TIME TO ORANGE THE WORLD !

The colour Orange is associated with life, joy, warmth , happiness  ,sunshine etc. Historically orange has been used to portray these qualities as well as in spirituality and well being.  Last month, UNESCO launched a campaign named “Orange the World” on Nov 25^th, the International Day of Elimination of Violence against Women. The color orange symbolizes a brighter future, free of violence. It also serves as a means of demonstrating our solidarity in eliminating all forms of violence and it is therefore used as the color of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Violence against women and girls is one of the most widespread, persistent and devastating human rights violations in our world today and is a threat to millions of girls and women online and offline. It affects women regardless of their age, background, or level of education. This violence takes many forms, including physical, sexual, or psychological violence, as well as economic abuse and exploitation.

Patriarchal notions and rampant sexualisation in media has led to a society which is still undermining the real capabilities of women. Of course we do have strong and highly successful women role models in all walks of life. Yet, they too fall victims to these traditional mind sets and notions at times.

I along with two other female academicians, Dr. Nimitha and Dr. Nidhi recently did a research study to understand some of the psychological aspects of social media users, especially in the context of the #MeToo Campaign. Sexual harassment is still an unbridled issue that every part of the world faces and this movement led to an awareness as well as instilled a fear of exposure for the perpetrators.  Though #metoo campaign started in 2006, it was on 24 October 2017, the #MeToo hashtag began trending on Twitter. African American women’s rights activists Tarana Burke’s attempt was backed by response from actress Alyssa Milano which then captured public and media attention. The hashtag was used 12 million times in the first 24 hours alone!

Our research was to find out some of the perceptions of the social media users about reading the #MeToo stories in their social media feeds. Some aspects of the results were indeed surprising and others were as predicted. For eg: A significant number of men felt that many of the stories that women came up were false stories against men. Interestingly both men and women did not feel sorry or disgust when they read these stories. Both men and women agree that women are prone to sexual harassment both at home as well as at workplace and they also felt that it takes courage to come openly about the sexual harassment incident.

However, the most important finding of the research is that people with an egalitarian gender role orientation were the ones who engaged in such stories than those with a traditional gender role orientation. Gender role orientation is independent of whether they are male or female or transgender.

Since the results are yet to be published in an academic journal, I am not divulging more information at this stage. The reason why I quoted this study is this: Even in the case of social media reaction to an incident of sexual harassment, gender role orientation plays such a significant role. This simply implies the significance of gender sensitisation and the right gender role orientation to all genders at the right time to combat the occurrence of sexual harassment in the coming years.

Are our educational system giving such a gender neutral environment and gender education? Are our organisations and workplaces providing gender sensitive ecosystem? Are our workplaces training the members on Prevention of sexual harassment or do they implement policies for providing necessary support to men and women who face such incidents? Of course, we have the POSH Act. But do we conduct the necessary interventions out of real interest or do we just do it because of compliance issues?

Well, let’s think about these and paint the world in Orange in the coming decade! After all, women are fifty percent of the world population. Imagine if we can colour them orange by making their world safer and violence free, we sure can make this world a better place for everyone.

As 2020 is almost here, my wish for the world is also this: ORANGE THE WORLD!

Wishing all my readers, an advanced Happy New Year! 

#CeeVee

December 2019

 Did you read my poetry collection? If not
, You can buy it here 

The proceeds of this book completely goes to the NGO which I run, Prayaana Labs , based in India. Prayaana works towards empowerment of Women in providing skill development and entrepreneurship trainings.

x

Start-up Salary Seed Fund: A New Model of Skill development and Start-up Support for India

I have been a keen observer of the skill development initiatives that both the central as well as the State Governments run in different names. It is interesting to note that many of these initiatives are run by different departments in different manners, each catering to different needs in different names. Well, as far as the outcomes are met, we can hope that these initiatives are on track. But, is it actually meeting the objectives? Have we reached a stage where we can confidently say that at least 80% of the students and young professionals are employable? Even today, every year we get to read the decreasing figures of employment and employability despite the fact that we vehemently promote entrepreneurship and skill development. 

