It's that day of the year again, when Women around the world are celebrated or should I say a day chosen just so Women stop and appreciate all that they have contributed to Planet Earth - International Women's Day.
Over the decades Women have been seen more and more in the forefront in every field thinkable. I indeed believe that we as Women are wired to multitask and juggle between caring for a family and pushing ahead in the workforce. I would like to think of us Women as "Super Women". I mean lets face it, whether you work with the creme-de la-creme in the political arena or in a small organization in a small town, it is upon our tiny shoulders to maintain sanity at home and ease the stress at work.
For Women living abroad it dawned upon me the challenge is bigger. If you are from India like I am, you are all too familiar with the culture where almost everyone can afford to hire domestic help, which eases the chores to juggle. When I landed on foreign soil, after having lived in the comfort of my parents home with almost nothing to do except for getting myself to work every morning, reality hit hard. It dawned upon me, that I was now the maid, the cook and everything else in between and I had my own career goals to reach too.
Across cultural and ethnic communities around the world,Women constantly face the big "Balance Challenge". Not only do they have to fight their way up the ladder in a corporate race dominated by testosterone, they are also faced with constant criticism about whether Women can do equal justice to both roles as a nurturer and a bread winner.
This subject got into the headlines recently around the eve of International Women's Day. It was about different statements made by two of the most talked about Women in all of USA, apart from the first lady Michelle Obama - who of course was in the news for her excessive media appearances and those infamous bangs. Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo and Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook. While one was being criticized for her company wide policy changes to end the convenience of "work from home", the later was criticized for her latest book "Lean In" - where she lashes out against society who call a woman bossy if she is outgoing and driven instead of praising her as a leader.
Talking of the Yahoo policy, which was largely taken advantage of by Women in the workforce looking to score gold on that "Balance Challenge" - the CEO herself a working mother who hit the headlines after she announced she was pregnant when she took on the job and got straight back at her desk in 4 months time, she faced stark criticism. The jitters of this Work-from-home policy were felt across the country, as Women began to fear the day when their company would adapt a similar policy. Her justification to all of it - she felt telecommuting took away from a major chunk of productivity and by bringing her employees to office each day would improve the same.
Sheryl Sandberg on the other hand asks Women to "Lean in" - in her new book. Her book released last week, was the hot topic of discussion from the news desk to water-cooler talk across the country. She says that through this book she aims to arm Women with the right tools and guidance to climb that wobbly corporate ladder. She has even set up a non-profit organization called LeanIn.org to which all her book proceeds will be channeled, with an aim to get those (14 percent of executive officers, 18 percent of elected congressional officials and 22 of 197 heads of state) numbers growing.
All this being said, I wonder how much of our success depends on our support system at home - truth being a fairly large chunk. Men being the traditional bread winners for decades, have never faced the same. Be it the days when they left their family behind to fight the enemy or today when they jet-set for business trips, the woman is left behind to juggle it all.
I sign off by saying that a strong upbringing, family support and most of all a supportive life-partner are the key essentials to Women like you and me achieving success in all that we do.
Remember we are the best managers and CEO's of our lives, our successful careers are an affirmation that we indeed are wired to succeed in all of the multiple roles life throws at us.
Cheers to Women empowerment!
Ciao...
Over the decades Women have been seen more and more in the forefront in every field thinkable. I indeed believe that we as Women are wired to multitask and juggle between caring for a family and pushing ahead in the workforce. I would like to think of us Women as "Super Women". I mean lets face it, whether you work with the creme-de la-creme in the political arena or in a small organization in a small town, it is upon our tiny shoulders to maintain sanity at home and ease the stress at work.
For Women living abroad it dawned upon me the challenge is bigger. If you are from India like I am, you are all too familiar with the culture where almost everyone can afford to hire domestic help, which eases the chores to juggle. When I landed on foreign soil, after having lived in the comfort of my parents home with almost nothing to do except for getting myself to work every morning, reality hit hard. It dawned upon me, that I was now the maid, the cook and everything else in between and I had my own career goals to reach too.
Across cultural and ethnic communities around the world,Women constantly face the big "Balance Challenge". Not only do they have to fight their way up the ladder in a corporate race dominated by testosterone, they are also faced with constant criticism about whether Women can do equal justice to both roles as a nurturer and a bread winner.
This subject got into the headlines recently around the eve of International Women's Day. It was about different statements made by two of the most talked about Women in all of USA, apart from the first lady Michelle Obama - who of course was in the news for her excessive media appearances and those infamous bangs. Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo and Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook. While one was being criticized for her company wide policy changes to end the convenience of "work from home", the later was criticized for her latest book "Lean In" - where she lashes out against society who call a woman bossy if she is outgoing and driven instead of praising her as a leader.
Talking of the Yahoo policy, which was largely taken advantage of by Women in the workforce looking to score gold on that "Balance Challenge" - the CEO herself a working mother who hit the headlines after she announced she was pregnant when she took on the job and got straight back at her desk in 4 months time, she faced stark criticism. The jitters of this Work-from-home policy were felt across the country, as Women began to fear the day when their company would adapt a similar policy. Her justification to all of it - she felt telecommuting took away from a major chunk of productivity and by bringing her employees to office each day would improve the same.
Sheryl Sandberg on the other hand asks Women to "Lean in" - in her new book. Her book released last week, was the hot topic of discussion from the news desk to water-cooler talk across the country. She says that through this book she aims to arm Women with the right tools and guidance to climb that wobbly corporate ladder. She has even set up a non-profit organization called LeanIn.org to which all her book proceeds will be channeled, with an aim to get those (14 percent of executive officers, 18 percent of elected congressional officials and 22 of 197 heads of state) numbers growing.
All this being said, I wonder how much of our success depends on our support system at home - truth being a fairly large chunk. Men being the traditional bread winners for decades, have never faced the same. Be it the days when they left their family behind to fight the enemy or today when they jet-set for business trips, the woman is left behind to juggle it all.
I sign off by saying that a strong upbringing, family support and most of all a supportive life-partner are the key essentials to Women like you and me achieving success in all that we do.
Remember we are the best managers and CEO's of our lives, our successful careers are an affirmation that we indeed are wired to succeed in all of the multiple roles life throws at us.
Cheers to Women empowerment!
Ciao...
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