Women in India have long been fighting for their rights- right to free speech, right to education, right to equality- it’s been a long battle. And we have come a long way since then. The society has changed, the mindsets have evolved and women have excelled in every field they have chosen to work in. Some of our greatest business leaders today are women. But is our corporate world truly unbiased? Or do they see women in two categories- Married and has children; and Married but without children.
It’s very often that corporates ask insensitive questions like- ‘What’s your marital status?’; ‘Any plans on family planning?’ Shouldn’t the questions during an interview end at the professional requirement of the job? It seems that our corporate world is defining a woman’s capabilities with whether or not she has a family or on how soon she plans to have one. When did pregnancy become a bane? Why do we so strongly believe that women once after having children will need to take a break from their professional career?
Times are changing and its important companies understand that a pregnant woman is not a burden on the company. It’s a complete misnomer that a pregnant woman’s efficiency goes down. Organizations need to stop working on assumptions like- a pregnant woman’s efficiency is ‘likely’ to go down; or she ‘may not’ come back to work; or will she be productive? If she is a great talent and has delivered then there is no reason why she would stop doing so just because she is expecting. She is as much entitled for a promotion, an increment as any of her male counter parts.
While change has started with a few organizations that are realizing what’s more worthy and are offering flexi benefits, we still have a long way to go.
Radhika Apte in this short film strikes that nerve which irks most women about being pregnant and having to deal with the corporate world.
It’s very often that corporates ask insensitive questions like- ‘What’s your marital status?’; ‘Any plans on family planning?’ Shouldn’t the questions during an interview end at the professional requirement of the job? It seems that our corporate world is defining a woman’s capabilities with whether or not she has a family or on how soon she plans to have one. When did pregnancy become a bane? Why do we so strongly believe that women once after having children will need to take a break from their professional career?
Times are changing and its important companies understand that a pregnant woman is not a burden on the company. It’s a complete misnomer that a pregnant woman’s efficiency goes down. Organizations need to stop working on assumptions like- a pregnant woman’s efficiency is ‘likely’ to go down; or she ‘may not’ come back to work; or will she be productive? If she is a great talent and has delivered then there is no reason why she would stop doing so just because she is expecting. She is as much entitled for a promotion, an increment as any of her male counter parts.
While change has started with a few organizations that are realizing what’s more worthy and are offering flexi benefits, we still have a long way to go.
Radhika Apte in this short film strikes that nerve which irks most women about being pregnant and having to deal with the corporate world.