I was at the session of "Self Empowerment" with the my students of management. After regular inputs of last 15days on topics like.... Self Introduction, Public Speaking, Leadership, Team Building, Time Management, Communication Skills today was the day when my students had to give Output through Presentations.
Unlike every morning when the class welcomed me with smile & their eyes seemed to be in want of listening more today the class was much silent & most of the eyes were with a question that how will the presentations go. After all this assignment also carried marks . GOODMorning I announced OK lets begin the session, Any volunteer who would like to begin......? This remained a question for more than a few seconds. The silence was unbelievable. This group had a few very chirpy youngesters.
It was again me to break the silence & loath out the sequential list of students to take stage. The next few seconds were loud murmurs and with the loud! Let's START! the first student stood up with some effort, walked out of the chair, looked aroud once & then asked me, "Mam! Is is possible that I start after somebody else had done the presentation. I smiled..........Why this question is asked so often?
Immediately the management story of the four words flashed in my mind. I recalled about " four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody,
and Nobody.
There was an important job to be done and Everybody was asked to do.
Anybody could have done it. Nobody did it.
Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody’s job.
Everybody thought Anybody could do it but Nobody realized that Everybody
wouldn’t do it.
Consequently, it wound up that Nobody told Anybody,
so Everybody blamed Somebody. "
I announced loudly that if YOU do not start then ask anybody and I promise that everybody would wait for somebody to start and nobody would start. Hearing this all laughed :):):) ....the tension eased Perhaps for a while.
Now I took my turn to once again empower the class, I reassured them that this was a practice & revision of what we have been doing in last few days. Such practice classes will actually make them READY for the future. This exercise was a real confidence booster. one after the other my students took stage and presented themselves, learnings & some ideas. Well today I would not comment about SUCCESS. For me all those who made mildest of effort to take stage and speak had decided to be successful.
I felt the power of SUCCESS flew in me, my Inputs had started taking a desired shape.
More stories Everyday
Sapna Agrawal
Dean Proseed B School, Behavioral Skill Corporate Trainer, Parenting Consultant.
Arrival of Indian Women
ReplyDeleteWomen play a pivotal role in the India society. Though their position remains debatable but it is undeniable that Indian women are indispensable part of the society. According to ancient preaching the mother is the essential part of the family. With time the role of the women in Indian society has undergone huge changes. Professionally qualified, excellent homemakers, economically independent and adept at handling dicey situations, the Indian women have arrived.
The story of the women in this country is one of duality. Despite poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, discrimination and struggle for survival, but there are many of them who are making a mark in the corporate world, in the media, in literature and in the IT sector. Globalization has provided opportunities for the educated, middle class woman to build her own dreams and excel in fields and explore, which were earlier perceived as complete male domains. Though the number is small, Indian women professionals are definitely on the rise and are paving the way for future generations.
Indian women are becoming increasingly visible and successful in the professional and public sphere. Whether it is Barkha Dutt, who has become a idol for several journalists, Arundhati Roy, a Booker Prize Winner and a social activist, or Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, or Chanda Kochhar CMD of ICICI bank , they have all heralded the arrival of Indian women professionals.
Approximately one third of employees at Indian software companies today are women. In fact, NASSCOM puts the figure at 38%, which is a higher figure than their western counterparts. Some of the reasons for this attraction to the IT sector include India's education system.
In the Indian context, in engineering colleges, civil and mechanical engineering were considered male areas as the outdoor activities were considered unsuitable for the Indian middle class girl. The girls went for “softer skills” such as Electronics & Communication and Computer Science and therefore more number of women graduated in these particular disciplines. Other women took up computer courses after they graduated from college in order to acquire extra skills. Once they started they realized the potential in this area and went on to pursue their interest as a full time career. Since the demand for technical professionals continues to be strong in the IT industry, women are not seen as competitors to men as skill and experience are what really matter. Their visibility is not restricted to just India as several of them work abroad with foreign companies who hire them for their skill and expertise.
Another area where Indian women are making their mark is creative writing. The opening of Indian offices by foreign publishers like Penguin and Harper Collins has provided several Indian women authors an opportunity to showcase their experiences to the world. At first, there were simply a handful of writers, but today it is common to be greeted with new names every month at a bookstore. International recognition has come in the form of the Booker Prize for Arundhati Roy, the Onassis International Competition Prize to Manjula Padmanabhan, and the Pulitzer Prize to Jhumpa Lahiri. Themes and settings are usually the everyday world of a middle class family, but now writing often goes beyond the home. Themes revolving around sexuality, abuse, and violence, to name a few, are being written about, The language used is not an artificial and contrived version of British English, but a natural rendition of how it is used in India. Interspersed with local words the language lends authenticity and flavor to the writing.
Women are becoming increasingly visible in the domestic and international sphere in media, entertainment, business, IT, politics and literature. Whether it is Kali for Women, a women specific publishing house or the Electrolux – FE Awards for businesswomen, there is increasing recognition of female achievers and the emergence of powerful Indian women.