This is a simple test working women can try. Check who sits next to you and then in the whole of your work place. Now count the number of men and women. Note down the figures on a piece of paper. Make a ratio out of it. If both sides balance well, smile. If not, listen to what the United Nations has to say on this International Women’s Day. The message UN sends out this time, ‘Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030’, conveys all is not well with our work culture and gender parity a big issue to be addressed even in this post millennial era.
Chinchu Madhusoodanan is part of a team of Radio Jockeys in Thiruvananthapuram who are taking a plunge into the depths of the sea on Wednesday to correct the manmade errors deep down. Interestingly, the team has majority of women. They will be scuba-diving to pick plastic waste up. “I wondered at the first reaction certain people expressed, that how are women with less flexible physique than men going to do it? When I decided to study journalism, the situation was no different. There were those who envisioned how my future in-laws and family are not going to accept my job and thoroughly advised me. The condition has not fully changed, yet there has been a change in the mindset and overall perception over the years,” Chinchu says.
Despite showcasing proud figures in female literacy, entrepreneur Asha Jomis observes how far Kerala lags behind in women employment. “We need to look beyond the economic incentive of participation be it in the formal/informal employment sector, entrepreneurship, political or social segment. Most of the educated women are not allowed to work or has to sacrifice work to look after family. So we need to change that social stigma and get women on the work force and build an excellent support system to keep them in the work force. As women, we should be able to and enjoy contributing towards building an equal society,” she says.
Among the lucky few to work in a women-friendly campus is Bhagya Krishna . S, a young techie in Technopark. “I got here very recently. It is heartening to see female participation everywhere. Most events here are being organised under active female participation. I enjoy the freedom of working in such a space where women are duly appreciated and encouraged,” beams Bhagya.
Indu Bhadran, pursuing her masters in convergent journalism in Berlin, puts it like this. “I have many married friends with kids, who are also working women and the kind of things they have to manage or deal with on a daily basis is endless. I have tremendous respect for these young working moms. Sleepless nights, looking after the baby, running their homes, going to work... They do all this single-handedly because they are ‘supposed to’. Why can’t men participate in this equally? I noticed here in the western world, men and women participate equally in raising a child and share equal responsibilities. Women do not have to compromise their career and be a full-time mom,” she sums up.