Let me share my own experience of running multiple start-ups and having interviewed at least 5000 candidates in the past decade for several of my clients as an HR Consultant. Most of the time, I realise that it’s not lack of skills that leads to denial of job. It’s actually lack of “matching skills”. Many times, we get candidates who apply for a post without even understanding how they can fit into the role. Secondly, in the case of fresh graduates, one of the key issues is their lack of soft skills and the right technological skills. And thirdly, many times, the employers only need someone with a bare minimum skill sets and learn-ability instead of someone with high level of specialised knowledge. Many start-up founders who are my clients ask this : “Can you please help me find someone with right attitude? I will train them” or “I just need someone with a willingness to join my team. I can train them, give them exposure. But I am not in a position to pay high salary since I am a start-up running on shoestring budget”. I also know of various bootstrapped start-up founders who struggle to balance their resource crunch and their funds. Some deny opportunities to freshers because they think its a wastage of time to train them by paying salary just to see that they leave the company in a few months. 

Coming to the candidates side, most of the candidates are literally confused about which job to choose and despite having creative capabilities they end up choosing or waiting for that MNC job which is ultimately working on a process. Many candidates do not prefer working for a startup because there is no guarantee that they can continue in that job or because the startups cannot pay decent salary. 

So, on one side, we have a large pool of semi –skilled talent sitting idle at home because they didn’t get a job in an MNC and on the other side, we have a pool of Start-ups who are struggling to find the right resource at cheap rates with their limited funds. Why don’t we connect these two segments and remodel the “Skill India” initiative? 

One of the key costs for any start-up is paying salaries to the employees. If a start-up can get right employees who can work and if their salary (if not full, at least a portion) is met by the Skill India Mission, it’s a clear win-win situation. The current model of skilling via Training Service Providers who find out beneficiaries randomly from schools and colleges and then trying to place them as interns in some place for a week and then leaving them with a certificate is not benefiting anyone. Instead, if the same funds can be given to the Start-up as a “Start-up Salary Seed Fund” for hiring freshers as interns / employees for a few months, it leads to two things

1.      The start-up survives with the indirect funding

2.      The students get skilled with hands on experience of working in start-up which is equivalent to getting a long term skill development program 

So, my proposal is this: Every Start-up India approved Start-up who have not received funding from investors shall become an authorised Training Service Provider of NSDC and they get financial support from NSDC / Skill India for every fresher hiring they make. This fund shall be used for the stipend / training of the candidate and they shall be employed for some minimum period with the start-up. 

Of course, this is similar to the apprenticeship act through which technical candidates are employed by big industries. But in most of these big industries, the apprenticeship act is just one of their liabilities and neither the employer nor the employee gains much. In the case of start-ups, this promotes both skill development as well as enables start-ups to sustain longer because ultimately it’s the human resource that’s the most crucial resource in the case of a start-up. 

I am putting this up here in my blog as an open proposal. Wish the concerned officials take this cue and develop this model for implementation.

#CeeVee

Mind your mind

If you want to know the culture of a society, watch their behaviour when they are in a group.  Several researches has shown that individual behaviour and group behaviour vary a lot in various contexts. People tend to become less inhibited when in a group than individually. So, as a group they are willing to forget their values and follow the crowd. One of my recent research is to study the comments of various articles that come in social media especially in articles about women. Earlier I used to read the articles and skip the comments. Now what's more interesting (rather disgusting) is reading the hundreds of comments below them. Firstly, many of the articles/ news have utterly misogynistic titles.Secondly the comments that follow them are written by hundreds of people (mostly men) who comment in full vulgarity abusing or literally verbally sexualising the woman.  Well, one read through these articles and their comments show the blatant misogyny that exists in our society. A decade back these vulgar comments /objectification washappening only in TV / Advertising and that too in a subtle manner. Today it’s happening in our social media and hence very accessible to everyone including children. And as I said in the beginning, most people forget their true self and end up commenting vulgarly just because the others have done so.I remember, I came to know the "F" word probably during my college days but kids as young as 7/8 yrs have started using this casually these days.And by the time they are teenagers, it becomes a norm. Well, it’s not just the "F" word but our kids are unfortunately exposed to really bad words in all languages and perverted vocabulary that's extremely common in social media.I don't think any parental control software or technology can prevent this pollution of mind.  Why kids, even adults are susceptible to this useless articles and their comment atrocities!We talk about environmental pollution, but are we aware of Mind Pollution? Are we aware that on a daily basis, we are in taking so much of scrap content that pollute our minds? Unfortunately, we end up sharing and getting addicted to these kinds of junk data even without our knowledge because, there are highly paid behavioural and linguistic experts thinking about how to get the audience “hooked” to the content.Now, how can we protect ourselves from this? Some people may suggest quitting from social media.But I wouldn’t recommend that since social media has various other benefits. But, what we could do are the following.

