The International Women’s Day of 2019 won’t pass as just another day of patronized recognition. Along with the regulation colors of the day and the talks emanating from hot debate tables, it also presents to the world a fresh slogan – a solidarity of like-minded liberals walking hand-in-hand to establish a balance in the world that was challenged way back when gender supremacists took over societies – a balance of genders, a balance of duties and responsibilities, and moreover, the balance of human society itself. #Balanceforbetter is our motto, and equality is what we strive For.
It is no hush-hush matter that even after all these years of constant struggle, most industries across the world fail to catch up with the trend of being “normal” and granting equal rights, opportunities, and representation for women. The fact becomes more disturbing when LinkedIn states that the tech world, of all the industries on the surface of the Earth, came second at having the least women employment numbers in its organizations.
ThinkPalm identifies this issue, and is aware of its responsibility towards the society for the upliftment of the unlawfully-suppressed women community. It also recognizes its role as a tech organization in bringing up a generation of able leaders and amiable colleagues over the disparities of race and gender. With more than 39% women on board, ThinkPalm has begun its course of bringing the change and already holds the rights of having a women representation figure that is way up the industry standard.
On this auspicious occasion of celebration, ThinkPalm encourages its woman leaders to stand up and talk to the world about how to accomplish the dreams and ambitions that you keep so dear to your heart. This Women’s Day, they challenge the social stigma that moulds industries to be ignorant towards the concerning issues. This Women’s Day, we celebrate the success of women leaders at ThinkPalm.
“…our decisions to move towards the meaningful change of gender equality in the workforce has helped us become more productive, innovative and successful”
As of 2018, 39% of ThinkPalmites are women, and a good number of them are employed in the engineering team. This count is way above the industry standard. ThinkPalm has made great efforts in ensuring gender diversity and equality, and our decisions to move towards the meaningful change of gender equality in the workforce has helped us become more productive, innovative and successful . From a survey conducted by LinkedIn, women leaders make 27% in the software field and the trend seems to be increasing. Being a tech organisation, one of our focus is to reach there by producing more women tech managers. As a woman employee of ThinkPalm, I am excited to see my organization offering the support for ensuring gender equality in the workplace.
“….You don’t have to be a superwoman!”
I have faced many challenges in my career but none specifically due to being a woman. I have been fortunate to have had a very contemporary upbringing void of any discrimination and hence I have never differentiated between man and woman during my interactions with the world – what matters to me are the person’s ideas, thoughts, and outlook.The only challenge one could face as a woman is the assumed belief that being a woman is a challenge! It is all in your mind. To this universe you are just a soul – not man or woman – your hard work, attitude, ambitions, and thoughts would lead you where you want to go irrespective of your gender.An important milestone, unfortunately, most often viewed as a challenge in any woman’s life, is motherhood. I took a career break after my son was born. Not because it was “challenging” to manage both work and child, but because I wanted to enjoy motherhood – a privilege which only us women have!Yes, motherhood can be a challenge for working women because we are wired to be emotional, but my advice to all mothers is to take things easy and use all the help you can get [willing parents, daycares, friendly neighbors, takeaways]. You don’t have to be a superwoman!My only other advice to younger women out there is to carry oneself with dignity and a no-nonsense attitude. As much as it is important to be focused on what you want, it is equally important to be crystal clear on what you don’t want.
“…An increased STEM count, will definitely create more focused avenues for women in digital transformation and applied intelligence.”
Women are at par with their male counterparts with respect to knowledge, skills and the readiness to contribute and give in their best to the society and her family.
I am filled with hope about the future of women in technology and its impact on the world. An increased STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) count, will definitely create more focused avenues for women in digital transformation and applied intelligence.
Fortunately or unfortunately, change is constant in technology. We need to be agile enough to adapt to the change and accept the latest technology.
There are many areas like IoT, AI, Cloud Computing, Big Data, Analytics, RPA etc where women can look forward to developing their skill set and specialize in the area they choose.
We need more women taking up roles such as Technology Specialist/Architects/Cloud Specialist/Visual Designers/UX Researcher etc and also in leadership roles.
“…Gender is not a criterion for your performance anymore”
All through my career, I have never come across discrimination against women working in the tech industry. I have been blessed with a very supportive organization, talented team, and colleagues. I have never missed an opportunity on the grounds of being a woman. Being a mother of two, I was supported extensively by the management and my colleagues when I had difficult times in balancing my personal and professional lives.
When you analyze the statistics, you see the number of women working is lesser when compared to men in the industry. It’s mostly because women after a particular age have a greater and mightier responsibility of upbringing her children and taking care of the family and when it becomes a daunting task to balance both, they decide to take a break in career.
Back in old days, I have heard that ladies cannot code and men are the best coders. It’s very obvious today that women are as competent as men when it comes to working in technical domains. What matters is your commitment and contribution. Gender is not a criterion for your performance anymore. Our attitude and our efforts are the ones that decide how good we are in what we do.
