The subtle gender angle that comes in when comparing men and women at the workplace is so ingrained in the socials psyche for most of us, that we dont even think about questioning it.
Personal attributes for example, have differant connotations for men and women.The same, while celebrated in men, are looked down upon, when it comes to women.
While aggression in a man in the professional world earns him respect, and the title of being a serious go getter, the same earns the women totle of a bitch. Being vocal,honest and upfront is a quality in a man, and yet the same makes a woman emotional and hormonal.
And it doesnt stop at that. The most bizarre and ugly face of workplace inequality stems from people insisting on mixing a woman's professional and personal life.
When you cant bring the woman down by doing anything, the last resort is, shout on the top of your voice about people close to her.If the woman retaliates, she is being bitchy.
With only 4 girls in a class of 37, and being the only girl who has the guts to stand up, this girl is often the butt of jokes and centre of controversies when she comes up with an idea that is out of the box.Never mind that the idea is genuine, can work, and that shes by far the smartest of the lot whose actually making an effort to do things in a novel way.But later on, the same idea is took to the dean behind her back, and the dean pats these guys for being so innovative.
Now the situation is the girls name has been brought up in so many controversies that the dean is forever against her and as a result the girl has gone all quiet, watever happens.
What is the deal with equating a woman's personal life with the professional ? We know that social traits in general are looked at differantly for both the sexes. While aggression is encouraged, or to put it mildly, not discouraged in boys/men, the same are a strict no-no for women. Be gentle, be non-demanding, be good natured, be mild.Well I'd say the same should be universally held as benchmark for all people, be it men or women, if at all !!
There are numerous angles, if one looks at a woman's personal situation as well..how seriously her family takes her work, whether they actually appreciate her talent and hard work, or think of it as a stop gap arrangement before marriage and motherhood takes over. Thats an entirely seperate argument, so lets not even go there.
If we just take the example of any woman who chooses to be ambitious, its selfish apparently.Why ? Because her primary duty is towards her family, and as long as all that is in place, she is 'allowed' to explore having a career. And if her household duty demands that her career take a back seat, its not just expected, but the right thing to do. God forbid, but if she ends up with a career that demands long hours and hard work, how acceptable is it for the household to manage without her? Are systems encouraged that will let her worry about her power point presentation while the food lies uncooked at dinner time ?
And what does one say or hear of women who boldly say that they are dealing marriage or giving motherhood a pass in the interest of their ambitions? Heartless selfless bitch is right.
To sum it all up in one sentence,
The measure of a woman's success lies, not in her professional career, but in her cooking, and how well mannered she is.You could be the Secretary of United Nations girl, but if the shape of your rotis is not round, you will forever be considered unsuccessful.
Sad but true.
P.S. I do know that the post may sound extreme, but please take it as indicative of a general trend. Not to say things arent changing, but we do have a long way to go. And its important to sit back and reflect on our own attitudes and inherent biases once in a while.
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