• Filter your Feeds – Subscribe to useful and positive content instead of junk content. Remember, 90 % of what comes in social media is junk which comes in the pretext of “valuable information”

• Declutter your subscription lists – We end up receiving hundreds of emails from unwanted sources just because we once visited their website. We have an option of unsubscribing. But we tend to forget the same.

• Never create / generate junk content – Every filthy comment or junk article that is generated by us adds to this pollution.

• Unfriend - Unfriend people who regularly comments vulgarly or uses sexist language on others posts. Remember, whom you associate with is your choice!

• Have a Social media detox time daily – Every day keep aside your mobile phones for at least one hour. You could find an interesting hobby or activity that you could do in that one hour.

• Meditate – Regular meditation helps in better stress management and overcoming the physical and mental discomforts of prolonged mobile usage

• Compensate - Compensate for mind pollution with nutrients ! Read more good books , be with nature . Interact with real people.

The aftermath of environment pollution is here already and in few years, we may be hit with the repercussions of Internet pollution unless we take immediate precautions. And as I mentioned in the beginning, the culture of a society is visible in every action of ours – be it offline or online.Just remember, what type of culture are you portraying or passing on to the next generation. Are we giving a positive and rich culture or a famished negative culture?

CeeVee 

Nov 2019

Why I like Modi and think that he is the best PM India can get at this point.

I know that there are several people in my list who hate Modi.  With due respect to them I am penning down my feelings towards our Prime Minister.  I didn't write this before election because it would be considered as election propaganda.  Now that the vast nation has chosen their leader I thought I will pen down my thoughts. 

I am now in my mid thirties and eversince I have been politically aware during my teenage,  I have got this fangirl feeling only towards two Prime Ministers - Rajiv Gandhi and Narendra Modi.  Rajiv gandhi was during my childhood and I became a fangirl because he was everything this nation needed at that time and handsome!  I had a poster of him in my room as well.  😃

In the past five years of Modi I realised how a leader with a vision can move the nation forward and put it in the global map with reverence.  I admire Modi for his leadership skills, his personal qualities,  intelligence, discipline and oratory skills.  I respect Modi for his staunch national priorities and his charisma as a leader.  Leadership qualities of Modi comprises of all nuances of a Charismatic and Intellectual leader with a purpose.

As a citizen,  I have for the first time felt connected to the central  Govt in the past five years.  How?  The transparency and accessibility to PM's office directly through online platform.  I have sent queries and complaints through this platform twice and have got replies with results both the times.  This was a new experience for me in the past several decades of democracy. 
He connected with the ordinary men through his emotional sensibility which was evident in all his speeches in his Mann ki bath. No other PM connected with the common man regularly in this manner. His intelligence and updated knowledge on all walks - be it agriculture or space research is a quality which is most important for any leader.

As a citizen, for the first time I felt a wave of patriotism and national pride in common man. I was recently at US where this sense of national pride is highly evident.  But in India we always used to highlight political pride over national pride. This changed a bit during the last five years.

His team of leaders - the way he identifies quality resources - officers,  ministers etc and nurtures them is exemplary. We saw how strong leaders emerge under a stronger leader. His choice of Ministers for various roles during last period was mostly based on credentials and not just votes or party politics . He also had some extremely talented women leaders whom he valued and gave freedom.  Smrithi irani,  Nirmala Seetharaman,  Sushma swaraj etc are great examples of women leaders who flourished under his wings. I don't remember seeing similar emerging leadership under previous PM other than the then FM Chidambaram.

