Casualties of the juggling act : Women and their Talent in the Software Industry

The Indian software industry finds in its ranks, one of the most talented and smartest women that the country has to offer. However, the climb for all such women is arduous with severe sacrifices involved in the path. More often than not, they find themselves in positions of frustration given the social conservatism that encompasses the business world and the society at large

Introduction: The Indian society is a patriarchal society with clear set of rules defined for the roles that men and women have to play. Men have been the bread winners while the onus of the well being of the family lies with the women. This was the status quo, until the last phase of the 20th century where women, seriously, started challenging men in their positions of power.  Its not been an easy ride for even their western counterparts either. Debora Spar in her article "When Mommy track leads to a dead end" highlights the concerns of the career track known as "the career secondary" or the mommy track for women[1]. As she points  for women returning after a prolonged leave due to maternity or family issues, "Positions disappear; salaries plummet; professional relationships grow stale. And at the end of the day, only 40  percent of women who try to return to full-time professional jobs actually manage to do so. The rest settle into early retirement, or slower paced, lower-ranked jobs." The "career primary" women,however, behaved like men and were most likely remain single or childless. The onus of success in the business world lies with these women.
Coming back home, in a landmark study of its kind ,Prof.  Vasanthi Srinivasan from IIIM Bangalore pointed out the talent concerns of women employed in the Indian IT Industry in her work "THE LEAKY BUCKET OF FEMALE TALENT IN THE INDIAN IT INDUSTRY" along with her student Monisha Nakra. In this work, she argues over three factors that define career persistence for Indian women:
a) Self: the need of a career, marriage & motherhood importance
b)Social: Role models, Family support, Marriage pressure and work-family conflict
c) Structural: Mentors at workplace,child care, networking and stigmas
 The study agreed to what Debora Spar had already concluded. The Indians and their Western counterparts shared the same view on career tracks for women.
The study, however, points no guidelines to men. Often in workplaces, women in marriages or with children are frowned upon to take challenging roles. Also, marriage & children make it impossible for women to work in shifts. Long leaves of maternity add to the difficulties in acceptance for challenging roles. Family concerns like change of job location of husband add to the woes. Some of the brilliant women I have encountered had their careers wither away because of this one reason.With respect to children, behind doors, women have told me of the following rules:
a) Rule of one: Avoid taking challenging roles
b) Rule of two: End of career
Putting a child into creches is a stigma in Indian society for which thee  women sacrifice their career. As seen, the juggling act of family and career exhausts all the reserve of Indian women making it difficult for them to achieve their talent potentials.

Solution: There is a dire need to address this leaky bucket. Much of the onus has to fall on the family and the men involved in the women's life. There needs to be a new vocabulary needed by men to endear them to this cause.Men should or make provisions for :
a) Minimum break in a women's career due to family issues/maternity
b) Sabbatical for child care for a period of time
c) Help in day to day running of the family
d) Respect the option if the woman does not want to have children
Women should realize that they have a 40% chance of being where they were after  a career break. Hence, they in turn, need to identify these breaks very early. In certain cases, its not possible and they need to sacrifice their career, they should counsel/get counseled on such issues. These periods could be used to re-skill themselves.  Workplaces should, in turn, provide child care facilities in their vicinity. This is, in my opinion, easier said than done. However, the attempts need to be made by larger companies first. Picking up challenging roles in early part of life is also a good option. The labour laws have been refined for the IT/ITES sector. These should be taken into account while planning.
The contribution of women in a fast growing country like India has been fractional in terms of roles in the industry. The eminent scientist, Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar, has opined as a "women centric" society as one of the pillars for the development of Indian society[3]. The vision can be bought to its fruition only if juggling act stops and women are able to give serious justice to the talents they possess.

References:
[1] Debora Spar, http://www.thedailybeast.com/witw/articles/2013/09/27/debora-spar-s-wonder-women-career-on-ramps-off-ramps-u-turns-and-dead-ends.html
[2] Vasanthi Srinivisan and M. Nakra," The Leaky Bucket of Female Talent in the Indian IT Industry". http://tejas.iimb.ac.in/articles/90.php.
[3] R. Mashelkar,"Reinventing India", pp.26.

The image is taken from the article, "http://maryandmoney.com/lifestyle/the-juggling-act/". for educational purposes only.

The mistrust of Kashmir

One of the compounding problems that current incumbent PM of India,Narendra Modi, must face is his policy regarding Kashmir. Forever, a contentious issue, India has always maintained a stand of it being an internal dispute while Pakistan has always called it an international dispute. Between these lines, is the true problem, the faith of the Kashmiri people has been played with.

