“I THOUGHT there would be a man!” The casual remark of a 14-year-old came not as a shock, but as a rude reminder of the fact that even in the 21st century, we expect every important position to be held by men. My contention is: Why has there got to be a man in every important position. Why can’t a woman head an organization or for that matter, anything worth mentioning?
I believe it is all in our minds. We expect men to do all the important things in life and the women to sit at home and look after children and do the cooking, washing and cleaning (though that, too, is no less important). If a woman strives to achieve something, such as a career, all sorts of obstacles are thrown in her way. Sometimes, traditions and moral values are given as excuses: “No other girl in the family has ever worked” or “It is not customary for girls in our family to work”, etc. At other times, it is the family honour that is at stake and the fear that society would look down on the girl. And then there is the assumption that household work will suffer.
Though trends have started to change and more and more women are picking up careers and working alongside men, deep down our mentality has not changed. Women are mostly encouraged to join teaching or the medical profession. Those who opt for other options are mostly offered low-profile positions at offices, such as stenos, secretaries or assistants. At best, they get some respectable positions in banks and advertising agencies.
One would hardly hear of a woman executive director or a general manager. If there is one, she is looked upon as if she is from another planet. Men often feel uneasy dealing with women in higher position or working under them as their subordinates. They prefer women to be in a position where they can take dictation rather than talk on equal terms, let alone tell them what has to be done. Working women have often complained of biased bosses who withhold their promotions and give the chance to a male worker who is often not even at par in experience and seniority. The excuse is mostly the same — women cannot work under pressure or take the stress required in top slots.
This conservative thinking is so ingrained in our setup that even teenagers expect to find a man in the chair of an executive, and when they come face to face with a woman there, they are often left surprised. It is surprising that though, with the increasing number of working women, a large number of kids must have working mothers, they are still not accustomed to seeing women in important positions. Is it due to the fact that despite being educated and working, women are not given due importance in the household?
We know that in our society, men (father/husband) take most of the important decisions and women have a secondary position in the home. The kids form their impression of men being in command from their homes, from what they see and experience at home. So often they have seen the father overruling the mother’s decision, and the mother agreeing to everything he says. The father even decides what subjects the children ought to study and what careers they should pursue. They have often been told by the mother to go and seek permission for a school outing, etc, from the father. They have seen preference being given to male children over female siblings. All these things definitely contribute to affecting children’s thinking.
Add to this the role played by our media. We seldom see a woman in a commanding position in our plays. In 95 per cent of office setups, the boss is a man; women are working under him, tolerating his tirades and uncalled-for outbursts from time to time, or suffering lecherous advances if she is young and pretty. Women are mostly shown as subdued and submissive, taking orders and trying to please the men around her.
It’s time to realize that women are not mere objects, to be treated as dumb housewives with no say in any matter; or showpieces on display. They are intelligent, thinking human beings who can do anything if given proper opportunity and environment. They can work as doctors, engineers, head large business concerns, as well as run industries. We have to break the old myths that women can’t do anything, so that the coming generations do not get the wrong message and feel surprised at the sight of a young woman in an important and commanding position.
“I THOUGHT there would be a man!” The casual remark of a 14-year-old came not as a shock, but as a rude reminder of the fact that even in the 21st century, we expect every important position to be held by men. My contention is: Why has there got to be a man in every important position. Why can’t a woman head an organization or for that matter, anything worth mentioning?
