Dilemmas of working women in India

Women in India have come a long way! From just a skilled homemaker women today have acquired skills and capabilities of not just being a homemaker but being at par with their male counterparts. This is the new generation of women, who wants to pursue their dream career. But this life is not a bed of roses for all.

“The most glaring dilemma for me is the time factor. I am a media professional and at times I come home by midnight. My parents are not happy with the fact that I have chosen this field and I do not have a fixed office hour. And then your biological clock is ticking away, so there is another pressure of finding the right match and settling down”, says a journalist.

More conflict arises with the working mother. One has to fulfil the demand at work followed by various demands at home. In today’s scenario the husband and wife both work towards creating a balance with their work life as well as at home with their children. But it is still difficult for women as she has to play multiple roles of a cook, a family maid, a tutor, a nurse as well as cater to the demands of office work. This can leave a working woman stressed and anxious; more so if the family is not supportive. “My office is quite far from my home. By the time I get home my husband takes care of my children’s studies and sometimes also prepares food. He gets time as his office is nearby and he reaches home early. If it was not for his support I would have left my job long time back”, says a working professional.

“With equal pay comes equal responsibilities”, says a training professional and a counsellor. “There are a lot of dilemmas that a working woman has to go through. Glass ceiling effect- asking personal questions during an interview about family and marriage, biases for promotions, sexual harassment, lack of flexible working hours, lack of women mentors and bosses in organizations are just to name a few. And even at home a woman has to look after the child no matter how supportive her family or husband is. It is the woman who is blamed if the child does not perform well in school. A working mother is also always eager to get back home as soon as possible- so there are problems of late sittings in office. There is always a guilt factor as it is tough for women to pursue their career dreams. Sometimes women do take the advantage of being the fairer sex and want equal pay; don’t want late sittings because of family problems but then they should also not crib about not getting promoted fast enough. You need to compromise somewhere”, she advices.

Amongst all this it is also extremely important for the woman to take care of her health as she is more susceptible to illness due to stress and age factors. It is not a rosy picture but it is not that bad a scenario. Despite all the dilemmas and challenges women still find a way to pursue their dreams and dual working couples enjoy their chosen lifestyle.

- Ekta Bhatnagar (views expressed in the article are that of the author)