Sex and the city

The experience of transformation into motherhood is a privilege. But the male brigade, which includes the male-run firms, have tried everything possible to turn the affair into one that women now fear to tread. I say fear not because of the sweet pain of labour, but because of the bitter pain of getting discriminated against and/or losing one's hard-earned position in offices.
Can it be mere coincidence that over 5,600 female employees of Novartis have filed suites against the firm charging it of discrimination in pay and promotions – especially towards pregnant women? A clutch of other big firms mired in such controversies include Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wal-Mart. There definitely are millions of other cases – filed in courts or not – in other countries as well. In Goldman Sachs’ last round of annual promotions, only 19 per cent of the 272 newly named MDs were women. The Wal-Mart suit, on behalf of about two million employees, is America’s largest sex discrimination case yet. This grossly implicates how bad the situation is for women.
In India, the situation is no better. There is always so much brouhaha when a woman takes charge of a big firm. But how many are there actually – women in leadership positions.
Negligible, minuscule. Why? Most women across the world have experienced what is popularly known as the 'glass ceiling' phenomenon, believed to be an unofficial, invisible barrier that prevents women from advancing in businesses. Why don't men realise that women are – and can be – as capable as men? Men don’t seem to understand that although a woman may be weaker in muscular strength, their mental wavelengths have no barriers. Raising a child in one's womb is definitely an arduous task. The men – in home and offices – can make it a lot easier. Only companies that recognise and act on the fact that the world does come in two sexes can be called truly competitive and modern. But only if they try.