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Not everyone understands that retaining moms at work is not only the right thing to do, but it's great for business. How do you convince employees to be more inclusive of everybody?
Not everyone understands that retaining moms at work is not only the right thing to do, but it’s great for business. How do you convince employees to be more inclusive of everybody?
Mentor Centre is a Women’s Web initiative where you get to ask your career queries and we get you thoughtful responses from leading women in industry. If you have a question, ask away!
“I am the founder of an interior design company with 12 employees and a good male-female ratio. In the last year, we have had 2 women go on maternity leave, and as a company, we are supportive about women returning to work, and helping them re-adjust to the workplace. However, this is being seen as ‘preferential treatment’ among other employees, especially among men. Besides the fact that legally we need to offer the maternity leave, how do we create a more inclusive culture? How can I convince my other employees that helping these women return to work is actually good for us as a team and for our business?” – Radhika Gujral
I think conversations around diversity during townhalls help everyone to see the case for diversity – however you need to use examples of how it will help profitability and business results rather than projecting it as a do-good mission. Also sometimes it is important to ask everyone why they feel it is preferential treatment and see if you can address that. It may not be just the maternity leave which they are seeing as unfair – it maybe what happens before and after that which is bothering people – where women sometimes take advantage – by treating pregnancy as an excuse or an illness that hampers performance or being distracted (being mentally absent while physically present at work). Some women don’t pick up their part of the load, under the guise of being pregnant/having a small child etc. As the leader it is important for you to be seen to be fair to both genders, so while maternity leave is a legal responsibility, beyond that, you should expect and demand that women work as hard as their male colleagues.
– Ms. Apurva Purohit, President, Jagran Group
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People say that women are the greatest enemies of women. I vehemently disagree. It is the patriarchal mindset that makes women believe in the wrong ideology.
The entire world celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8, 2024. It should be a joyful day, but unfortunately, not all women are entitled to this privilege, as violence against women is at its peak. The experience of oppression pushes many women to choose freedom. As far as patriotism is concerned, feminism is not a cup of tea in this society.
What happens when a woman decides to stand up for herself? Does this world easily accept the decisions of women in this society? What inspires them to be free of the clutches of the oppression that women have faced for ages? Most of the time, women do not get the chance to decide for themselves. Their lives are always at the mercy of someone, which can be their parents, siblings, husband, or children.
In some cases, women do not feel the need to make any decisions. They are taught to obey the patriarchal system, which makes them believe that they are right. In my family, I was never taught to make decisions on my own. It was always my parents who bought dresses and all that I needed.
14 years after her last feature film Dhobi Ghat, storyteller extraordinaire comes up with her new film, Laapataa Ladies, a must watch.
*Some spoilers alert*
Every religion around the world dictates terms to women. The onus is always on women to be ‘modest’ and cover their faces and bodies so men can’t be “tempted”, rather than on men to keep their eyes where they belong and behave like civilized beings. So much so that even rape has been excused on the grounds of women eating chowmein or ‘men will be men’. I think the best Hindi movie retort to this unwanted advice on ‘akeli ladki khuli tijori ki tarah hoti hai’ (an alone woman is like an open jewellery box) came from Geet in Jab We Met – Kya aap gyan dene ke paise lete hain kyonki chillar nahin hain mere paas.
The premise of Laapataa Ladies is beautifully simple – two brides clad in the ghunghat that covers their identity get mixed up on a train. Within this Russian Doll, you get a comedy of errors, a story of getting lost, a commentary on patriarchy’s attitude towards women, a mystery, and a tale of finding oneself, all in one. Done with a mostly light touch that has you laughing and nodding along.
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