hours every day in my office. My team supported me. I managed the time well,
all thanks to company’s flexihours working policy,” she says. A work-from-home or flexihours facility has made the lives of many women easier. It is an ideal way of being financially independent while simultaneously looking after the family and children. “Women are proving their mettle in their role as work-from-home mothers. Organisations too are opting for this arrangement, as it also saves them time and money. It is a win-win situation for the employees and employers,” says Radhika. It also saves time, as travelling in a city like Gurgaon is not easy. The lack of transport facilities and security for women in the City has led many to switch to working from home. Young mothers benefit most, as they don’t miss out on the little joys of watching their children grow up. As women have stepped out of home to build their careers, they have taken more responsibilities on their shoulders. However, they still provide the key emotional bond in a family. Working women feel that the society should help them and honour their efforts. Of course, fathers, husbands and brothers should be the first to encourage and support them. Working women, and their children, might even feel neglected at times. It is time that every male – from an early age - be taught to specially respect women who work, and treat them as equals when working alongside them later in life. Men need to understand and ‘get it’, that women too have aspirations and dreams – and from an early age.u