Every year, when International Women’s Day draws near, discussions around women-related issues pick up steam. Even otherwise, such talks and debates abound, especially after some unfortunate incident involving a woman comes to light.
In recent times, a topic which has found favour among people for heavy discussions is motherhood, with different opinions being voiced on it, both for and against. The career woman camp wants parental responsibilities to be shared equally by both the partners. Whereas the other camp is of the opinion that a mother’s true place is at home, to take care of the family.
For the career woman herself, balancing motherhood and career is not easy at all, and involves lots of sacrifices along the way, often at the cost of her own success and happiness. Sadly, there are instances when, even after taking on the challenges and working like a double engine, and completing all the tasks successfully, she is still denied a big position or role at her workplace.
On the occasion of International Women’s Day, we, at Indian Masterminds, asked few women civil servants whether becoming a mother is an obstacle for women pursuing careers.
IT IS A BEAUTIFUL BLESSING
IAS officer of Bihar cadre, Ms. Abhilasha Sharma, who recently became a mother, said: “Motherhood is bliss. I don’t think it is an obstacle in a women’s career. Yes, it can be challenging but not a roadblock. Women may face such people who believe family and kid won’t allow them to give their cent per cent, but women have shattered all such myths.”
THE RULES ARE DIFFERENT FOR MEN
If a woman has a successful career and has less time to devote to her family, then she is judged. The rules are different for men. They are given extra respect for doing well on the work front even when they have no time for family or kids.
Highlighting this, IRS officer, Ms. Aman Preet said, “Still, working women are expected to be good wives and mothers, irrespective of her professional status or skills. A woman who is successful at work but has scarcity of time to devote to her children or home is not looked upon highly. Significant personal and social adjustments are required to cope with such a situation. Maternity leave provisions need to be strengthened for working women to smoothly complete the transition from pregnancy to motherhood. Family support and childcare services are indeed need of the hour.”
START BY RECOGNISING EFFORTS OF THE MOTHER
Ms. Durga Shakti Nagpal, who became a mother of second child just few months back and also wrote a book titled Grow Your Baby, Not Your Weight, has a unique take on the issue. She said, “When I was pregnant and after I delivered, I felt like a powerhouse. I have two daughters, one who is six years old and the other one is an infant. After they came into the world, I started believing that I am able to do so many things together. Becoming a mother makes you strong, and if you’re strong, then nothing is impossible for you.”
She also mentions that it is important to enable the mothers, especially those with some passions, and, we, as a society should start by acknowledging and recognising the things a mother does. “Nature has given us the most perfect gift. We should cherish it and continue our work with conviction. Chase our dreams and follow our path.”
SP of Lohardaga, Jharkhand, Ms. Priyanka Meena also has similar views. She said, “The basic survival of the world depends on the regeneration power of women. There will be a full stop on everything with no reproduction. We need to accept that women play an important role and for that they do need care and extra support for some period. However, some employers see them as liability, which is entirely wrong. While there is a lot of provision for women during pregnancy and for childcare, but in practicality, there is a lot of hesitancy in providing that support. This should be changed.”
WOMEN HAVE ALREADY PROVED THEMSELEVES
District Collector of Mandla, Madhya Pradesh, Ms. Harshika Singh said, “Even in bureaucracy, there are a lot of female secretary and chief secretary level officers in states. They all have a complete family and climbed up the entire ladder to reach there. So, I don’t think motherhood create any kind of gap or is a disadvantage for ambitious women.”
All these officers unanimously agreed on one thing: true empowerment will come only when women are not denied any opportunity due to certain stereotype views and gender discrimination, and they are able to take their own decisions and, also, be part of others’ decisions, too!