“….Efforts from companies and citizens combined with government initiatives in strengthening law and order would help improve the current state.”
Women safety is still a challenge in our society especially for those women who take up night shifts at the job. Organisations have a huge role to play here. Companies could provide escorted pick-up/drop off facilities, Safety Mobile Apps, Self Defense training to women employees. In a vast country like ours, it’s not practically possible to bring the desired change in society in a short period of time. This is because even today there are a good number of people in our society who still think that women are to be confined to house chores. This could be one major reason why women still continue to face such challenges. Efforts from companies and citizens combined with government initiatives in strengthening law and order would help improve the current state. However, it is the mindset of people that can help achieve the desired results in the long-run. And this mindset has to be deep-rooted enough to sustain for years to come to build a better and safer society for women. Would also like to urge that “being safe” is a personal responsibility. My advice to all women out there is to build up the courage to face these challenges and make changes in society.
“…overcome fears to bring down the walls of disparities”
My mother once told me that, walls exist only because we let them. Growing up as a girl in the conventional Malayali society, I could quickly understand what the “walls” stood for. Throughout my career, to this date, whenever I have something come up between my goals and me, I close my eyes and remember her words. As my dreams fly high and sweat drips down the forehead, I have seen those obstacles go down. In a very dynamic environment like the IT industry, regardless of how much you think, disparities exist, I can vouch that being a woman has never dragged me down. Instead, it has given me the power to care and protect, be free and independent, all the while being what I am and doing what I love to do the most. I believe we stand for equality here, and this is my best way to establish that I, as a woman, am equal to anyone else in the club. If there is anything that distinguishes or discriminates one in the work surroundings is the mentality towards the work. Putting the right kind of effort and showing the right attitude is the key. It is also important to overcome fears to bring down the walls of disparities. As long as they are covered, and you do not doubt yourself for your gender, you will not find any walls against you. Because, at the end of the day, they never existed in the first place.
“…The self-realization of one’s inborn ability to handle work and family with deserving justice is the key to success.”
While women empowerment is the buzzword of current times, work-life balance is an aftermath challenge that often comes up. The good news is that every woman is inherently equipped with skills to take up multitasks. The self-realization of one’s inborn ability to handle work and family with deserving justice is the key to success. The next inevitable activity is a priority setting. One can plan daily activities in advance and set priorities. One of the mistakes we often tend to make is by trying to do all jobs by ourselves. Build up delegation skills both at work and personal front. This involves striking a deal with your spouse to share the responsibilities on household chores! It is said, “ A sound mind dwells in a sound body”. So remember to maintain our mental and physical health. Spending quality time with our family rejuvenates our mental health.
On this occasion, I wish every precious woman out there at ThinkPalm a very successful and glorious future!
“…I believe women forums helphttps://thinkpalm.commen express their true selves to a great extent which can result in happier women employees.”
Having a women forum is incredibly important in an organisation. It was decided by ThinkPalm Management along with HR and a few senior women employees to have a forum specifically for women. This initiative was well received with a lot of enthusiasm and spirit by all our employees. The women-friendly culture at ThinkPalm (Why should boys have all the fun!) has always motivated our women employees. The forum was founded in 2013 and was named ‘SAKHI’, a Malayalam word which means ‘a female friend’.
This forum had a mission to strengthen the bonding within the women employees which would help them to stand for each other as a ‘SAKHI’ in their personal as well as professional life.
SAKHI – stands for Uniting Women of ThinkPalm for; Safety, Amusement, Knowledge, Health, and Innovation
Through this forum, we conduct self-defense sessions,fun-filled ladies-only trips, knowledge sharing sessions on technical / non-technical topics, exhibitions on handicrafts, food products, paintings to showcase the talents of Sakhis. I believe women’s forum help express their true selves to a great extent which can result in happier women employees.
“..I don’t believe there is a competition because nobody can be me”
Working in the tech industry has given me opportunities to work with people from different regions and different industries. This has helped me be more aware of how industries work and how people do business in various parts of the world.
Being a woman manager, I’m able to emotionally connect with each team member, understand their vibe intuitively and resolve team conflicts delicately.
By having a sense of confidence and awareness on where I stand in this world, I always strive to bring a positive work environment and try to show the team that every day is a new adventure.
I don’t believe there is a competition because nobody can be me.
On this International Women’s Day, let’s join hands to accelerate progress by providing girls and women the same access to services and opportunities as men so that everyone can contribute to and benefit from growth and prosperity. Cheers to all the successful and aspiring women! Happy Women’s Day.
Gincy Saji is a Digital Marketing Expert and has extensive experience in SEO Off-Page strategies, loves socializing and reading. If not working you can usually find her in the hip new restaurants around town.
