Women's Leadership Society IIMA was live.
Music club performance before we begin with Batcheet session!
Ramila Ben #InspiringIIMA
“Talent is cheaper than table salt”, as pointed out by American author Stephen Edwin King. “What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work”. When WLS reached out to speak to Ramila Ben as the feature figure for this week, she was engrossed in tending to her usual chores. Modest and demure, she entreated us to come back to her once her shift ended. As a domestic-help staff at IIMA, Ramila Ben embraces hard work an...d is utterly tuned to the discipline of it!
For most of her life, Ramila Ben has functioned as the sole bread-winner for her family of four. She speaks at length about her yester-years when she had to juggle between being a mother of two young ones – a son and a daughter – and discharging her duties as a domestic help at IIMA. Before the break of dawn, she would see to the household needs of her children and husband. By the wee hours of the morning, she would be on duty at IIMA. She believes in doing her bit in life sincerely and being content with life exactly the way it unfolds. She remembers her mother-in-law as a strong source of support. Not once does she complain about the lack of financial support from her husband. For her diligence and duty-bound attitude, she has twice been presented with Best Employee certificates from PSIPL, the organization which provides domestic services on contract to IIMA.
Ramila Ben speaks fondly of her children, encourages them to work hard and pursue an education so that they can enjoy a life more fruitful than hers. She is proud of her daughter who is a post-graduate from Gujarat University. Realizing that her son does not share his sister’s inclination for studies, she persuades him to take up odd jobs and supplement the household income. Ramila Ben earnestly believes in the importance of a solid education, especially for the girl child, so that she is amply empowered to tackle the vagaries of life and lead her life in a meaningful way.
Women's Leadership Society IIMA shared a post.
How to be a helpful ally 
Today my timeline is full of decent men asking, "How can I help?", in the wake of the viral #MeToo movement created by www.twitter.com/TaranaBurke.
I'm going to... take this question as sincere, and give a few suggestions.
Here are some concrete ways men* can help:
(*I wrote this specifically for a small group of my own male friends who were explicitly asking for advice after being stunned by the ubiquity of the #metoo abuse hashtag. I wasn't anticipating this being shared so many times. These tips can be used by people of all genders.)
1. Practice these phrases: "That's not cool" and "That's a shitty thing to say". Say them to other men who are saying disrespectful things to or about women.
2. Follow some feminist writers on social media. Sometimes what they write may seem "exhausting" or "too angry". Put aside that discomfort because that feeling is your male privilege allowing you to disengage from an important conversation that womxn don't get to disengage from. Here are some accounts I like- but there are lots. Follow a few.
www.twitter.com/ijeomaoluo
www.twitter.com/manwhohasitall
www.twitter.com/FeministaJones
3. Boost female voices. When there's an issue and you're going to share an article about it- especially if it's a gender issue- take a minute and try to find one written by a woman (same goes for other marginalized groups- seek articles about race written by IBPOC, seek articles about disability by writers with disabilities*, etc. "Nothing about us, without us").
(*I originally said "disabled writers". Thanks to a commenter for reminding me that "person-first" language is considered more respectful in certain disability communities).
4. Boost what women say at work. Listen for men dismissing women's contributions and make a habit of listening and saying things like "Hey Zahra has a point".
5. Be mindful of how you introduce women- particularly at work functions. Role-model extra respect into your introductions. So often you hear men being introduced with job titles and accolades, and women introduced as "the lovely" or "the beautiful". I guarantee that no matter how good she looks, she'd rather be introduced by her job title and accomplishments.
Relevant Washington Post article: "At conferences, male doctors are introduced as "Doctor Whoever" 72% of the time; female doctors are introduced using the word "Doctor" only 49% of the time." http://wapo.st/2kSWlba
Doing this subtly tells the listener that the women's qualifications are lesser-than. Go out of your way to correct this by introducing women (and others from marginalized groups- racialized, disabled, young-looking, whatever) using their full job titles and accolades.
6. At work or out in the world, don't call female colleagues or strangers cutesy diminutive names like "honey, baby, darling, kiddo, young lady, sweetheart, girl, or dear". This is a subtle way of putting them down, elevating your own status over them as a man who is choosing to vote them as attractive, and reminding them and all present that they're just cute little ladies that nobody should listen to.
At work, make a special effort to speak to women using the kind of person-to-person respectful address you use when speaking with male colleagues. Hint: Use their name. If you slip up and call your colleague "young lady" or some other bullshit like that, it's cool to say something about it, like "I'm sorry I called you that- it's disrespectful."
