Empowering Women in the Workplace

I’ve met so many successful women in my life - entrepreneurs, corporate heads, writers, models and successful homemakers. Yes, who says success is associated with money only? Managing any aspect of life with finesse is a benchmark of success. Isn’t it? When we talk about women, I feel #EveryWomanIsALeader - juggling between many activities, giving more than 100% of their capabilities and inspiring everyone around them to excel.


And, women these days are breaking the shell and reaching the areas where their presence was not registered earlier. It fills my heart with pride, but sadly, even after acknowledging and lauding her achievements, not much is done to encourage women. We pass judgements - Don’t you think she is neglecting her family for her career? She got promoted because she is close to her boss… such remarks are made without bothering to understand a woman’s hard work and dedication. If we want men to outdo others in any field, we must stop passing such remarks and start encouraging them. And such a work must start by providing a conducive environment - a family should support a female in pursuing her dreams and an organization should have facilities and rules to further this cause.


To empower female employees in the true sense, first, there should be no gender bias. I’ve witnessed that no matter what people say, men tend to treat female employees with certain reservations. I was once refrained from organizing a meeting in a five-star, as running and coordinating with so many parties is a male's job. Even when I started my business, I was not taken seriously as I was a young girl in a male dominated business. We need to shed this mentality, work is not gender based. Here in the US, I see women driving buses at late hours. We need such a progress in India too. With this, I think, comes the point of safety. We need to make sure that women feel safe. But that is quite debatable, sometimes we overdo the concern of safety. I read a status few months back where one of my friends was not allowed to work late and complete her assignment as there was no male present in the office. It was her company’s policy of male accompanying a female in company’s cab back home. Now, this kind of safety is pretty restrictive. Rather than fostering growth, it is putting chains on our freedom, flexibility to work and compete with our counterparts.

As far as working for a single woman is concerned it is slightly easier, but when a woman gets married, she has added responsibilities. In our country, where taking care of our families is ingrained in us, I feel the flexibility of working hours will surely go a long way in boosting female participation in all organizations. Booming BPO industry is a proof of it. Lastly, but not the least, every organization must have a Mentor Program for female employees. It would help them to channelize their strengths, to assist them in a tough career phase and guiding them to progress. A good mentor program can change the way women are perceived in an organization. Also, it will help in resolving any issues at work that a woman faces with her colleagues and her bosses. As the saying goes - women don’t leave companies, they leave their bosses. Such a program will have many advantages, both for the female employees and the organization itself.


If we can provide a conducive environment to growth to women in our organizations, I am very sure we will have many more Women Leaders who can bring positive changes and with this our society can grow in leaps and bounds.
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If you have an opinion to share, do take part in ‘Women in Leadership’ contest held by www.shethepeople.tv where the winner gets an all expense paid trip to an exciting destination. You can connect with them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Comments

  1. Well said....while in the developed countries women have a better status the inequality exists....they are paid less and even top bosses are seldom women.....In other countries the problem is far worse....

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    Replies
    1. I agree and I hope, things change for better in near future.

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  2. Very apt Saru! In reality women have to work much harder than their male counterparts to prove themselves at work even with equal merit and qualification and she is judged both ways ...at office and at home while pursuing her career. Sometimes I feel it's tough being a woman.

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  3. Women empowerment is the key to growth of a nation! Best of luck Saru!

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    Replies
    1. It's not a contest entry, Sir but you can write one. :)

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  4. Women are crucial to the development of society. Your post is enriching :-)

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  5. Your article is enlightening!

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  6. In India Women are always given prominence. Women is the Shakti and where Shakti stays, Shiva resides there. Awesome write up.

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  7. If we can provide a conducive environment to growth to women in our organizations, I am very sure we will have many more Women Leaders who can bring positive changes and with this our society can grow in leaps and bounds. women in India may be a subject of research Saru ji . we worship her a day and on the other we forget that she is also a human being. I m full agree with you that success is not bounded with money. your post are really special and it is proven by the gifts you are recieving.congrats again for your post and winning

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  8. A topic close to my heart, Loved reading your writeup Saru, I fullyagree that a nation cannot progress if women (who are more that 50% of human resources) are not empowered. Sharing a related post in this topic from my blog that you may enjoy reading http://wp.me/p3RQLD-qH

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  9. You have put it nicely Saru...
    Hardly ever it is that -
    there's a man, a family behind every successful woman .
    Generally-
    there's nobody behind her as well as in front of her . To be successful she has to lose EVERY other thing !

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    Replies
    1. True in majority of cases around me. Thanks for reading Kokila.

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  10. I loved the way you started. I have always believed that "You will not be happy because you are successful; you will be successful ONLY if you are happy".

    Actually, the problem IS the same. People assess success by achieving goals that Society has defined. The goals that Society HAD defined for women is those list of attributes that make a 'acchi biwi; acchi bahu'. You need to get Society to reset those goals - THEN the support will come in and the need to sacrifice family for career or vice versa will come down to about the same levels as applicable for men.

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    Replies
    1. I agree, Sir. We are fulfilling society's aspirations, not ours.

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  11. It looks like really a studied article, Saru. And it certainly is. And I must say, it is really an enlightening article. Good work.

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  12. Replies
    1. It's not a contest entry, though you can take part in it. Just follow the link at the end.

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  13. Very neatly written article. Good luck!

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    Replies
    1. It's not a contest entry dear, though you can take part in it.

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  14. As always, wonderfully written article!

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  15. nice one Saru! :-)

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  16. So true! Even in Scandinavia where women are far more equal, there is still a way to go...

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  17. True,successful women are the butt of many derogatory remarks,and the discrimination and exploitation add more wounds.

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  18. That was a very thoughtful post Saru. I totally agree with you!

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  19. Theo
    Great article l love reading about women empowerment. I am a minor writer and l wrote a few words on the topic though l am sorry that this is rude may you please look through my article.
    https://theonettiencube32.wordpress.com/2015/04/09/do-women-really-need-to-think-like-men-to-make-it-in-the-world-of-business-4-tips-on-how-women-can-make-it-on-their-own/

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  20. Women have to prove themselves at every step in life. This is sadly true in most of the societies across the world.

    And such judgements which you mentioned are unfortunately quite common when women succeed. It's like most men don't even want women to succeed.

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    Replies
    1. Sad but true. Even educated people indulge in such discrimination.

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  21. Replies
    1. No, I post regularly. I must have shared an old one on G+ and hence you landed here.

      Delete

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