Awarded the
“Rodinstar” Post
of the week!!
I recently was invited to speak on Women in Technology….to give my perspective. While thinking what to talk, i suddenly got lost. As i never have looked at business or technology from a gender perspective. I looked around and figured out that basically i was of a different breed & thus lets share some of my genetic make up. I put together few things on being a Woman.
From Day 1 we need to believe in ourselves. I was let down saying i won’t be able to do engineering after receiving a mediocre mark sheet in 12th. I proved everyone wrong…i was among only three people in my class who cleared the first year without a KT…and believe me it was an achievement in college. I traveled 2 hours each day to make it college. I believed in myself & stood for myself
Women develop cold feet a lot quicker then men. Just be brave and make the kill. I was awarded internship in my post graduation course on marketing @ Phil Corporation [the guys who sell Konica films]. I was told to work with their distributor. I landed at the distributor’s address, only to be shocked. The distributor had his set up on Andheri link road, in one of the huts that line road, a chicken shop on its left, a tadi madi kendra on the right. I stood across the road and figured out what to do. I finally went for it & have never turned back since. & the rest is more than a decade old histroy
The gender bias exists in our mind. We need to get rid of it from within before asking others around. I’m not shy of being a woman and i practice that very strongly. If a woman steps into a kirana store and would ask for sanitary napkins, the shop keeper would go in the corner, pick it and wrap it in a newspaper and deliver. I haven’t accepted such packets till date. I can carry my packet as it is without hiding it & walk the road. Women need to kill the gender bias herself first!
After a lot of conferences i seldom see women hanging around and network. We need not feel shy to stay back late, yes we need to be secure. Women also shy away from one – to – one dinners with people in industry. Why can’t we just go out for some catch up with like minded people. Its okay to be seen dining with other men. Lets not think would people around will think. Mean business.
For a woman to reach the top, she would any day make more sacrifices then men. Thus, look within and think why are doing what you are doing. And once sure, don’t look back. Go for it, if you know from within !