7. Seek enthusiastic consent in your sexual encounters. If you're having sexy time and the other person stops reciprocating, gets quiet, seems tense or stiff, avoids making eye contact, pauses, or otherwise slows the tempo of the encounter, then you should.... STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING.
Reframe how you think of consent. You're not supposed to just "go for it" until someone yells NO and that's when you stop. That's old-fashioned and gross. And she might not be able to explicitly say no, because she has very likely been assaulted before and she might freeze when stressed- that's a side effect of all this "me too".
People shouldn't have to explicitly say no. Instead, slow down. At every step, listen with your ears (or ask with your words) for the word "yes", and then you can escalate the encounter together. Seek explicit and enthusiastic and active consent before you proceed. Proceed together. And constantly observe the other person's body language for the hesitations that mean "no". If this means you have to cut down on alcohol or substances to stay present and have self-control, please do that.
8. Don't use gendered or misogynist insults. Bitch, cunt, slut, pussy, f*g, girly, sissy, cuck, etc. Use insults that work on everyone rather than insults that specifically target the feminine as weak, lesser, and undesirable. "Asshole" is a nice multipurpose choice- we all have one.
9. If there are little boys, teen boys, and young men in your life, role-model that the feminine is not less-than. Challenge them on their dismissive ideas around what counts as "girl stuff". Buy them a doll. Paint your nails together. Show up wearing pink. Do something that's coded as* traditionally "feminine" in a way that embraces the feminine as a valid way of being, not in a way that mocks femininity. Buy them books and watch TV and movies that prominently feature female characters. Verbally challenge their stereotypes about what men do and how women are lesser. Seeing women as people starts in infancy.
(*Thanks to a commenter for pointing out that behaviours aren't inherently fem/masc, but rather we code them as such).
10. Be wary of constantly or only telling little girls they're pretty and cute or commenting on their hairstyle & clothing. I know, little girls often wear fun stuff and it's easy to comment on. But it tells her, and the little boys nearby, that girls should be valued first and foremost for their looks.
Instead, try things like "What kind of toy is that? That looks fun, what is it? Are you reading any good books? What's your favourite subject in school? What kind of things do you like to do? Do you have a favourite animal? May I ask your advice, should I purchase the apples or the grapes?" There are so many things to talk about.
11. When a woman is walking alone and you end up walking behind her- especially in dark or secluded areas- please slow down to increase the distance between you, or, better yet, cross the street. Literally go out of your way to help her feel that you're not following her.
12. Teach your elders to do better. Pervy Grandpa and Racist Grandma might seem harmless at Xmas dinner but as their health declines, they will largely end up being cared for by women and POC who don't deserve dehumanizing treatment. Call it out. You can teach old dogs* new tricks, and you should definitely try.
(*Someone below pointed out that this metaphor, equating the elderly to dogs, is disrespectful. I agree with them. I'm not deleting it because hiding mistakes is creepy. I'm sorry I spoke disrespectfully about elderly people- that's a proverb that I'll quit using.)
13. Don't argue so much in conversations around types of oppression that you don't personally experience. Keep an eye open for our culture's gross habit of putting the onus on the oppressed persons to dredge up their pain for inspection (only for us to then dismiss it as "just one instance which they probably either caused or misinterpreted anyway"). Instead, try this- if you don't believe something is an issue, use the Googles. Find, say, three articles *written by people in that demographic*, and read them. Look for patterns in their analyses. You'll find that these ideas aren't weird militant fringe notions- oppression is a widely-accepted and statistically-supported phenomenon and a lot of insightful people are talking about it. Avoid the hot takes and go to the source- the people who experience the issue firsthand.
14. If you feel uncomfortable during conversations about sexism (or racism, or ableism, or cultural appropriation, or whatever- because all these systems are related, google "kyriarchy" and "intersectionality" to learn more), the only correct response is to be quiet and listen and try to focus on the topic at hand rather than centre your own feelings. It's hard. It's worthwhile.
Thanks for trying to be decent men. We see you.
Anand Thaker Nishtha #Inspiring_IIMA
When one of my lazy afternoon Wikipedia freefalls landed on muscular dystrophy, I was appalled. It is defined as a group of genetic disorders which result in increasing weakening and breakdown of skeletal muscles over time. Although apparently similar to polio, an essential point of difference between the two is that muscular dystrophy tends to be progressive in nature. Meaning that most people afflicted with this condition will eventuall...y become unable to walk. While there is no known cure, clinical procedures exist which are helpful to contain common symptoms associated with this condition.