For the first time in the past five years I have felt that India has got due respect in global forums and several Global leaders consider our PM with utmost reverence. 

Governance improved and the focus has been on development of nation with systematic planning rather than petty politics. There came better discussions in the parliament and lesser redundant representatives.   Investment multiplied and the people have a  general positivity everywhere.  However, there have been sects of religious and communalism and terrorism outcries which deter the progress. And Modi leadership has striked back in proper manner at those times. 

As a leader,  Modiji always took criticism with a right spirit. Even when opposition called him chowkidar,  he took it as a responsibility and made it glamorous by his win. He remained calm even at personal attacks. That is another important quality of a strong leader.

In the past five years, several nationwide development  projects have been initiated and it is important that we have continuity of governance inorder to get benefit of these projects. 

For eg : The start-up India project, the focus on quality education, swach bharath,  housing schemes, farmers program etc enable a country 's progress in all facets.  I am not saying that congress or any other party will not have similar projects if they got elected.  But the point is, unless there is continuity,  these projects will not meet its end. 

With Modi, as an ordinary citizen,  I have felt that  we are protected,  we are guided towards growth and we are respected. One area of improvement is women safety and equality  which I believe will be taken up seriously in the coming years. 

Having visited several countries,  I believe that Modi can provide a strong leadership globally which is most important at this point for India.  A booming economy, a great demographic dividend and a visionary leader all this will make India an indomitable force for the future. 

The next few years is crucial and as a citizen I have great trust and expectations on the inclusive and sustainable  growth of my nation under the able leadership of Modiji.

Yours Truly
Fan Girl !
#CeeVee

  #PM #Modi

Disclaimer :  this is not a political post and just my perspective on the leadership of my nation. I am an optimist and hence like to look at positive factors more than crying about the negative factors.

P.S :  This fangirl is more happy for the fact that I still have a chance in the next five years to meet and click a picture with Modi.. which would have not been possible if he got defeated. So this item in  my bucketlist is still on ! 😃

An Ode to the land of memories

The laughter and giggles of the ladies of worth,
Passing through the winding roads and past the drizzles
The unshaken care of the friend at all times
Making us remind of a life so beautiful!

The grand chandeliers and the sizzling drink on the hands of an alluring lass,
The smile of love on the eyes of the sweethearts
The lust and yearn on the yesteryear screens
The shimmering city lights peeping  through the window pane, 

The silent night, the cold whispers of the wind
The longheard love songs on radio and
As I hug on to the soft pillows, 
My eyes gaze at the endless sky in search of the unknown.
This moment will soon be a past destination in my journey
Yet, a memorable plan that destiny brought me to.

#CeeVee #May2019  #IVLP 

I am a bad mother !

Being in the USA during mother's day is an experience by itself. Past one week, most of the shops were "selling" mother's day with great pomp and show! There were "last minute" mother's day gifts , "under $30 " gifts, restaurant  table bookings and several mother's day campaigns . 

Keeping aside the festivities and celebrations, I think mother's day is a day to remember and acknowledge the role of a mother in the society. But the society has always dictated certain "norms" for being a mother. For eg: Let's look at the following 

- A good mother feeds her children first before she eats.

- A good mother helps her children do their homework 

- A good mother cooks great dishes - spends lot of time in kitchen making designer dishes which the kids love

- A good mother makes the bed of her kids after they wake up. 

- A good mother advises and guides her kids on all matters 

-A good mother punishes her kids for wrong doings  

- A good mother is always there and takes leave from work,  when her kids are sick. 

- A good mother saves for her children for their future (sometimes at the cost of not fulfilling her own wishes. Its a sacrifice she does for her family and she has to! ) 

- A  good mother teaches her kids religious and cultural norms 

- A good mother is also a  perfect wife for the  husband/ partner who ensures that the family is stable.

Well, we have been hearing this for ages and all these expectations mostly create a feeling of "guilt" to those mothers like me , whom I call "bad mother" . Well, what makes me a bad mother? Let me explain!

- I eat when I am hungry. If my kids don't want to eat at that time, its their choice. 