History:
A perspective of Kashmir's history is very important.Having a Hindu and Buddhist past, the true freedom of the Kashmir was killed by the invasion of Mughals in 1540. Akbar is still a hated figure in Kashmir as he established 167 years of Mughal rule. It was then followed by the Durrani's and the Sikh rule.It was not until that the Dogra ruler Gulab Singh, through treachery, in 1846 from the British rule bought Kashmir,that the conundrum of Kashmir started. A Hindu ruler over a Muslim majority was established. Not to say, it was an oppressive rule.  With the freedom from British, then then ruler of the state, Hari Singh, was of the view of staying independent from both the dominions of India and Pakistan. However, the tribal attacks engineered by Pakistan in 1947, forced his hand to seek the help of India. India,promptly, pointed out that Kashmir was a foreign land and Hari Singh,then signed the Instrument of Accession with India. The state was in turmoil and as with the accession rules at that time, a plebiscite of people was not carried. Article 370 was borne out of this and an interim Government was formed to form the constution for the State with the plebiscite pending. Pandit Nehru's and Sardar Patel's affirmed pledges on plebiscite are attached. Violence erupted in the valley in late 1980's and it was a tale of brutal military assault, making Kashmir a military garrison which continues till the day. The flight of the Kashmiri Pandits during this period, exacerbated what was already a delicate situation.

Current Situation and Problems:
Kashmir has been a military camp for the past 35 years. Successive state govts were not strong enough(most of the elections were rigged!) and have diluted Article 370. The people of Kashmir mistrust their politicians. There are severe human right violations and as such the people of Kashmir severely mistrust the Government of India. In addition, mistrust between the communities is rampant. The atmosphere is vitiated further with instances such as continuous demands of abrogation of Article 370 and border skirmishes.

Solution:
Kashmir is a political problem and cannot be solved by military occupation. Also, its not as much as a geography issue as much as it is about of the faith of the Kashmiri people. Any solution has to involve the faith of the people and they should be the bedrock of this solution. So, any solution should involve the political people who the Kashmiri people deem as their true representatives. One of the best things the earlier PM did was to facilitate a peace accord with President Musharraf in 2006. President Musharraf had put up a four point plan which was realistic. The plan was:
[1] Kashmir should have the same borders but people be allowed to move freely across the region;[2] The region should have self-governance or autonomy but not independence; [3] Troops should be withdrawn from the region in a phased manner; and [4] a joint mechanism comprising representatives from India, Pakistan and Kashmir be set up to supervise the implementation of such a roadmap for Kashmir.

If this is agreed by the representatives of the Kashmiri people, this could go a long way in resolving a historic issue.

Disclaimer: All errors regarding facts are attributed to the original post.

(a) Vallabhbhai Patel's assertion

(b) Pandit Nehru's pledge

An eulogy on joy of festivals

Its time we started realising that there needs to be an epitaph for enjoying Indian festivals. The dangerous and ominous trends are there for everybody to see. First and foremost, I am not saying that we do not enjoy. What I want to point out, the fun quotient is becoming less and less.
  Indian Festivals are a big family affair. Its one of the rare occasions where we get to meet everybody from our family and close friends. Catch up on the gossip and the general happenings. Add to it the colors and the sparkles of festivals and you get a complete 360 degree view of what being an Indian means. Not long ago, as a kid, we used to make our own festival cards. Occasionally, help our mothers and grandmothers with sweets and of course, munch half of them.  And these festivals meant business as well. We would be setting up our own stalls of crackers and asking friends to look after them. It also meant a lot of cleaning and doing a lot of shopping. We used to go to these saree shops where my aunts would get themselves draped in these zillions and colors. Under the careful eyes of the elders, we sang, dance and enacted plays on stage. The world was a big place then. Meeting people in person was very exciting.
The present looks so impoverished. The personal touch has diminished, if not gone completely. There are lesser people to meet and more of excuses. The cooking is now purchases off the shelf and the stalls of crackers have slowly disappeared. Cards are now replaced by messages(colorful though!) to people unknown on Facebook walls and other social media. Talking is replaced by chatting to people on the net or making phone calls. Recently, I met a friend after a long time. There was so much to talk about.  and both of us were aware that we had limited time. I can only say that we managed to barely scrap the surface of all the topics.
Progress is also a persuasion to change of lifestyle. As humans, we give importance to efficiency and as such customs will naturally wither away. With the future more gadgetized and  uncertain, the communication is likely to drop  in value. As time would be precious, the meeting methods would change. Probably, in a coming few years, we would be meeting virtually inside each others houses. Its also exciting times as many things could be accomplished within a given small time frame. Ideas would be stored and calibrated and not forgotten. However, the relation of technology, culture and lifestyle would definitely be non linear. To ask in the end, I am sure I would be making videos of what I enjoy now. Maybe, it will be a treat to watch in the years to come.