Nishtha Thaker Anand, a Clerical Assistant at IIM-A, is a differently-abled girl from Junagadh, Gujarat. At age 11, when she learned about her condition, life seemed a steep uphill climb. Expert doctors diagnosed Nishtha’s case as a rare form of Charcot Mary’s tooth. No known cure existed. Medical prescriptions and treatments were of little avail. Despite the severe blows delivered by destiny, Nishtha was determined to weave her story differently. Tired of these overwhelming clinical procedures, she finally decided to stop taking them and instead, with the help of Dr. Ketan Thaker, who specialized in Ayurveda, turned to alternative remedies and traditional workouts. A year-long of tedious wait and hoping against hope yielded results: she is able to move around with the help of a walker.
The brave girl would not let her crippling illness stand in the way of her resolute pursuit of a fruitful and productive life. Not only did she finish her regular studies with flying colors, but also engaged herself in a number of NGOs and social organizations, e.g., Ellisbridge Gymkhana, SEWA, and Udgam School, and is currently working with the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad as a Clerical Assistant. She has all along nurtured the aim to impact the lives of others out there struggling with their lives in one way or the other. She is the engine behind the NGO “Spreading Smiles,” which is dedicated to the cause, welfare and rehabilitation of people afflicted with conditions similar to hers. Eager to share her life’s lessons and help other distraught people, Nishtha strongly feels that such individuals should be encouraged to engage in attributes of “Life’s skills,” which will help them become independent not just personally but also as a collective unit.
#Bhavesh Bhai #Inspiring_IIMA
One of the major stumbling blocks encountered by even some of the most successful corporations is struggling to keep their staff motivated in an era of long working hours, mounting pressure, escalating prices and multi-fold uncertainties. Which makes us wonder: what powers the motivation levels of Bhavesh Bhai who has been consistently clocking 12-hour-days all seven days of the week over the past eight years in his café at IIMA. It is common kno...wledge that Nescafe at IIMA is always humming with activity and it shuts not before 4 am. One can see Bhavesh Bhai busily attending to the café with a spring in his feet and a smile on his face, not once resenting the same-old repetitive working environment that hasn’t changed much over the past eight years. We really couldn’t help asking him for his “mantra”.
Having completed a modest education in Gujarati medium, Bhavesh Bhai started life by engaging in printing for a livelihood. This was the means he used to support his extended family: old parents, wife, and kids. Which is why when the printing business deteriorated to a grinding halt under an adverse tide, it was as if his lifeline snapped. Jobs are always harder to find when one is jobless. And Bhavesh Bhai, as he ran from pillar to post, met no exception. Left at the mercy of the ebbing and flooding tides of life, he wondered if his situation would ever improve? Would there be light at the end of the tunnel? Turns out, for Bhavesh Bhai, light there was, but not before years of sweating it out, during which he started Nescafe Cafe at IIMA.
The IIMA Nescafe is not merely a source of earning a livelihood for Bhavesh Bhai. It is the pedestal where he has nurtured sweet and long-standing relationships with student-junta year after year, researcher-associates and professors alike. It has served as his window into a world of inspiration and possibilities, where education commands paramount importance. No wonder, an agenda very dear to his heart today is to encourage his daughter to work hard so that she can study at IIMA someday!
Smt. Poonam Mahajan, Ms. Keyuri Shah Singh, Dr. Jayanti Ravi and Prof. Neharika Vora at our events with The Red Brick Summit, IIM Ahmedabad !
Join us for keynote session by Ms. Poonam Mahajan, Member of Parliament.
Date & Time: 1st October, 12:15 pm
Venue: PP Gupta Auditorium, IMDC, IIM Ahmedabad
The session will be followed by panel discussion on 'Shattering the Glass Ceiling'.
WLS & TRBS presents panel discussion: 'Shattering the Glass Ceiling'
On Panel: Ms. Jayanti Ravi, Ms. Keyuri Singh & Prof. Neharika Vora
Join us for this session on 1st October, 12:15 pm at PP Gupta Auditorium, IMDC, IIM Ahmedabad.
Rashmi Teltumbde PGP1, IIMA
#Inspiring_IIMA
As a former international tennis player, Rashmi Teltumbde, a PGP1 student at IIMA, has carried the baton for India in national-level tennis, played three grand slams, captained the Indian Junior Federation team and made the country proud by winning international tennis tournaments. The matches, however, were not so much about winning and losing, as they were about breaking stereotypes. To put things in perspective, in a country wher...e sports is both grossly under-rated and overtly male-dominated, the record of women in the sport is spotty, to say the least.
