Indian women gaining economic independence

THE WORK FORCE: Almost 26 per cent of the total women population works in India.

          

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The figure came down to 45 per cent for the self-employed women and was the lowest - 28 percent - for women working as manual labourers.

The stats seem to indicate that the lower a woman is down the skill ladder, the lesser support she gets from the family. "The family support comes very gradually. It takes at least two to three years till she starts getting hard cash," said Nanavati.

Ravichandran agreed that she wouldn’t have made it to the Infosys HR had it not been for her parents and in-laws who supported her through thick and thin. "The most important is your life partner. So choose your life partner carefully - one who will support and encourage you. Of course, the extended family too must help," she pointed out.

She also pointed out that it was easy for the second-generation woman. "A helping mother and mother-in-law provide a nourishing environment," she said.

Nanda - who’s also a mother-in-law - agreed with Ravichandran and said she would encourage her daughter-in-law to work too. "It’s a new way to flirt with your man - you earn respect through the work that you do," she said.

Nanda also said the equations were changing from the clichéd "Behind every successful man…" to "Behind every successful woman, there’s a man."

The argument also found favour with the only man on the panel - Ashwini Bhatt.

"I think there’s a growing realisation on this count. It will go a long way in support that men can extend. It may take time but it will happen. Men cannot give birth to children. That’s one area where women definitely score over men. Additionally, this also puts more pressure on women," he pointed out.

Conclusion: The findings of the survey indicate, broadly, that women - specially the middle-class working women - are finding much greater acceptability and respect when they go out, join a career and pursue it to the hilt.