- I do not sit with my kids for their homework or even tell them to "Sit and study" , sometimes to the extent that once my son told me , "Amma , You are always studying yourself.  will you please tell me to "go and study" ?" , I replied, " I study because I want to be successful in my career. If you want to be so, you study. that's it! " He now studies because he wants to become a scientist in future. 

- I cook whenever I get time. And I cook whichever is easier and healthier. My dishes are NOT super tasty because I don't spend more than 2 hours in kitchen in a day. If the kids want so much decorated / designer dishes , I have Swiggy in my mobile or They have the option of cooking themselves as well. My son and daughter today bakes cakes and dishes they like by themselves, because they know that their mom doesn't like to do these. They enjoy baking / cooking while I don't.  

- I don't make my kid's bed / room etc. Infact every week, its their responsibility to clean their room and make it good. They arrange their shelfs , their uniforms , their books and I do NOT know where they kept their maths notebook or science notebook or socks!  

- I  don't advice my kids on every small thing. I discuss matters and ask their opinion. They share their opinions and I let them take decisions for themselves. Sometimes to the extent that they have opinion about family budget, purchases and their needs. 

- I don't punish my kids frequently. I shout at them once in a while when I have my fits of anger. However, I say sorry or they say sorry once they understand its their fault. 

- I celebrate both their  successes and  failures. I take them out for enjoyment especially whenever they fail in something. I discuss with them how they could have made their actions better and then succeed the next time. I don't compare them with other children because they are unique and exams / marks do not define my children. 

- I don't buy costly gifts for them. I don't save too much money for their future either. Instead spend NOW for giving experiences and exposure - meeting people and visiting places which they may not get in their school time. I share the stories of all my experience I gain through my travel so that they gain wider perspective. I spend my time for my fulfillment of dreams as well and tell them the importance of living a meaningful life. They know that they have to make their money and be independent in future .  They know that they should get scholarship if they need to get admissions in world class universities!

- I don't instill any religious rituals on them forcefully. Its their choice. 

- I am not a perfect wife who serves her husband and is always "adjusting". I fight and oppose when needed. My family days are not always happy as we see in movies or facebook ! 

Well, I am a bad mother, you know! 

My kids now in their teenage have chances of getting "spoilt" because I have made them too independent compared to other children of their age. They cook, they clean the house, they manage their studies , they take decisions about what they want, they have opinions of their own, they make their own choices. Well, this is a dangerous proposition for the society since they may become independent and fearless individuals as adults who may positively contribute to the society as leaders in whichever field they chose. They may become a worthwhile citizen to the nation setting high standards for themselves since they get more exposure to the world through their bad mother. 

Yes, I am a bad mother. :)

But, I would rather be a bad mother than be a good mother whose children can't manage themselves and expect parental support until their 30s. I would rather be a bad mother than be a good mother whose children end up purposeless in life , following the norms and expectations set by the society - ending up as ordinary . I would rather be a bad mother who enjoys her life and leads a life of purpose  thereby giving her children a path to aspire for in future. 

Yes, I am a bad mother and I too deserve a "Happy Mother's Day ! " 

Pic: Here are some Easter Egg Chocolates I ate while in the US. I know my kids would have loved to eat this. But I am a bad mother , you know! I sent them this picture and told them, " Go around the world when you grow up and you can eat many like these!"  

P.S: The above post may not be acceptable to many mothers and fathers. But you know, I am a bad mother - I express my mind freely! :) 

P.S 2: I am in the USA for 3 weeks trip as one the Fellows for International Visitors Leadership Programme , a premier professional exchange program fully funded by the US State Department. I am one of the 8 women entrepreneurs from India representing the country on a thematic study about women entrepreneurship practices in the US. 

Are you a Diamond?

The most important investment that you can make is an investment on yourself. Most people invest as per the worth they put for themselves! If you think that you are special, you are important and you are precious, invest precious resources on yourself. By precious resources, I mean precious time, precious people and precious knowledge. Ultimately, its the value that you place for yourself that leads to more value for yourself and for people around you.

I used to devalue myself and always played subtly during my initial days of my career. I never applied for many jobs because I thought "I am not worthy" of the same. But once I decided that "I am worthy" , I started getting things and meeting people of worth. I ensured that I kept a high standard in all that I do , I think and I spend my time on. This transformation was ridiculed, was painful and not easy. People around would want us to continue as a mediocre / low worthy forever. But, the moment we shatter and break these expectations of others and start equipping skills for our growth, our worthiness increases in manifold ways.

