Gandhiji’s major tool for the Indian struggle of independence was non-violence. This was possible through women’s participation in public space.
My mother’s generation worked (in public jobs and got salary) in post independence India. {https://medium.com/@bula1957/working-women-and-motherhood-678fac9f9191 (9 June 2020)}
If there was no Sexual Harassment Act 2013 then, possibly sexual harassment was not evident in the working space. To build a just and liberal society, instead of eradicating women from work place, thoughts have to be given why has sexual harassment entered in work places and how can sexual harassment be eliminated. Fear of the Act 2013 is not the answer! Jotting down a few less known factors, of what made India, to make this concept probable in thought and possible in action.
I wonder if we have really come a long way since ‘Towards Equality’ was sent during emergency with all its negative aspects unaltered to UN convention of international women’s meet in Mexico in 1975. I would like to quote Dr. Vina Mazumdar, the Member Secretary of the Committee of Status of Women CSWI in India that resulted in the Report seeing the light of the day — “Our findings (a) through pooling of available social science knowledge, on varied sections of India’s diverse communities/regions/class/traditions; and (b) through extensive discussion with over 10,000 women from different backgrounds in most states/cultural regions, revealed our own ignorance and shattered our self-images as social scientists/teachers and as ‘daughters of Independence’” (Memories of a Rolling Stone, 2010). In this single sentence Dr. Mazumdar set the pace for the scope of inclusiveness. Lot more can be added to it.
We women and men have been trying to pick up pieces of that self-image since then and succeeded to certain extent becoming empowered to some degree. For women, empowerment of men is an integral part of women’s empowerment. The uncertainty of empowerment is due to realm of diversity being vast in this landscape called India. We as individuals have probably become empowered by what the structures define for us.
Mira Swaminathan who had resigned from the original committee of CSWI in 1971 due to her frustration at the complete lack of progress wrote a lengthy review of Towards Equality Report. Otherwise appreciative on the whole, her scathing critique was how the report handled issues of children, working women and childcare. Vina Mazumdar accepted the validity of her critique of what was ‘missing’ in the CSWI report. Mina Swaminathan joined Anandalakshmi in giving birth to Mobile Creches, a unique service organisation that helped women construction workers by running creches in or close to their areas of work after getting, sometimes demanding permission from builders. Mobile Creches represented their deep concerns about the rights of women’s labour, childcare and the widespread ‘invisibility’ of women’s multiple burdens. In 1985 Mina Swaminathan agreed to work on a paper on status of childcare of poor women in India resulting in a book ‘Who Cares?’ published by CWDS in 1985. A series of studies of status of childcare led to publication of the report ‘Whither Children?’. She acknowledged that the women’s movement deliberately underplayed and deligitimized women’s role of childcare giver as an outcome of fear of women being forever constrained forcibly and boxed within traditional image of domestic role and glorified ‘motherhood’. (p.157–158 Memories of a Rolling Stone, 2010) If people do not understand the connection from these few lines no amount of clarification will make visible the role of childcare and working women.
Dr. Neera Desai was dissatisfied with Universities trying to promote women’s domestic role. We need to go into role of the Indian History playing a major part in representation of women where status of civilization depends on position of women! Rarely is it questioned which are the women who get mentioned and how. How long should women in India carry the burden of ‘pativrata’ Sita as their idol? Simultaneously gulp down the theory of ‘swayamvar’ of Sita and Draupadi as ‘empowerment’ where neither Sita nor Draupadi had any say! What kind of patriarchal norms are promoted by tomb of a woman who is third wife of a king and dies giving birth to 14th child as 8th wonder of the world whereas Razia Sultana, a queen by right is made out to be a mere lover by audiovisual media and her tomb lacks even acknowledgement. History does not provide empowered women as role models. It only provides reinforcing patriarchal stereotypes that too only of queens not working women.