Happy Dussehra to All !

Why still no "acche din" for Indian women?

Recently, I read a report by a two member all female team about the lawlessness that pervades the state of Uttar Pradesh. On 27th May 2014, two Dalit women were shamefully hung from the tree in the Katra Siadatganj of Badaun District of Uttar Pradesh. This was one high profile event which caused the whole of India to put their head in absolute shame. Not six months ago, the Nirbhaya rape case had put India on the world map for gender discrimination and possibly, violence against women. This was followed by the much maligned UN report in 2014 to show our place to the world in what we lack - a safe place for our women.

Its a commendable job by the two authors - Shefali Mishra and Hema Badhwar Mehra who took up the onus on themselves on what dwells in these lawlessness. And what they found, should not come as  surprise. From gender bias, apathy of police, lack of concern from society, dowry demands, exploitation in the name of caste, sodomy, rape and deep sense of fear - the report delves on the deeper malice within a society which venerates Indian women as goddess in one hand and so shamefully, rapes her on the other. A case of Jekyll and Hyde. Not only is the patriarchal attitude of the society but of the state is my  cause of concern. Our politicians have been allotting more money to grandiose statues than to safety & security of women. Often, even that is not utilized.The report also elegantly points out to the solutions. There are multitude of them, mostly, reactive. However, the most pro-active is to sensitize the little children of this bias. To teach them that all are equal. Not to infect them with what has already been infected. 

On a personal note, I have been studying this topic for a decade now. However, modern we say we are, we still lack equality. Gender bias is also very subtle in cities. Careers, children and relations are the continuous juggle that modern women do everyday,almost, subconsciously. Often, in this triangle, a women can choose only two. Most often, she sacrifices her career for the good of her children and relations. Too many brilliant women end up having an evanescent identity- somebody's wife or mother or worst, none. I have always loved the way the women in my life define and describe their relations. The older the women gets, the better the definition and the description. The influences of my grandmother(she was illiterate women but did she have a view) have been on me.

Despite all of this, Indian women have excelled within the narrow domains that the society binds them into. Many of them are heads of states, olympic champions, business leaders and have successful careers in medicine and technology. There is a need of the hour for the men to step up. To answer them in a language which has been so missing in Indian males. To listen to them of their issues and to care for them. To dress them and not watch them undress. To think of their bodies for a dance and not for objectification . To all of us conscious, the revolution of Indian women is on the anvil. With better education and opportunity, they are bound to excel. And we have then the ideas that we have been so missing. At the end of this, I am seriously thankful. I wrote all of this. #saveourwomenINDIA

P.S: The link for the report is:
 http://www.aamaadmiparty.org/sites/default/files/Report%20on%20crimes%20against%20women%20in%20UP.pdf

Making sense of "Digital"

There has probable never been such a dramatic change in lifestyle between two generations. Smartphones,those tiny smart devices,must be the inception of this new era which we called "Digital",  clearly separating me from the generation earlier. What is Digital? There are throngs of new definitions for this new witchcraft. The closest possible which I could relate it was "Digital is not technology, its a lifestyle". So true!

 With the advent of smartphones, these tiny devices singularly became the status symbol in a society so graded in its inequality. As the attachments with these devices dived deeper, so did our identification with these devices and the multitude of apps these devices provide. As the devices changed, so did our need to acquire them and control our identity viz a viz these harbingers of change. But, this is all technology for sure. A naive question can be asked: How did it change me? I think I call it customization. As these tiny devices could be customized with features of our choice, we progressively in turn made no stone unturned to accommodate all of the space. And this was not a matter of fact an individual only who changed. The need was felt by organizations, business leaders , political leaders and governments to deal with this blank canvas and create their own niche spaces(Sometimes false!). And, slowly, we are now more and more unreal. Smartphones, tabs, goggles,watches , wristbands etc are now sending us all the data that encapsulates us in the digital word providing us an identity which we would have probably scoffed off as false a few years ago. The communication I entertain through these devices is now under instrumentation and carefully interrogated to ascertain my views and sentiments.

