‘She leaves early, because she comes in early’, read a wall in the iProspect office, when I first entered here. I was thus introduced to one of the major values of the company—justness. From the very beginning I knew I wasn’t here to feel sorry about the gendered prejudices that are still prevalent in the society, but be enthusiastic to work in an environment which appreciates talent for doing its bit rightly.
iProspect is progressing, not (necessarily) because it is being led by a female CEO, but because it offers equal opportunities for the skilled. A lot of company’s women empowering beliefs come from its multinational culture; we have long been valuing the benefits of diverse voices.
Often, we overlook the good in us if we don’t open our eyes to our surroundings. In a conversation with my sister over our respective job interviews: she mentioned how she had to convince her boss that she won’t be getting married in the near future, in order to acquire the position.
The other day in the conference room when a male colleague requested to be excused from the annual office trip, as his parents were visiting him over that weekend, it struck me that the weighing scale isn’t that uneven after all. Our accountability towards our family has to do more with us being warm and responsible, and less about being a male or a female. Similarly our work-ethic is equivalent too; 7 in the morning or 11 in the night, we know how to keep the wheel spinning. (FYI He was encouraged to attend the trip and offered an option to work from home during two of the weekdays.)
The race to success is relatively harder for women in our society (read it’s not easy for anyone); our ability to build strong relationships, empowering others, tuning well into people’s needs and balancing several responsibilities at the same time are often seen as a liability, when they can actually serve as a company’s true assets. Despite all, when I see the management baton of my team being passed on to a potential and loyal (woman) employee, my faith in fair access to professional opportunities revive. And the only reason I’ll be taking orders here will be because my mentor is more knowledgeable and experienced, and not because he/she has a different or similar set of reproductive organs.
Calendars will change, so will the walls (with our new office space under construction!); it is the idea that triumphs.
If I am now spared just one over-the-board feminist statement here: When all the men are working to prove their self-worth, while women are thriving to represent their whole community, may be the best man for a job is actually a woman! (Please take this in a good spirit, we have got just one calendar date after all.)
