Some of the suggested strategies include making thoughtful trade-offs between career choices and family responsibilities to avoid the guilt of not spending adequate time with elders and children at home; resisting the pressure to be a 'superwoman' by trying to manage everything alone; demanding, negotiating, and selecting jobs with flexible working hours; exploring work-from-home options; choosing an appropriate time for a career break; upskilling to re-enter the workforce after a break; and communicating openly with family members -- including spouse and in-laws -- about the support needed to grow professionally and the challenges faced at work, highlights N Ravichandran.
Saundarya Rajesh's book Conversations with the Career Doctor: Women Thriving and Winning at Work explores the challenges women face in realising their full potential in their careers and professional life.
With 26 chapters, each very anecdotal, this is a well-researched, lucidly written, book that covers with an Indian perspective different aspects like work opportunities, women's careers and profession choices, aspirations, potential, limitations and reality.
Separate chapters on microaggression and how women should manage their money, and the challenges to be dealt with in leadership positions by women compliment the main discussion.
The context of the book is set in the workforce bias that is prevalent in India.
This book can be considered as a motivation to harness women power to contribute to the growth of the nation and the wealth creation process.
The book identifies the compulsions of women in advancing their careers/profession like care for the elders (usually, in-laws, occasionally parents) maternity, childcare, emotional and physical support to the family, and a range of household responsibilities including children's education.
Some of the suggested strategies include making thoughtful trade-offs between career choices and family responsibilities to avoid the guilt of not spending adequate time with elders and children at home; resisting the pressure to be a 'superwoman' by trying to manage everything alone; demanding, negotiating, and selecting jobs with flexible working hours; exploring work-from-home options; choosing an appropriate time for a career break; upskilling to re-enter the workforce after a break; and communicating openly with family members -- including spouse and in-laws -- about the support needed to grow professionally and the challenges faced at work.
The book also emphasises the importance to maintain open communication with workplace peers, seek support from superiors as needed, and establish a reliable support system at home.
The book is full of illustrative examples; real life experiences related to challenges faced by working women.
The book complements the discussion by providing a roadmap on how each of these challenges can be addressed/managed.
This is where the author transforms herself from a career doctor to a career healer.
The efficiency of the roadmaps is not clear. But suggestions certainly provide a framework or reference, useful tips and a starting point in managing challenges in women's career.
The author herself is a very successful/impactful entrepreneur. And hence her insights, which are provided in this book, are based on ground reality, valuable, pragmatic, and relevant.
In summary, this is an insightful and valuable contribution related to women's careers.
A few reflections on the content and context of the book are provided below.
The central message of the book is focussed on women who are educated, live in urban areas, who have been nurtured and encouraged by parents in helping them to access high quality education opportunities and hence adopt a career of their choice.
In such families, usually marriage is prioritised in the context of career options.
In contrast, marriage takes precedence for women at least in the Indian context, in semi-urban and rural areas.
The women work force segment addressed in this book is small.
There is really no discussion about women who seek work from several geographies with modest education.
They, however, do not seek a career. What these women seek and aspire for is access to work to become financially independent.
There are several challenges related to work for them; this book is not aimed to address them.
For every working woman, the support system would need another person, either a relative or a hired help.
Such employees work in an environment of uncertainty, poor pay, lack of medical facility, insurance and provident fund savings and other work-related benefits.
They are collectively referred to as workers in the unorganised sector.
Their work is important and is the foundation on which the career woman flourish. But the larger question is how the aspirations of the support system members can be addressed and nurtured.
Indian civilisation, like many others, historically embraced a division of labour and responsibilities between men and women both in joint or nuclear family structures.
Women typically contributed in less visible but essential ways within the domestic sphere while men engaged with the external work environment making their contributions more publicly evident.
The dignity, respect, acknowledgment and acceptance of women in these families was high.
However, this traditional model is increasingly being re-evaluated in light of contemporary societal shifts.
The changes in societal norms, attitude and emphasis of individuality, desire to create independent and more wealth, need to express aspirations, access to talent and professional qualifications, and exploring aspirations have created a space for women to realise their full potential and adopt individual and meaningful careers of their choice.
Dramatic advances in technology and rapid spread of consumerism, equal opportunity advocacy all contributed to this welcoming trend of more women inclusion in work and professional space.
While a small percentage of women are able to make informed career choices, many others enter the workforce -- in paid and unpaid roles under less optimal circumstances.
Achieving a context in which men and women, regardless of geographic location, have equitable access to career opportunities based on their abilities, skills, and attitudes would require transformational changes in society.
Equal access to education, health care, breaking stereotypes, respect for women are the enablers by which this can be accomplished.
Also, technology and automation may reduce or eliminate the burden of basic and routine domestic tasks like housekeeping.
On the other hand, professionalism in elderly care, child care, assisted living, community kitchen, collective education opportunities can alleviate the workload allowing women to attend to tasks they deem important.
Enhanced access to mental health and career counselling opportunities and creation of collective social security systems may support more women to participate in the workforce.
In this context, the book not only addresses the challenges of a segment of woman force, but sensitises us to reflect on how women in general can be empowered financially, professionally and socially.
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff
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