Its difficult to predict a future for this. Health services and research can be shared using this great platform and at the same time a human being can be monitored and his privacy intruded with the same. Will our nature change when we find out that its possible to know about our intimate  secrets or the privacy of those we love is violated through hacking or false distribution. Would this be criminal and a person who violates the law be called a criminal? An individual with a customized data representing him cannot be real in my opinion. There are many interesting questions that must be thought of. As of now, lets just enjoy the ride.

The Curious Case of Modern Indian Women

Recently, there was an advertsement which shows a female boss doing what all bosses do all the time i.e trying to meet impossible deadlines on an assignment. Now, if it had not been for that one little twist, the ad would not have generated so much interest. The twist was that one of the colleagues she is trying to convince to meet the impossible deadline for the assignment is none other than her husband. The female boss leaves office early to proceed to her kitchen to cook food and like any dutiful wife, calls her husband at what time he will be coming. The ad ends with the wife asking her husband to forget about his boss for a day to enjoy the good food she has cooked for him.

This ad has generated an uproar on social media since
a) It challenges the society defined gender specific roles where males have always had an upper hand in a relationship . The status quo is challenged as a female is shown to be the boss of her husband.
b) The female is stereotyped to her role in the kitchen even though she is putting the same amount of effort as her husband.

Coming back to the nuances of the contemporary relationship between a man and woman in an Indian society, we are yet to define the space for a modern woman. For long has our traditional society feared that the independent woman is a danger to its existence. The society , state and the man must realize the following:
=>A modern woman is not a) Follower of a man b) Is not limited to a kitchen c) In no way dependent on a family d)Ready to take risks which define her (even if they are against wishes of a family)
=>A modern man must a)put effort into his relationship with a woman as his equal b) accept that he doesn't not need to always lead a woman c)Think about the career growth of the woman.

Equality for women is misnomer term used in India. In practice, the equality is squashed when conflict of interest/clash arises. To sight some examples would be
a) Decisions which help a male gain career advantage over a woman(i.e moving from one geographical location to another)
b) Not seeking promotions/challenging roles so that she earns more than her husband
c) Quitting her career for family oriented roles/responsibilities

We are on the path of gender wars where each gender tries to eye the other suspiciously. The mutual co-existence that was shared is en route to chaos as the society refuses to come up with a framework to replace the gender bias in roles. Its challenging indeed. Given that our history is purely illustrative and tarnished with the absence of super heroines, the challenge remains to find the guiding lights within the chaos to provide an escape to the growing frustration in our modern women. I have got a flurry of thoughts on how to achieve that but as I watch the ad repeatedly, I wonder "Did the assignment get completed?".

The Proverbial "Sir"

"But Sir, this is not what I meant. I knew about this a long time ago", said my one female friend to the other in a state of animated banter. Now, this "Sir" reference caused me to go in a state of shock. How on earth could she refer to the other maiden as "Sir" ? I quickly ran a mental check and a dictionary one as well. Yep, a female in any form should be a 'Madam'. I was relieved.

However, the incident left its mark.It left me introspecting whether  all the gold old days of the "Madam" are dead or Indian women's new found feminism finally evolved imitating a man's world in practice and speech.Rubbish! Ah, but such is the nature of the human mind. It removes the specifics and deals with the obsoletes. There was no escaping this chain of thoughts.

Much like many things in India, English is a gift of the British Raj and its salutations have often been used (most of the time abused) by ordinary Indians in their haste to identify themselves different from the crowd. Now, not only is the "Sir" an honorary reference to a man but also an honor to be prefixed before your name when the British Govt. knighted you. You see there is so much pride attached when someone calls you Sir Alec or Sir Ian. One of my favorite British TV series "Yes Minister", made delicate use to this reference often in a very hilarious way.

However, coming back to the Indian scene, we are calling every Tom, Dick and Harry a "Sir". My colleague often ends up getting called a Sir and so do I and so does the bus conductor in a local bus."Sir, a ticket to Shanthi Nagar" I chime every time to get my ticket. My conductor bursts into that ego satisfying smile which I cannot explain in words! However, I get my ticket and merry I go. But then Mumbai is a city where you see a certain salutation change. The "Sir" gets replaced by a "Boss". So, everybody is a "Boss" and well a lady saying to another lady as "Boss" isn't much to write about either. Smart Mumbaites !

Pune is a city where I found there was no salutation needed. As a matter of fact, it will be an affront to a Puneite to be referred as a "Sir". He would wash it off with the same disgust you flush your toilet. No need of any salutations, we understand your game is the nature. Talk straight.Sigh! Down south are the jovial guys whose dictionary of English term probably deserves another blog ! I will do justice to that some day. Until then, thank you for reading my mumblings "Sir"! Wait..did I go wrong somewhere ;)