A diamond's value is when it is polished by external agents. Consider all the negative thoughts, comments, ridicules , insults and pains that you face as those polishing agents and thank them to make you a diamond. Coz, a diamond is forever! It never loses its value once formed. :)

Are you ready to shatter other's expectations and become a diamond?

#CeeVee
#April 9 ,2019
Pic Courtesy: Ms. Keziah
Location: Vagamon

Dear Women, Do you celebrate your Womanhood?

Yet another International women's day has just passed on. Of late, we see that the day is being celebrated with much pomp everywhere. We have several organisations including educational institutions, the Govt, the Non-govt bodies , the corporate and the media celebrating the day in different ways. Last week, I received at least 15 calls inviting me as a speaker / chief guest for some of these events. Instead of me attending these events and giving a boost to my ego, I decided that I would rather spend the day with the future generation - the college girls and provide them hope, inspiration and some great women role models in front of them. Hence we celebrated the day as  the "Career Queen Summit 2019" , where we had a grand array of women achievers who got felicitated and who shared their journey with the next generation. I always believed that we need to instill the confidence and desire in the next generation of girls rather than making them victims of age-old stereotypical cultural norms. We may not be able to help them with their family expectations but as a society, organisations like ours should strive to make the world better for the girl child. You can read / see more about the event at our facebook page www.facebook.com/prayaanalabs 

During the summit, I asked the audience - "How many of you are able to celebrate your womanhood?" .To my great surprise only one of the girls actually lifted her hand out of the 200 plus audience including senior women! 

Yes, we celebrate women's day, but are we able to celebrate womanhood? Are we able to be happy with ourselves? Are we able to accept ourselves as what we are ? Why is that our society is unable to let a girl do this ?

We still live in a society , where,  when a girl child is born, the neighbors and relatives come and congratulate the parents and then say, " Now that you have a girl child, be more responsible. Start saving money.You need to send her off to a good family" 

We still live in a society, where the girl child is given lesser education compared to the boys of the family. 

We still live in a society 

- where the girl child is asked to wear particular types of attire because she is supposed to wear it ! 

- where the girl child is not allowed to choose the timing of her marriage or the boy 

- where women and girls of any age feels unsafe when they travel alone 

- where women are not given the decision making freedom when it comes to major decisions in the family 

- where she is body shamed , mutilated and even "shaped up" , so that she gets a nice groom 

- where the boys are educated highly so that he gets more dowry and not because he is interested in studying 

- where girls are asked to choose  "easier" and "stereotypical" careers than letting her choose what she likes to do. 

- Where marital rape , domestic violence , physical, emotional and mental abuse is considered "OK" inside a house since its a "family affair" 

- Where the girls are judged by what they wear, what they eat, how they walk , what they do , who they walk with etc. 

- where women leadership / entrepreneurship is still way behind unless it happens out of bare necessity. Glass ceiling, leaking pipeline, wooden ceiling and what not we have , which prevents the girl / woman to grow up in her career. 

- where girls / women are asked to "keep quiet" and not be loud about their opinions or ideas. 
-- where the meaning of "freedom" varies for men and women.  

Well, these are all some of  the reasons (there could be more!) , why our girls /women are not able to celebrate their lives. 

As a girl child, I did face these issues, but as a woman , I decided to put an end to these.  It took immense courage , determination and facing challenges to reach the position . To take a stand of my own, to be able to express my mind freely , to do what I want to do with my life and yes, "To celebrate my womanhood" 

I think this happened only because I took decisions for myself. My decisions were my choices. And each of these choices had its responsibility & the fear of failure . But still I went ahead . Some decisions meant that I defied the family, some meant that I defied the society. But still I went ahead.   I did it because I placed my happiness over anything else. It is a tough decision. But still I went ahead. It meant that I had to face the wrath , face oppositions , face failures , face criticisms , face violence and face guilt. I have had  instances where I was sent out of the house and the door shut because I didn't listen to instructions of my family. I have stood outside the door of my own house crying until my friend came and took me to her home. But still i went ahead with my choice - my happiness. I became stronger and freer when I decided to stand up and say," This is my choice and I will go with this at any cost" 

So, girls / women , my message to you on this occasion of Women's day is this - "Enable yourself to be able to celebrate your womanhood" . It is not easy. But the journey and the destination will be surely exciting. 

