I will not prove myself everyday!

Women in Leadership – This is such a wonderful topic to write for when blogging makes your beautiful voice. As a women, I feel this is the ‘it topic’ to celebrate my own leadership as a freelancer, short-story writer, blogger, home-maker and an engineer who believes that #everywomanisaleader no less, no more.

Until I consider myself beautiful, I will not be able to appreciate the beauty of others.

 Night’s cozy snug,

Morning’s warm hug,

The banana shake,

Teamed with delicious marble cake,

Sunshine rays glittering in the house,

My laptop always with the mouse,

Mumma’s yummy delights,

Siblings love and cozy-fights,

Daddy’s heartwarming pep-ups,

Grandma’s round the year concerns,

I am truly happy if you let me be in my world, in my cocoon,

Here I  jump, dance, blog, cook, work, read or croon.

I do not like it when people tell me do it like the Men… I believe in doing my work like a Women.

I am the only child to my parents and neither of them has ever told me that I am the son of their family, they have always felt proud saying that I make a wonderful daughter. My family gave me the first lessons on leadership. They always said, ‘Do as you wish because we trust you.’

I thought the world was as gorgeous as this where equality prevailed all around but no I realized it soon looking around that women and their visibility was never a celebrated affair of the town. While the girls were doing good in science, technology, engineering, maths, aeronautics, yet they were considered unequal to their brothers who were pampered brats trying hard to graze through passing marks in the examinations.

Lets be vocal on these subjects….

I smile when I hear people nurse such weird opinions. It suggests so much that there are stereotypes all over the corporate industry.

‘A woman mars a jobless male candidates seat. The woman will spend on her shopping and fashion.  Had the guy  got the job, he could have happily run his home.’

‘Why does a girl need to compete for the best jobs when at the end of the day she has to look after the family after a few years down the line.’

Oh! your performance has come down since you have been married?

For the next two years, you can absolutely forget the increments, apply for maternity leave, take a sabbatical and look after your baby. The new one needs you.

People around us are desperate to have views and blatant remarks around working women. Why is that a woman only stands for home and family and not for the corporate roles? And even if she fights against the odds, continues with her passion, a woman employee goes through slow career progression than her male peers. WHY?

Prove yourself everyday…. Really?

I will not prove myself everyday because I know I perform better than your best guys…. and more I come here to work and not entertain your sense of humor.

I had the guts to tell this to my ex-boss when his actions and words became difficult to ignore. Of course, he was taken aback with my raised voice and fumed back with anger.  I knew I had screwed my annual increments but I did not care. I was happy that I had given him back.  In fact, now I repent why did I chose to ignore and be silent for few months before doing it. The whole point of disagreement was that my male colleagues could go on N number of smoke breaks, tea chats, lunch breaks all day just because they were staying back late till night while I had to time my lunch, beg for leaves because I was not putting in fake extra hours.

Why is staying back late in offices considered so cool? I feel those who compulsively stay back everyday in the office to show their efficiency to their bosses are the most incompetent because they fail to wind up their duties within the working hours.  Has anyone ever given 200 percent out of a day? As humans we can only perform 6-7 hours at our best, rest of the time is all about cooking stories. Women utilize it much better by calling it a day at the right time and back home using it for the family.

A considerable number of men in the senior positions take female subordinates for granted and feel that a woman will tolerate everything to get to the top. This shows how poorly they have failed to understand a woman’s psyche. ‘Women in leadership’ are gems in their fields and they need no men to place them at the coveted positions.

Eight years in the professional world and having worked in the best of my telecom domain, I feel many corporate are yet not capable of handling the female fraternity. In my last company, one of the largest telecom MNCs, the gender diversity stared back at them at a meager 12%. Well they tried hard to pull up their socks but failed to crack the code. Mere shouting ‘Where are the qualified women?’ will not help, you can’t ask women to prove themselves everyday and let the men have the cake.

Companies need to understand that random recruitment drives can only hire in bulk but women will stay in the company only when their leadership and excellence is respected and celebrated. We know how to tackle the pressures. We know how to break the glass ceiling.  We need no favoritism please!

Accept us as creative and competent colleagues, comm’n Be Brave people!

The blog was initially published on my blog.