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Why
Women Don't Climb to the Top NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Women at a call centre, a common enough sight in any metro in India. And they have entered just about every area today. But how many of these women will rise to the top ? How many actually pursue their careers, make their presence felt in the upper echelons.
A survey says only 3 per cent women occupy senior positions in private companies. And that is certainly not due to shortfalls in qualification or potential. Even highly educated women opt out to become home-makers. Society still frowns on women who put career before home and it's all a question of priorities. The latter wins, mostly. "I would say that the bulk of the problem lies with the women themselves. They have studied, got themselves educated, they are well-equipped to face the challenge of the corporate world. A working span of 10 to 15 years is required to reach the top. Unless concentrated work is put in it is very difficult for women to reach the top," said Dena Mehta, former president, Mumbai Stock Exchange. "They join, maybe after 2-3 years they get married, then maternity leave and all that. They have small kids and it takes time for them to grow up. You feel embarrassed to ask a lady employee to stay back after 6 and work. You are more comfortable if you have male colleagues who you can expect will work late, can come in early etc," said PN Mogre, secretary-general, Indian Merchants' s Chamber. Ultimately, the social pressures reflect in the perceived greater efficiency of the male work force. Despite a gradual awakening , many women passing out of high profile institutes who do start off well, have to sacrifice their careers to familial demands. It's all about finding that ideal balance between the two. There is a definite movement in India towards equality of the woman in all spheres, a realisation and appreciation of her potential. The corporate sector too has realised that taking soft options and keeping women out is detrimental to its future. We are in the process of shedding old inhibitions and mindsets, but it will take time yet. Women, it is said, have better eq, or emotional quotient, and make better managers. Yet somewhere that glass ceiling does exist that stops them from rising to the top. They
Come, See and Marry for Free! (Go
To Top)
NEW DELHI: Twenty young Hindu and Muslim couples tied the nuptial knot at a glittering ceremony here on Tuesday, November 19. The function was organised by the Guild of Service, a non-Government organisation, which aims at spreading communal harmony. Marriage ceremonies were performed according to the rites of each community. Organisers said the wedding is a symbol of national integration and they hoped it would encourage people to live in peace and harmony. "Our effort is to see that people of all sections of the society come together. The marriage ceremony is performed without dowry and without any unproductive expenditure. It is a symbol of national integration as at the same place and time both Hindu and Muslim couples get married," according to them. As weddings have become a costly affair in India, the concept of mass marriage is gaining popularity among the economically backward people as it relieves them of a huge financial burden. For Dinesh Yadav who wed his long-time sweetheart Radha, experiencing such a decent marriage was a dream come true. "I came to know through one of my friends about this organisation. We were planning to get married but since we are from poor families, we approached them for helping us," said Yadav. Radha is equally thankful to the organisers for treating them like their own children. "They have done a lot for us. They have given us so many things for daily usage. They married us off like our own parents. We are really thankful to them," said Radha. The preparation for the marriage starts a month in advance with the prospective brides and grooms registering themselves with the organisation. A data bank on them is then prepared and published in the form of a magazine. The boys and girls are later introduced to each other at a gathering, where they select a suitable partner. Once partners are chosen, parents intervene and the marriage is fixed. The organisation not only bears the entire expenses of the marriage but also provides household items to the couples as gifts in order to help them set up their homes. Though several organisations are active in creating an awareness against high-cost marriages, social evils like 'dowry' are still rampant in Indian society where the girl's parents pay off huge amounts of money to the bridegroom in acceptance of marriage. Delhi Most Unlivable Place for Foreigners: Analysts(Go To Top) LONDON: The city of Delhi is the third most disagreable place for foreigners to live in, according to a study. On a scale of suffering from 0 to 80 per cent, it is just a bit less than 60 which indicates hardship, but not in its extreme dimension. For the analysts, anything beyond 20 per cent means hardship and one above 65, extreme hardship. The new "hardship rating" has been published by the Economic Intelligence Unit, a sister organization of the British journal, Economist. The index is based on three categories - health and safety, culture and environment, and infrastructure, in a way the determinants of attracting foreign business. Topping the list of unlivable cities is Port Muresby, Capital of Papua New Guinea. It hits 80 per cent, a clear case of total ineligibility. Next comes Karachi, the sprawling port town of Pakistan, the graph showing a rating of above 70. Both, therefore, fall in the "extreme hardship" clause. Shanghai, the bustling city of China throbbing with business, both domestic and foreign, scores somewhere near 30 per cent, a tolerable level. The categorization and rating thus have an economic implication. The worse the condition, the bleaker the prospect of foreign investment. Hence the Chinese authorities will be, and are, more successful than the Indian establishment in this respect. Among the cities in the "no hardship" zone (lower than 20) are Budapest, New York, Hong Kong, London, Paris and Tokyo - the most welcome areas from the viewpoint of overseas investment. Melbourne and Vancouver with zero per cent hardship provide the best case in the analysis that takes into account selected countries only. -ANI |
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