JOIN USWomen, today, don’t shy away from taking on the age-old stereotypes. They don’t expect special treatment; all they ask for is the same respect that is handed to men on a silver platter, writes Swatee Jog.
At the recently concluded Jaipur Lit Fest, noted Pakistani author Kamila Shamsie was asked about how she felt about being a woman author.
She said that she would find it problematic if she would be talked about as a ‘woman writer’ while men are not talked about in the same way. More often than not, we tend to label female achievers as ‘woman leader’, ‘woman CEO’, ‘woman writer’; the achievers without the prefix are obviously male.
But think of it, how does a woman as a CEO perform differently than her male counterpart? She has established her credentials, proven her mettle, taken decisions based on facts and research and handled work-life just about the same way that a man does. But women leaders, in politics or the corporate world, have to live with the label.
From an era where all a woman did was take birth, give birth and manage the hearth, she now sees herself as an equal stakeholder in her life’s progress. Yes, it has taken the world substantial amount of time to bring in equality for women.
But in a male-dominated society, she still has to fight for equality in matters pertaining to power and recognition. It’s a tilted scale, when she lives with the label of being a woman and is treated with some amount of skepticism over her capabilities.
Yes, women are different. Research has proved that women differ from men in perceiving and handling risk, in dealing with employees, in planning and strategising and also in expressing thoughts.
But that doesn’t justify the label, does it? For years, woman have been stereotyped as being weaker in math and science, but good at languages and logic; men are good at getting things done (read fixing the screws and leaky taps) and remembering roads and reading maps. But the women of today are breaking these stereotypes and how!
Revealing numbers
Let’s delve into the corporate world, for instance. Although corporate leadership can’t be the sole criterion, the sad reality showcases the huge disparity and is far from inspiring.
Research says that women form only 14.6 percent of executive officers, 8.1 percent of top earners, and 4.6 percent of Fortune 500 CEOs. What’s more, they hold just 16.9 percent of Fortune 500 board seats. Speaking of India, which is known for its gender-based disparities, we ranked 114 out of 142 countries in the World Economic Forum’s 2014 gender gap index. The country has particularly scored below average on parameters like economic participation, educational attainment, health and survival.
A study by Grant Thornton, titled International Business Report says that the proportion of women in senior positions in the Indian workforce fell from 19 percent in 2013 to 14 percent in 2014. It is definitely not an indicator of the progress that women have made nor of their capabilities. In fact, more women opt for entrepreneurship of some kind rather than regular jobs today.
Perhaps, the freedom that her own business provides her is far more alluring than the biased treatment meted out elsewhere. Look around and you will find numerous women entrepreneurs contributing to the household income through cooking, sewing, teaching and various other ventures.
Utilising the skills women are best at - nurturing, negotiating, planning – and giving them equal opportunities to display their skills, is not only good for the womenfolk, but is also for the greater humankind.
What women want today is not just trophy celebrations of their womanhood, but a true understanding of their abilities. Women want the world to realise that their gender can bring something more valuable than just the label to the table.
Women don’t actually need to special treatment; all they demand is their basic human rights. Yes, she does expect some humane concern when it comes to child bearing and safety for reasons beyond her control. And to think that the world does her a big favour by providing that odd maternity leave or the safety mechanisms is not just weird, but inhuman as well.
How long is it going to take for the world to understand what a woman is capable of and what she wants? Is it so difficult to treat the opposite gender equally? Is it asking for too much when a woman applies for leave because her kid is ill or when she takes those three months off for childbirth?
Why does a developed country like Japan need to take extraordinary steps to attract and retain women in top positions, who leave during peak career positions for child bearing and never return? Isn’t it time we reinterpret womanhood and give women their due?