Adivasi struggle against bauxite mining in Kashipur, Orissa is an example of David against economic Goliath. 4500 crore MOU signed to give work to just a few for barely 25 years displacing traditional lifestyle and livelihoods of many leaving behind barren lands and water bodies. Women are a major part of the struggle as they are clear about that they were losing the right over land along with their right to work. Formal spaces of education do not include struggles of women as knowledge making tool, as these challenges patriarchy and would create empowered existence.
Even though University education has created understanding and acceptance of ‘domestic role’ for women, Women’s Studies scholars have tried to re-establish women’s ownership of public space. Not many know that Sarojini Naidu went with All India Women’s Committee members’ delegation and submitted a memorandum to Lord Montague demanding voting rights and right to hold public offices as women (not as mothers, daughters or wives), in 1917. Most of the agricultural work is done by women but when farmers are imagined women are no where in the picture. Bodhgaya movement addressed this with ‘boye jote kaate dhaan, khet ka malik vahi kisan’ (The three back-breaking work of agriculture — sowing, tilling and cutting are done by woman so the right of ownership of the land belongs to her, the farmer), assuming that right of land to women could shake up all social and economic institutions to its roots. Agarwal, Bina’s ‘A Field of One’s Own: Gender and Land Rights in South Asia’ (1994) is a clear shift in this direction from Wolf, Virginia’s ‘A Room of My Own’, a room being a private personal space and a field a public space more collective than individual. The present campaign which is into its 150 days on 25 April 2021 has yet again brought the issue of women’s contribution in agriculture sector into foreground. https://www.groundxero.in/2021/04/20/women-demanding-repeal-of-farm-acts-a-marxist-feminist-viewpoint/?fbclid=IwAR18YtYEuKR1OgZoPyoz5qqzUdsJsKxnEa1TR3TKCVFdxoe8bpThpTFC1BM 25.04.2021/11.40 p.m.
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/farmers-protest-delhi-borders-100-days-timeline-7216844/ 28.04.2021/12.45 a.m.
https://thefederal.com/news/farmers-protest-marks-150-days-leaders-claim-moral-victory/ 28.04.2021/12.47 a.m.
What is basic assumption of employment, socio-economic women empowerment and entrepreneurship development, if presumptions of women’s work is unclear. Different lenses are required to comprehend and acknowledge women’s empowerment as given. Parameters of development will automatically fall in place.
Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain’s (1880–1932) Sultana’s Dream was originally published in The Indian Ladies’ Magazine, Madras, 1905, in English. When Sultana in her dream asks the woman whom she thought Sister Sara where were the men, the woman answered, ‘In their proper places, where they ought to be, we shut our men indoors.’ https://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/sultana/dream/dream.html 08.08.2021/12.02p.m. Rokeya Hossain’s utopia, a world without men’s participation, is as unrealistic to me as a working space without women.
One HR person is having difficulty appointing women in a company. It is a joint venture in India of two companies from two different countries. The company is avoiding appointing women because of previous experience of being sued for sexual harassment by a person in senior position and supposedly stringent laws about sexual harassment.
This blog is a result of finding suggestions to state the obvious and change the attitudes to make inclusive work places.
I am sharing here the answers I got when I asked, ‘Can you share positives of women joining a company in all spheres, also in leadership?’
After doing Masters in Mathematics and Post Graduate Diploma in Computer programming and working in Mahindra and Mahindra as a trainee Ms Archana Ananda shifted to Mission Viejo with a job once upon a time (probably 1988), her husband followed her later. She has held many senior posts since then — Vice President in Citibank among them, being one of the highest paid consultants in America for last three years (2019–2021) she worked in Portland County.
1. First of all it is illegal to have discrimination based on the law suites in the past. This can make a candidate file a case against the hiring company.
2. The local company needs to change this attitude, especially now that they are in the international territories too. They are subject to international laws. They are very strict with discrimination against minority. This will simply be bad for them. Since I know about this situation that means this is there in the electronic media. If the HR uses this excuse not to hire a woman candidate, they are already in trouble.
3. A frank conversation is needed with candidates that the company is afraid that the candidate will sue the company. What (if) measures have you taken in your life that you are not sexually harassed.