As a concluding remark, let me share one more interesting conversation I had with a girl who attended the summit. The girl asked me during the tea break, "Maam, I found that a few of the women achievers - especially the high achievers were single or divorced or  have lost their husband. Does this mean that marriage is what prevents a girl's growth ? " . I didn't have an answer for this. Well, I smiled and said, "Get inside. Next session is about to begin!" . Later, I thought about this . "Is it true that most "high achiever" women doesn't have husband / family." We cannot generalize it though . However, one aspect is that these women have a higher decision making capacity as they own their life . They get ahead with faster and greater decisions about their life. This is what probably that makes them get ahead. In the case of married women, the decisions need to be discussed and negotiated with the family /husband. And most married women are "trained" from childhood to listen to husband's choices and not to have a choice of her own. The moment, she places importance for her choice, she starts to face oppositions. And most of the women succumb to these oppositions. 

 As long as we have women, who say , " I need to ask my husband's permission" when they are asked to go on official travel or to join for a training program or even to take a job, we cannot say that we have reached that stage of True empowerment or Celebrate womanhood. Until then, let's celebrate "Women's Day" every year ! :) 

#CeeVee 

#InternationalWomen'sDay 

#Feminism 

#March8 

x

To all Students and early career professionals - Are you a doer or just a dreamer?

Yesterday a faculty member of a leading university department was lamenting to me about the difficulty in sustaining interest in the students and the difficulty in getting their interest to involve in projects and activities which enable employability. The faculty member was literally feeling helpless when he said that the students (PG students) are not taking initiative to take up projects or even consider it as a learning opportunity. whenever such projects are presented, the students feel that they are being utilised as free labour for getting the jobs done by the college / faculty member / opportunity provider. 

Well, to all students, let me share my own experience in this regard.

1. When I was a student of MBA, I used to work on field surveys, telephone surveys and similar "menial jobs" including standing in front of malls and getting customer review or sample distribution. Most of these jobs were unpaid. Some took care of expenses. Some gave me certificate. Some didn't give any. But still I worked on all these( the one incentive was that I could bunk uninterested classes). These surveys, customer interactions etc helped me to learn about research methods and now I am a research scholar and conduct social / educational experiments. Also, these early experiences helped me in my entrepreneurship. 

2. During my early career as a trainer, I assisted various leading trainers of the time as an assistant. For one such mentor, my only job was to carry his bag and distribute the handouts during training. I used to listen keenly and learn the training methods. With another mentor, I spent the time discussing the session while in car. It was like getting free Train the Trainer. For almost one year I voluntarily assisted my mentor trainers without getting any payment. After around ten such programs, one mentor gave me Rs.500/- which was my first remuneration . Today, trainees and organizations are awaiting my date availability for coaching and training.( not to mention, my fees has also increased exponentially) 

3. When I started as a Radio jockey, At All India Radio, for the first many months ( almost six months), my shows were unpaid. In ten years, I am one of the RJs with a signature show and with listeners who are so attached to my show. This also help me to start youtube show recently. (Smilecafe , Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR5j1mkm0xh-uQev12DQ-mQ)

4. Four years back, my first remuneration for a dubbing work was Rs 500. Two years back my first film dubbing for a full character was Rs. 5000/-. Today I am one of the key dubbing artists in the industry and also taking membership in Fefka dubbing union.( remuneration is secret for now 😉) 

5. I used to write articles in blogs for the last ten years without any remuneration. This year I am getting invited as "special author" by leading newspaper / management magazines.

6. I volunteered for various organizations in various leadership capacities, anchored programs for three years without any remuneration. Today, those leadership lessons enable me to run various events simultaneously, meet and interact with high officials / leaders and share diaz with them! 

