Indian Working Women at Cross-roads
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Page: 345-350
Ruchi Dubey Chaturvedi (Department of Psychology, Jai Hind College (Autonomous), Mumbai, Maharashtra)
Description
Page: 345-350
Ruchi Dubey Chaturvedi (Department of Psychology, Jai Hind College (Autonomous), Mumbai, Maharashtra)
The study was undertaken in the Indian context to investigate the factors that facilitate making women influential, effective, and efficient leaders while pursuing careers in male-dominated professions. Three participants who fulfilled these criteria were selected from three different work fields: corporate organization, government organization, and personal business. They were in middle adulthood with an age range from 48 years to 59 years and lived in a nuclear family set-up in the urban city of Mumbai. They were married for a minimum of 25 years and had children. The semi-structured open-ended interview schedule was used to gather information. Thematic analysis was carried out on their responses. The participants encountered many hurdles in the early phase of their careers as they pursued unconventional careers and outperformed their male counterparts. Indian society has a low tolerance for this. Once they were married and had children, they had to fulfill expectations arising out of the multiple roles and had to master the skill of balancing house and work commitments. As their status and earnings rose, they were targeted by their spouses and in-laws with criticism, ridicule, and mockery. In the initial phase, they experienced fear of success and used to downplay their achievements. The egalitarian values, drive for autonomy, motive to achieve, need to emerge as leaders, and need to establish healthy relationships, were built in by their authoritative parents. They exhibited resilience, hard work, and perseverance to overcome hurdles. Their democratic and participative leadership style ensured that people rose in support of them. Further, their high need for achievement was manifested in the unique ways they handled their day-to-day life events, always hunting for novel solutions to problems. All three women leaders considered their careers to be inherently challenging, intrinsically motivating, and forming a very important part of their lives. Women can succeed and emerge as leaders in any profession as their feminine traits are an asset. A higher emotional quotient relative to men is an additional bonus. Throughout their journey towards success, they received unflinching family support. The battle to establish gender equality is an ongoing process as household responsibilities still rest with women.