Be a conscious ally to the women in your life

Little did I know that I would get the chance to do something that would bring value to so many lives. It was a similar situation to Charlie in the Chocolate factory. Except that Charlie was now a woman, me and the Chocolate factory…you would get to know soon enough.

At first, I did not realise how deep the subject was. When I joined Interweave, I was given the opportunity to attend diversity and inclusion trainings, and it was simply WOW.

The more I realised the depth and how Interweave deeply impacted society represented across organisations, I found joy working in the space of diversity and inclusion, my chocolate factory.

Take for instance the case of Joyce or Radha, the mother of two kids. These are not unusual instances, unfortunately the reality of women’s lives – their disappointments which they experienced as women, perhaps even leading them to put their careers on the backburner.

Joyce had been working with XYZ organization for five years. Being away on maternity leave, meant she was at a disadvantaged position. She, obviously wasn’t in touch with her team and missed out on meetings. When she returned to work everything seemed to have changed – the technical space had a lot of developments and she seemed to be drowning in the ocean of it with water entering her lungs and she panicking at her impending doom.

Being the mother of two kids, she strived to be there for her children, especially at the most important moments, yet it did seem like a herculean task. Post raising this issue with her manager, she decided to opt for flexible work options, which seemed to have made sense at that time.

After about two months, she realised that she missed out on some of the crucial meetings, and ended up doing mostly rote work. A team mate had said – “Oh, you mothers have it so easy, be a stay at home mother most of the time doing the easy stuff, while others slog day in and day out.”

The disappointment which she experienced was heart wrenching to say the least. How many of us could relate to this? Everyday experiences such as these are reasons for women to feel guilty about being an aspiring professional. It can slowly degrade a women’s confidence and lead to the leaky pipeline. It’s obvious why there are so few women leaders at the top today, yet I believe that things are slowly changing for women because people are more sensitive and aware that ignoring 50% of the population is not the way to go about doing business. The World Economic Forum says that it would take 117 years to close the global gender gap. Unless, both genders are actively supporting each other, this would be a journey far, far away.

Let’s start supporting women, even if we have to force numbers as a target towards our hiring efforts. Gender equality requires consistent and conscious efforts. If you are someone who wonders why women seem to be getting all the benefits, let me tell you – as a historically disadvantaged group, it is only recently that women are stepping out of their comfort zones and aspiring to shatter the glass ceiling, fix the leaky pipeline, and lead people even in the presence of the glass cliff.

For ages, men have been the gatekeepers at work, and can empower women by being powerful allies to them. How? by mentoring and sponsoring women and helping them reach their full potential. Also, men benefit as well because the norms of having to be strong all the time, the sole breadwinner of the family, or having to choke up their emotional side is slowly changing for the better, even though it is work in progress.

I believe in an India where men and women have a dream, the opportunities to realise it, and the support systems to make it a reality. It is this kind of important work, we do at Interweave enabling all of us to be better.

We’re definitely headed there!

Flying Lessons – Interweave’s women-only leadership developmental program invites organizations to invest in their emerging women leaders. A curriculum customized to support high-potential leaders at multiple levels to augment their professional growth, and gender equity in the workplace. Get in touch to design your organization’s journey towards an inclusive workplace.

Sandra Sebastian