Well, the reason why I mentioned the above is that, students these days shy away from these kinds of voluntary or unpaid work stating that "there is no benefit for me". I think, the benefit is derived from what you do with the opportunity. If u look at only the immediate benefit, your long term career is sure to get affected. In all the above cases, I have been successful only because I did things without looking for "What is in it for me? ", " "They are exploiting me " etc. 

So, now you can think for yourself. Remember, all successful people are not just dreamers but doers. And doing is messy, hard and need not be appreciated. Building a portfolio for your career should be the priority especially during early stages of career when you do not have much financial burden rather than working for jobs that have high payment offer - so that you can buy that latest version of apple phone or crazy motorbike.  

Also, managing multiple careers with a high degree of professionalism in each is not easy and this is something I derived out of sheer persistence and "doing". How many of you are willing to do the same? :)

#CeeVee

P.S: I am attaching the most memorable picture of mine in 2018

Yes, I am a Feminist.

Yday, after my speech where I urged that the world needs more people who can proudly say that they are feminist, many girls came forward and spoke to me and said that they could relate to every sentence of what I spoke. However, one girl asked me this question ," Maam, I agree that we should be a feminist. But is it necessary to keep telling this? Doesn't this lead to the men staying away from us or lead to others being judgemental about us? Won't it lead to a negative perception about us? "  I didnt argue much with this young girl whose perception about feminism is distorted. But after i came back, I ruminated on this.

I have thought about this several times in my mind before proclaiming my stands on feminism. I read about feminism and why this is needed more than ever. I realised that there is nothing wrong in standing strong for what you believe is right. If a person can announce his / her religion / caste / political ideologies and all kinds of affiliations why not we say proudly that we are a feminist?

 I understand that feminism in current context is equated to activism  for some kind of political or  self centered propaganda.  But that is not the kind of feminism that I believe in. I believe in a feminism where a woman is considered as an individual with equal or more capabilities and her potentials in contributing to economical and social development of the nation is never undervalued. I believe in a feminism where the woman is considered as an individual with an active mind and dreams of her own and are not limited by stereotypical expectations or patriarchal notions. I believe in a feminism which values the feminine energy that is not just powerful enough to nurture but also  destroy the chains that bind her growth. I believe in a feminism which ensures equal participation of women in all walks of life and not just get limited to certain arenas. I believe in a feminism which provides ample opportunities for her to develop herself and to explore her hidden talents. I believe in a feminism which says to the next generation of girls and boys that "anything is possible for a girl !" 

And Yes, there by I am a Feminist and I proudly keep saying the same. Yes, i do know that this stand of mine could be "negative" for some people who cannot understand the above meaning of feminism.

#CeeVee #Feminism

Pic: My life is my message - Selfie with Gandhiji at Geneva.

New Year - New Perspectives for Women in Workplace

India has been ranked 108th in World Economic Forum (WEF) gender gap index and also ranked 142nd out of 149 countries in the economic opportunity and participation subindex in 2018. 

As an Indian, what can you do to better this ? 

Well, what we need is not reservation for women in workplace but embracing a better support system. This new year, let us rethink our approaches towards women in workplace and thereby enable better statistics in the coming year. 

Firstly, women needs to change their perspectives about career. Most of the girls and young women end up choosing a career not out of their interest, but out of convenience or out of pressure from parents or peer. These wrong career choices end up uncomfortable for them later and many of them call it quits than trying to shift to a new career.  It is high time that girls are given proper career guidance and helped well to understand their capabilities . They also need to enhance their employability skills and strive towards continuous learning. 

Secondly, family has to provide the necessary support to women who aspire to work. Unfortunately , we still live in a patriarchal society where women are expected to handle the major role of home management. This prevents them to take active roles in career. There are still many parents who spend considerable amount of their life savings on marriage of their daughter but forget to provide her the right career direction. 

Thirdly, our society has to provide her with safe and a conducive ecosystem for her to work or startup. We also need to promote and glorify women leaders in business. 

All the above is easier said than done. It requires consistent efforts from individuals, organisations , the government and the society in general to enable this change. One of the key sustainable development goals of the 2030 is women's economic empowerment and it is high time India's half a billion population is rightly tapped to contribute to our economy. 

Let 2019 be an year for change , for empowerment and for the women ! 

CeeVee