A Job* That Comes Along With Some Stars

Posted: January 8, 2015

Is the condition of working women in India equitable, or do they just gain a second job besides all the home-making duties?

The excitement of getting a star (*) in class used to be the best feeling in the world when we were kids; but as we grow, stars change their meaning and so does our feeling for them.

People say, “We support gender equality and women’s empowerment”. I say that we don’t really support it – we just talk about it.

The word gender describes the socially constructed roles and responsibilities that societies consider appropriate for men and women. I believe that many Indian men want their wives to work but with certain predefined terms and conditions.

Being working women, we face a lot of challenges in our day-to-day lives. I believe that many working women can relate to this story.

My husband and I work in the same organization. Our working hours are the same, we travel together to our workplace and we have similiar levels of work pressure and stress. In spite of having an equal amount of challenges at the workplace, there is a big difference in my Job** and my husband’s Job. My job** comes with stars!

Let’s check out what these **(stars) actually mean.

**Terms and Conditions apply :

Even if you earn on par with your husband,you are not equal to him.
Workplace challenges should be handled in parallel to household challenges.
If you have to choose between an important meeting at your workplace or the demands of your home, the answer should always be ‘home’.
If your husband is getting an onsite opportunity, you have to take a sabbatical or leave your job; even if that means a lag in your career.
Your in-laws will relate to their son’s professional life but will never actually relate to yours.
Saturday and Sundays are off from office work but all major household activities will be scheduled for these two days of the week.
Multi-tasking is a must for a women; if she can’t multi-task, she is lazy and good for nothing.

These are the some of the terms and conditions which we as working women face in our daily lives. There are many such conditions which we have to deal with everyday.

It is not a world where women can choose their priorities. It is a man’s world and women are allowed to do whatever they want – but with some stars attached to it!

Image used under a CC license credit Joanna Coccarelli

Naina Sehgal

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1 Comment

taj - January 11, 2015 at 11:27 am

Hello Naina,

I feel as if you are speaking my mind. I feel no matter where we reach or in which profession we are, r job always have those stars suffixed with it.

I would like to add few more meanings to stars;
1. fixed working hours no matter how important your work is – btw these are not fixed by our company but ny partners;
2. if you aspire to reach higher positions it means you are too ambitious and not fit to be a married woman;
3. we get to hear this so often – you are working to kill time and we never asked you to work. (underlying meaning is DONT COMPLAIN ABOUT TIREDNESS; YOU HAVE NO CHOICE BUT HAVE TO SLOG AT HOME AS WELL);
4. what makes you sit in office so long; something is amiss.

Ppl sometimes forget what it takes to achieve a professional degree and what it takes to land a dream job or atleast work towards it.

Any ways this list can be too long.

I hope the equality will soon be a reality and not just a topic to discuss.

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