Now looking at Roger Federer, you’d probably say that whoever played that many grand slams and won such and such international tournaments would take home staggering prizes, would she not? But did you know that, before making a presence in any excitement-laden stadium atmosphere, the average professional tennis player in India needs to spend sizeable amounts of money ? Yes, besides the obvious – talent, mental acuity, physical agility – tennis also requires another important ingredient – sponsorship money. And this key ingredient doesn’t come easy. Add to it the open secret that sports-coaching in India ceases to be effective and self-sufficient at a pretty early level.
As always, for girls, the road-bumps might just be steeper when it comes to managing sports financials in the backdrop of the existing prejudice. Be it Rashmi or any other sportswoman, juggling sports on the one hand and studies on the other is no mean feat. Yet, the Indian society’s viewpoint on girls taking up sport as a career is best termed “wary”. And its support, “withheld”. Rashmi, driven by the strength of her resolve and her dedication for tennis, battled against all odds- she was not appreciated anywhere for taking up sports over studies – yet she did what she always liked to do: play tennis! Needless to say, in the world of sport, success didn’t come served on a platter for Rashmi.
Rashmi’s journey was fettered with ups and downs. But her shining beacon light was the unflinching support she received from her parents and close friends – who were always present to share her trials and tribulations as well as to taste the fruits of her success. A paragon of gameness, Rashmi feels that India should structure and undertake more concrete efforts to nurture its sports talent. At the same time, Indian parents should start believing in sports and encourage, rather than discourage their kids to take it up.
#MittalRathore #Inspiring_IIMA
Raised by a single mother and a sister of two, Mittal has been working as a receptionist at KLMDC, IIMA to support her education. She is currently pursuing her B.A. from Gujarat University. Mittal comes from a socio-economic ethos where the girls and women of the community spend their lives in a cloistered existence of domesticity. Venturing out into the world to achieve other opportunities and exposure is not considered to be acceptable by her... relatives and neighbors. Mittal’s mother, who cooks for earning bread and butter for the family, is constantly pressurized by them to get her married. Their worldview does not accommodate a woman entering the perceived masculine domain and behaving against the normative. Whenever Mittal’s male friends visited her, her community warned her mother about her defiance.
However, Mittal’s mother has constantly been her lodestar. She inherits her progressive mindset from her mother who has always placed education at the highest pedestal. Mittal’s mother, who herself is educated, has always emphasized on the significance of education in the journey to establish oneself as an independent individual. Unlike in other households, her mother does not provide the institution of marriage with as much importance. Mittal says that her mother has never put any restrictions on her with respect to caste or class. She has ample trust on Mittal and has given her all the freedom in the world to seek her individuality. At moments when Mittal herself doubted herself because of her relatives, her mother used to tell her “Forget what the world says, just believe in yourself.” Mittal remembers these words whenever she needs to pull herself together.
Mittal feels that she is exceptionally fortunate to have such a mother who does not care about societal comments. She feels that these perceptions about norms for girls are anachronistic and change is desperately required. Mittal is trying to etch a path for herself by following her mother’s principles. After finishing her Bachelors, she wants to pursue Masters. Mittal hopes to work at a bank someday and be an irreplaceable and important member of the organization.
Thanks everyone for turning up and making the interaction session with Ms Devleena so lively. A few snaps from the session!
Born in Kolkata and brought up in the small township of Chandrapura in Jharkhand, Sanjukta aspires to live upto the meaning of her name: Hindi for “bond formation”. She envisages a world of equality and welfare, where folks get along well with each other and strive together for the greater cause of peace and prosperity.
A fighter since childhood, Sanjukta is always inclined to challenge ideas and notions that tend to oppress or subjugate the fairer s...ex. She vividly recollects how she once developed a sense of critically low self-esteem during childhood, when her peers would taunt her for being fat and ‘boyish’, rather than having a normative slender and feminine body structure. But Sanjukta was never the kind who would be easily deterred. Unperturbed, she went on her path of academic excellence.
Later, while pursuing research, she again encountered societal prejudices as she could not use the laboratory for conducting experiments at night. How on earth can ‘girls be allowed to enter the laboratory after 6 pm'? Notwithstanding her zealous spirits at this point in life, she again graduated with flying colors. As luck would have it, through an unfortunate turn of events, her parents’ sudden rare illness compelled her to shoulder the responsibility of the entire family as the eldest daughter. Looking back, she reckons that this is probably how she came to be more mature as compared to her physical age.
Today, a student of IIMA, the topmost B-school of the country, Sanjukta reflects upon her journey as one of incessant battles against prejudice and challenges. In her own words, she describes herself as a bohemian committed towards a world of equality, prosperity and betterment.
Women's Leadership Society IIMA added an event.
