Let’s get straight to it and directly address the elephant in the room.
It’s International Women’s Day and you’re sat at home in front of your glowing laptop screen and probably being yelled at by your boss, your partner and your mother – all of whom happen to be women. You’re thinking, surely... surely women don’t need an entire day for themselves. Look what they are doing to me now!
Well, let me direct you to two articles, one from Forbes and another from the Mint. These reports suggest that over the last couple of years women in India have made significant progress towards being much more influential in society. This, they have done, quite inevitably, at the expense of men. Now, that is not because there is some sort of government mandate... oh wait.
“The Companies Act, 2013, makes it mandatory to have at least one woman on company boards” says the Forbes article’s sub-headline. These regulations have ensured that companies in India put women in senior leadership positions, not because they want to, but because they have to. Now you, especially my engineer friends and readers, are going to say, “Soham, surely you’re making an assumption.” Am I? Really?
To support this assumption, I’ll provide anecdotal evidence. But it works for the purposes of this article.
One of my friends told me his last project lead had clearly stated that he had not and would never recommend women for promotion to senior positions because that is not what they are made to do. For them, he added, HR jobs are fine. Clearly, this man believed that women did not have the ability and the acumen to do coding and development work. My friend has left that company now.
Now, obviously, I can’t vouch for the veracity of anecdotal evidence. However, be honest, have you not heard talk similar to the above in your workplace?
At the same time, just because you see more women in senior leadership positions doesn’t mean all is hunky-dory. As of 2020, women made up only 19.9% of the total labour force in India while making up nearly half the total population. Also, women earn only 65.5% of the income of their male counterparts. (Data from a report by Catalyst)
This is exacerbated by patriarchal social and cultural practices that force women to give up their education and focus their energy on getting married. They are continuously discouraged from being ambitious about their career as it is considered to be their duty to give birth and rear children. I don’t know about you, but if I was told it was my duty to push an entire human out of my genitals, I’d focus squarely on my career too.
It is difficult for women to even get into a position to be eligible for promotion; never mind actually getting one. So, yeah... they do not need a whole day for themselves when big brands try to sell them patriarchal femininity under the guise of empowering discounts. What they need is a change in culture, society and, above all, mindset.
What you are seeing, and vehemently complaining about, has been happening only during your lifetimes. This is a result of decades of struggle against centuries of oppression. I understand why you feel this way. You have literally seen women being uplifted all your life. You may ask, “What more do these women want? They have jobs, they have education, they even have the vote. What more do we have to give?”
What they really want is for you to understand that you don’t have the right to “give” them anything. They have equal rights to all of it whether you like it or not.
References:
Divya J Shekhar, "Women hold 17% of board positions in corporate India, but only 11% leadership roles", Forbes, Dec 8, 2020.
Kalpana Pathak, "Indian women rank ahead of global peers in leadership roles", Mint, Mar 4, 2021.
Catalyst, Quick Take: Women in the Workforce – India (October 28, 2020).
Comentarios