I am telling this based on my own case. I used to attract bosses (men or women) and colleagues who would ill treat me. Once I cleared my issues with the authority figures that rooted in my relationship with my father, I started to attract only good people.
Suggestions for person who face repeated sexual harassment, also for HR personals:-
If she needs a completion session, I can give her. And she can tell that she did this not to attract wrong people in her life. This though will take a lot of courage on her (candidate’s) part
The HR also needs to ask her how she expects the HR participation to prevent such an incidence in future. HR should their policy against sexual harassment.
A heart-to-heart conversation must happen with ample time given. This topic alone may take from 1–2 hours. HR must allocate that much time. They must involve their EAP (Employee Assistance Program) counselor to this meeting.
They must do all the due diligence now that it has been shared on social media. It can be traced easily even though no names have been shared.
All the best, Archanaa (484 636 6508)
Ms Bheela Wadehra, (her CV runs into several pages in a senior leader’s post) retired recently (July 2020) from Black and Veatch, as Engineering Manager, her work entailed among many others to coordinate with people from five countries to see that things get done. Her gender I am sure was a strength that gave assurance to all concerned. In 1981, she was one of the two women Engineers Larsen and Toubro (L&T) Bombay appointed, becoming an ‘Equal Opportunity Company’. Those who supported the appointment were all men.
Array why should one have opinion based on one isolated case?
Eventually if you have teams of diverse nature, mostly men (in my case) it is always good to have a woman leader.
Somehow men associate a woman leader with their childhood school teacher and thus they listen up forgetting their individual egos, just for good team work.
Then many of their colleagues feel enthusiastic to work.
She solves their problems easily, there is no ego in this beautiful relationship.
Ms Poorvi Vijan, Social Media Manager. Ms Vijan is an architect and states that architecture offices do not need too much staff. Corporate sector has more knowledge and experience on this issue. I value her perspective as I am aware each person goes through the struggle against gendered concepts.
Well as a person who has been hiring women employees since I was 24, I can tell you some of the reasons why I do choose them above men.
1. They are humble and have good attitude in the work place, which is essential for long-term working relationship.
2. There are so many women graduates now, frankly more applications come to me from women.
3. I found women easily more hardworking and better at multi-tasking than men.
4. Before marriage, women in middle classes & above have fewer responsibilities at home, and dedicate far more time even in work from home.
5. There is a certain level of sensitivity and sensibility that women employees have when dealing with clients that reassures them that the work will be done. Also, women do have a “kill them with kindness” attitude that I admire.
6. Also sometimes men have a way to bring unnecessary jokes and taunts in the work environment, which they restrain in presence of women, which just makes for a better work environment overall.
7. I have seen in video calls with an all male staff. They behave far better when a woman is present on call and the call is finished faster.
Dr. Neela Mukherji, PhD Physics, Dean, Science in Dr. Radhakrishnan Institute of Technology (DRIT)
Women are much more creative in problem solving. There was a holiday cancelled and she turned it into a place for interaction, sharing tea and singing, using her women’s intuitive initiative.
Inspite of wondering if I should state why and how the Sexual harassment at workplace 2013 Act was made I am stating in brief what happened. Slightly higher caste people from her village, whose child marriage she had stopped, gang raped Bhanvari in 1992 while she was working as a Sathin (a government community worker) in Rajasthan. Patriarchal societies, which means people (both men and women) with patriarchal mindsets will never understand and will keep seeing these issues as one sided where I am unable to grasp what this side is! Bhanvari did not get justice from Indian judiciary system which is a blot on the people and Constitution of India. The perpetrators are still roaming free. The women’s group and her family stood by her struggle all along and eventually the Act came into existence in 2013 December, 21 years after the atrocious act.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-39265653 25.04.2021/11.41 p.m.
Of course this is an extremely complex issue but is there an option for respect and acceptance of inclusive work areas in a world that is so full of diversity, whatever the cultural background.