Devleena S Majumder is President – People & Culture at Culture Machine. Recently Culture Machine turned into the first Digital Media company to declare #1stdayofperiods leave for its women employees.
Devleena received a Master’s degree in Industrial Psychology from Mumbai University. In her previous roles, she has led TV today group’s Human Resources function and has also served as an Associate Director of HR at Viacom 18. Prior to her stint at Viacom 18, she was Head of Human Resources Entertainment division for Times Television Network. She is adept in People Management, Leadership Development & Strategic Interventions through Change Management & Organizational Development.
#1stdayofperiods Leave Policy is now a reality!
Culture Machine turns into the first Digital Media company to declare #1stdayofperiods leave for its women employees.
September 9th 2017...
Interaction with Devleena S Majumder
HR Head at Culture Machine
Don’t miss the chance to get to know more
JOIN US
Kailash Ben #Inspiring_IIMA !
For the sizeable junta of IIM Ahmedabad who is no less health conscious despite being super-stressed, Kailash Ben, with her outlay of seasonal fruits is impossible to miss. She smilingly beckons to her 'regulars,' intuitively remembering when their stock of fruits will end and then personally asks if they want to salvage their unhealthy diet by buying mangoes or bananas.
Born and brought up amidst lush green fields, Kailash Ben naturally had a p...enchant for agriculture. During childhood, she would run around in these fields, climbing up tamarind trees with her friends galore. Married off at the early age of 20, Kailash Ben parted with friends and childhood. However, she couldn’t abandon her singular dream of establishing her own business. Pushing the boundaries of normativity, she challenged her in-laws to earn her own living. And thus, she started off as a breakfast caterer, the sole bread-winner for herself and her three daughters. Submitting to pressures from antiquated diktats of patriarchy, she bore two more sons for the family: but right after returned to start her new business plan of selling fruits! The lady would sit outside the hallowed gates of IIMA often facing trouble from fellow male vendors, until one day, moved by her steadfast commitment, an IIMA community member advised her to explore an opportunity to enter the campus premises. She was quick to utilize the opportunity, and since then Kailash Ben has been an integral part of the lives of fruit-loving and health-conscious IIMA junta.
Kailash Ben’s story is one of a woman who has been iconoclastic in her non-conformance to her in–laws regarding her career. All she hopes for is her youngest daughter to continue in her footsteps and her eldest to fend for herself. A true mother, she harbors no wishes of her own apart from educating her children and giving them a fruitful and comfortable life that she could only dream of. Her aspirations of getting her daughters married in a lavish manner and making a career for her sons to see them doing jobs like students of IIMA is what motivates her to work day and night single-handedly, and save each penny earned, all of this just to give her children a life she could not live.
Prachi Sukhwani Inspiring IIMA!
Imagine being challenged with very poor vision; and further that such poor vision deteriorated with each passing day. Would you be able to muster the stoicism to combat all the helplessness, incapacitation, vulnerability and frustration associated with not being able to read off the blackboard or the textbook even from close quarters? Or the fine print on a strip of medicine when you direly need it? How would you overcome difficulties in access...ing information and technology – mail, computers, media, websites – accessing transportation or self-navigating? Would you be deterred by the inevitable societal stigmas or employment opportunities limited by your vision?
Many of us wouldn’t even dare imagine such a scenario. Prachi Sukhwani, a PGP1 student at IIMA, has been living this express challenge ever since she was in Class-3. The young high-spirited girl from Vadodara is well aware of the fact that the medical condition she has been diagnosed with is a life-long challenge and that it is only deteriorating day by day. Recollecting her childhood, Prachi candidly recounts her plight as she struggled to cope up with life: her frustration as she tried to stay afloat in class while not being able to read properly notes scribbled on the blackboard, utter helplessness as she learnt to stand up to school bullies insensitively making fun of her condition, pangs of vulnerability as she strived to remain calm and confident, instead of retorting back bitterly to every indiscriminate comment from the society. Nevertheless, on many occasions, tears welled up in her eyes when her peers misinterpreted or underestimated the issues she faced, or during spells of time when the nature of her physical limitations seemed to simply overwhelm her.
Banking upon the strong determination of an iron-willed girl and the unflinching support from her parents, siblings and friends at various stages in life, Prachi succeeded in scaling all heights. Braving the limitations from her handicap on the one hand and battling the incessant taunts from society on the other, she finished school with flying colors as one of the toppers and went on to crack one of the toughest exams of the country to gain entry into IIMA. Today, super-charged with self-confidence and fortitude, Prachi yearns to start her own business upon graduation from IIM-A and become a successful entrepreneur. More power to her !
