LifeStyle of Working Wo‘men’
‘She’ wakes up before the morning walkers of the locality; she can cook Italian to Chinese, North Indian to South Indian cuisine. She manages to attend the meeting with a business suit and a family wedding with a beautiful traditional saree and gajra on her hair. We all know ‘her’, the woman of the family who converts a ‘house’ into ‘home’ and yet does not let her professional career discontinue.
Women are the backbone of every society. Today, the working and social scenario out there is far different from what it used to be some 25–30 years ago, Advances in technology, evolving work opportunities, and the role of family for women in India have changed her contribution to the business environment of the 21st century. The financial demands and expectations for Indian families are rising day by day. Higher cost of living, increasing expenses on the education of children, increasing cost of housing properties in India force every family member to look for ways and means of increasing household income.
Due to this, the representation of women in the labor force has been consistently increasing over time, but at the same time, the expectations of the society from a woman as a prescribed gender role remains the same, as it used to be a few decades back. As per the statistics, globally, in 2019, less than half(47.7%) of all women participated in the labor force, a decrease from 50.9% in the year 1990. Nearly three in four men(74.7%) participated in the labor force, down from 80.2% in 1990. Usually, structural barriers and cultural restrictions are the two major factors that contribute to this gender gap. Therefore, women who are determined to have a work-life are doubly jeopardized. Whether to be conventional to the gender role and be a favorite daughter-in-law or to be ambitious and work for that promotion, is the kind of conflict working women face every day. Though working women handle their professional life challenges at the workplace, personal life of managing household work; handling children, family, cooking, social responsibilities are still considered as the duty of a woman only. Due to such multitasking efforts of women, increased stress becomes a by-product for her.
In a study by Colbeck University, it was found that working women get very less personal time and space. Insomnia and depression are the two major health issues that come as a package for a working woman. Waking up early, ignoring her health issues, and get all the stuff ready for children and her husband is a big practical challenge. Women in joint families have another level of responsibility and stress to be managed. Many of us have would have seen working women in their holidays stressing about their old in-laws and parents, polishing fingernails while taking urgent office calls, and calling parents during the lunch hours of the office. Being sandwiched between the office and home liabilities they get no time for self care, forget about leisure. They are unable to share their feelings with anyone because they feel that no one will or wants to understand them. Years pass by, but they rarely get a moment to enjoy with no stress. In this hassle, she gets restless. Women try to increase the working power in their lives which slowly leads to insufficient
sleep or lack of sleep. They gradually start feeling frustrated, helpless and sometimes feel isolated by society. Under this kind of psychological pressure, they are left with only two options: either to give up the job or to accept depression as a part of their working life. Despite executing all the challenges efficiently, men are still considered as the primary breadwinner and only decision makers of the family.
Balancing personal and professional space
Jim Bird, CEO of worklifebalance.com, had once mentioned, work-life balance does not mean equal balance between professional and personal life. But, it is a careful synchronization of an individual’s varied pursuits that may include family, work, leisure, social obligations, health career, and spirituality. While some of the pursuits need greater attention, others may require lesser focus. Striking a fine balance by prioritizing these human quests will result in work-life balance.
While working women can successfully manage, accommodate and adjust to the situation, most of them suffer from guilt also. Indra Nooyi (CEO of Pepsico) had once mentioned in a forum, “We pretend to have it all. We pretend to have it all”. What most of us forget is, no one can be perfect in all the roles they are playing. If one desires to be a perfect mother, she needs to let go of her dream of growing high on the ladder of office. We all have limitations, right? The guilt will only impact our mental health and make us less productive. We need to let go of optional roles in life. Now, which role is ‘Optional’ needs to be identified individually. The same rule will not fit all. There is nothing wrong with choosing a career and being ambitious, also there is nothing wrong with prioritizing the family over the work either. Therefore, all women need to do is letting go of the fear and guilt. A woman should stop dreaming of being a ‘Superwoman’ and take life as it comes calmly.’. It is said, ’All women are working women, only a few get paid’.
The practice and culture of delegating the work equally among all the family members at home is the need of an hour, whether a woman of the house is working outside or not. Lastly, why do discuss, write, read, research so much about ‘working women’ and not ‘working men’?! ‘Working men’ are supposed to be working only outside the house but ‘working women’ are supposed to be working outside and inside the house and most of the times seven days a week. Maybe something needs to be strongly changed at the core, in the way we bring up our sons and daughters. A daughter born in a family should be celebrated, not just the other way round. Sons need to be taught to cook and do household chores from an early age, as we do it for daughters. They must respect females of all age groups, be it in the form of grandmother, mother, sisters, wife, daughters, school/college mates, in-laws or colleagues at work, and not just in the form of ‘Lakshmi’, ‘Saraswathi’ and ‘Durga’. They need to be made aware at an early age that having a life partner is not the ticket to freedom from household chores and responsibilities. Daughters need to be taught, that it is okay if you cannot manage both houses and work equally well. It is not only her
duty to look after the kitchen and children. Boys are not superior just because they are ‘boys’ and girls are not to be made feel inferior just because they are ‘girls’. In a family, both need to be equally responsible for all the good and all the not so good happenings. This kind of upbringing for the next few generations by everybody in the society may probably change the scenarios for a working woman.
References:
1. Ms.Shivi Mittal(2015), “Challenges faced by working women at workplace, family and society -its major issues, impact and remedial measures”, International Journal of Research in Social Sciences And Humanities, ISSN: 2249–4642.
2. Varsha Kumari(2014), “Problems and challenges faced by urban working women in India”, A Dissertation Submitted to the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences.
3. Dr. Kamini B. Dashora(2013), “Problems Faced By Working Women In India”, International Journal of Advanced Research in Management and Social Sciences, ISSN: 2278–6236.
4. Shobha Sundaresan (2014), “Work-life balance — implications for working women”, Ontario International Development Agency International Journal of Sustainable Development, Canada, ISSN 1923–6654 (print) ISSN 1923–6662 (online).
6.https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Women_in_India&gettingStartedReturn=t rue#cite _note-8
7. https://www.catalyst.org/research/women-in-the-workforce-global/
8. www.catalyst.org › research › women-in-the-workforce-India
9. http://www.proud2bindian.com/society/challenges-faced-by-working-women-in-india/
WRITTEN BY,
Dr. Shanta Rangaswamy & Vedavathy Sitara
Members of Aspire For Her
