Some Confrontations that Only Women Witness at the Workplace

Why does the society still define gender roles by tagging certain qualities as masculine leadership? Why is there a lack of representation of powerful female leaders in the workplace? Is this not an injustice to the job itself? Consequently, young female professionals need to work harder in order to earn the deserving recognition.

In a world where people are increasingly talking about gender equality and creating an ecosystem to support and facilitate women in terms of their goals and aspirations there are some glaring ironies. After all even today, a teeming number of women are still expected to choose between their careers and household chores. On the contrary men are only supposed to be focussing on their careers and money. While there are innumerable men coming forward to support women, there is another group who overtly express hatred and disdain when they hear the word 'women empowerment or 'feminism'.

The Indian Government has already done its part to improve the condition of women by taking several steps including reservation (for women) in universities and jobs. Yet many women still witness problems in their professional lives and spaces and this is largely because they are unaware about their rights. Also many women face a typical set of challenges at work only because of their gender. Many men for instance have a fallacious notion that women are only suited for specific fields and tasks and this in turn translates to unfair discrimination among the employees. Despite the increase in education and awareness about feminism, women often find that their issues are either not being adequately addressed by their employers or unduly sidelined. Why is it so difficult to accept that women have played just as integral part in shaping the nation just as men have?

Another concerning issue is sexual harassment, which unfortunately always remains a widespread problem. According to HR experts, atleast one in every four women have reported some sort of moderate harassment at the workplace. The unreported experience ratio might be much larger. Many women feel like outsiders in their work place due to the non-inclusive attitude of their employees, while some others are struggling to break stereotypes when it comes to the employer's expectations in terms of the work profile. In other words sometimes employers limit their expectations atleast subconsciously from a woman employee and this in turn dents her prospects for a promotion or raise.

One wonders- Why does the society still define gender roles by tagging certain qualities as masculine leadership? Why is there a lack of representation of powerful female leaders in the workplace? Is this not an injustice to the job itself? Consequently, young female professionals need to work harder in order to earn the deserving recognition.

Supporting women in the workplace does not conclude with treating them equally as men. It means letting women speak, listening to their thoughts, scrutinizing their opinions and making them involved in leadership and decision making. "Maternity leave from the 8th month onwards is extremely crucial for the good health of the child as well as of the mother, and a separate rest room for women will definitely help us to a satisfactory extend during lunch hours" says the Instructor of Handloom and Textile , Nagaon, Mrs. Utpala Devi. Every woman undergoes physical cramps while on their periods. It is really agonizing to see how, even now, a few male employees at some places consider women asking for leaves as an excuse not to come to office. Sadly, men do not understand that it is not an excuse but an essential requirement for every woman.

Nilakshi Das, a Guwahati-based journalist, has stated, "We go through a lot of pain during our period days. We need at least one-day leave in office for the same". In some workplaces, men steal the original ideas of their women colleagues and take the credit of the entire concept. "Women are not inferior and we deserve to be treated with dignity and equality. Women's successes must be acknowledged so that we all can empower not just women but also the society as a whole," says Dr. Jayasree Sarma, a medical officer of Singimari Model Hospital.

Every citizen of India, therefore, must perform their individual responsibility by educating and sensitizing the society to respect women and girls as equal members of the society. Men and boys should be engaged in challenging the incorrectly-formed misleading gender stereotypes and roles. The society should come forward in encouraging every girl and woman to pursue their dreams and become financially independent to lead a better, brighter and secure future. After all, feminism is all about all genders having equal rights and opportunities.

By: Saswati Sarma

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