Women of today are making an entry into every possible field. Be it corporate, be it entrepreneurship, be it arts, be it the national forces and you name it, they are right there, representing not just themselves but the entire women sorority and the womanhood itself. Having said that, I cannot deny the fact that this is all the beginning. Although women are performing their best in their own fields, there is a long way to go before we say that 'women are performing the best'.
Women perform their heart and soul, but not in a 'no matter what' way. There are a lot of reservations women have which are easy to be met by the organizations but are often not met, majorly because women, who are otherwise expressive, do not express what they 'expect'. They have patience. They wait. Not too far though. They perform their heart and soul until the 'reservations' start troubling them real badly. Apart from expressing what they expect and be a go-getter, there is something that women need to understand and accept.
Women have a bigger responsibility at work.
They need to break a lot of stereotypes.
Woman is woman's worst enemy
More than behavioral, I think this is something to do with cultural thought process. Women have been seen in multiple roles at home for centuries. Certain women, while performing certain roles do not gel well; rather they stick to their beliefs and hence fail to accept the other perspective. Since they generally have this conflict with other women at home or in the neighborhood, because they have to deal with other women for household tasks, they have been often seen as each other's enemy. Men deal with each other too. Men have conflicts with other men too. Men have enmity with other men too. But never its explicitly said that man is a man's worst enemy! Again this is largely cultural.
At work as well, women are perceived to be the enemy to other women. Women rivalry is often misunderstood as enmity. Rivalry is good. Healthy one of course. Women must understand that having rivalry with other women is not the reason why women are considered worst enemies to each other. Rather, the way rivalry is
projected and perceived is the real reason. While a little can be done about perception, a lot can be done to not let the rivalry get projected as enmity. Whatever is said and done in the moment of heat, being in regular communication with each other, in private and in public, will help in a big way. Appreciating the strengths of each other is yet another way. When the way its projected changes, the way its perceived is bound to change.
Women do gossip a lot
"If you want to spread something, say it to a woman". This is a very common perception and practice considering the way women do gossiping. There is no topic which can be exempted from women's gossip. Women gossip with women as well as men. Men gossip the same way as well but they know how not to get noticed about it. Women lag in this. They get noticed instantly when they gossip. Women need to work upon their curiosity levels. Curiosity is the basic thing behind being addicted to gossiping. We cannot entirely blame women about this. They love maintaining their relationships. In that process, they are curious to know about others. While knowing about others and maintaining relationships are important aspects, they must be approached in a bit different way. Women must not spread the news which they are not sure of. They must put forward their sincere opinion when they hear about anyone, instead of succumbing to the impression the gossips create about a person. They must consciously think before talking about anybody in front of another person. If there is any suspicion of the authenticity of the gossip, better it must be cut off there and then. Women need to come out of the gossip addiction and behave as par as their male counterparts.
Women need to be a role-model for other women
Role model's role in anyone's life is important. It, at times, changes a person completely and can turn around the things in a great way. Role model can be anybody or any trait of any particular person. Its usual understanding that women need to be the role models for the fellow women. This is not true. Every person's life is different. Every women's life is different. There is no point a woman need to behave in such a way that the rest of the women can follow! Every situation needs to be handled the way it needs to be handled; not always necessarily in the way that someone can look up to.
Women put pressure upon themselves with an understanding that they need to behave in such a way that inspires other women. With that, they fail to do the simple things that can set the situations. They attempt some tough paths and may fail. Women need not be the role models for other women. Not necessarily. They just need to be themselves and handle the matters. Rest is taken care by the way life happens, to the fellow women as well as men.
Women are emotional
Often, emotion is mistook for crying. Tears may be perceived as weakness. But, that's just a myth. There are strong people who cry for small things but may succeed greatly in dealing with huge matters. Women are no exception. They may cry, they may become sentimental, they may shout, but ultimately they are generally stronger from within. They expressed emotions make them even stronger. Controlling emotions is not any option and there is no point in doing so. Rather, women must work with emotional intelligence at every given opportunity. That needs a little bit of tweaking and balance. Both can be achieved if a woman wants to.
Women need to keep the cool from within and must believe that its absolutely fine to shout once in a while at the deserved. They must observe and accept the fact that men shout and they feel absolutely fine about it. No regrets as such. Women, when they shout, feel the regret after shouting at someone or scolding someone. This is an unnecessary regret which disturbs women in a lot of ways. Relationships become stronger when genuine feelings are expressed. Whatever people think or talk about do not decide who is good or who is bad. At the end of the day, good and bad are naturally subjective. So, becoming emotional is perfectly fine as long as women do not let the regret attack them.
Women's career is uncertain
Career itself is uncertain. Be it for men or for women. In case of women, uncertainty plays a higher role. Career decisions are not easy for women considering the child birth and child rearing responsibilities mainly. There comes a stage in every woman's career when she must decide between career and her personal responsibilities. While career can wait, personal life cannot. Things need to happen at a certain age in a certain way. Women must mentally prepare themselves by accepting this fact in complete grace. They must be happy that only they can do certain things that give meaning and a reason to a lot of lives involved.
While executing some responsibilities, women involve themselves so much that they fail to come out of that responsibility and take up the next one. A lot of women take their career's easy post child birth. Which is not an ideal thing to do. Women, once the responsibilities are fulfilled to an extent, must join back the workforce. They must believe that economic and emotional independence is a must in life which can be assured by joining back the workforce. It may take some time to settle back in the workforce, but one must try her best to be back as soon as possible. This is not to prove anything to anyone but to realize themselves that they can get back to work, that they can get back to contributing to the organization as par as any other colleague does.
There are many other stereotypes that women need to break. Which leads to having bigger responsibility at hands for women. Its time for an effortless attempt. This will improve the way women are perceived and will also help the generations to come. Women's contribution is important not just for organizations but for society's development as well. Every woman who breaks the stereotypes and creates a new story must believe that she is scripting the growth path for the women from next generation. Every woman must believe that the day is not far away when women's contribution is equally recognized as that of men. Women must enjoy this bigger responsibility and must break as many stereotypes as they can! For a better future. For a better place for our children.
