The celebration of Woman’s Day is an opportunity to lay out the red carpet and commend those women who have carved a niche for themselves with grit and intelligence. It is also an opportunity for society in general to pat themselves on their back and believe they have had a small part to play in these women’s success. However, is it so?
Parvish Andani Kamat is the Chairperson of CII- Goa chapter and owner of Anka services, a communications consultancy which has been operational for over twelve years. The journey has been rough and full of bumps but she has survived. Reminiscing about the early years, Parvish said “It was really tough then. No one was aware of the function of public relations and the importance of presenting one’s products to the market in a targeted manner. The businessmen were not able to get it into their head that a woman would have the knowledge and the capability to help them achieve their targets. This made my job very difficult.” The general feeling was that she had to start this business because her husband was a good for nothing and the pressure to earn the daily bread had fallen on her shoulders. When one walked into the office to negotiate a business deal, the men would ask her about her children and if they were doing well in school. Parvish said “I was here to discuss business and they would be evaluating my mothering skills. The men in my business were never asked if their wives were happy.” Asked if the situation had changed, she smiled and replied “Social acceptance is gradually happening. Today, managers like to talk to me about their daughters and wives businesses or careers. The times have changed dramatically. The women are as aggressive as the men while looking around for new business”. She said “Given the intense pressure in today’s corporate life, the person who could deliver in the given timeline was always preferred. If it meant a woman so be it”.
Ethel Da Costa of Think Geek Media another company in the communication consultancy space that operates all over the country has had similar challenges. Having started the company in 2003, the challenges, she says has remained. In fact she believes it has become harder. She said “I once went for a meeting with my hair left loose and the management requested me to tie it in a bun since my loose hair was distracting them. Since then it’s always been in a bun” Then there was the problem of the general mentality that was and still prevails. She said “Goa is very small and the mentality is such. It has a village mentality which makes it very difficult. Many business have not heard of public relations or communicating about their products and are generally not interested because it would mean spending money, the promoters money”.
Being a woman however may be a benefit in a field. Dr Jennifer lewis kamat a consultant in the construction industry felt it was important to know how to handle people. She said “I used to go to construction sites and the labourers would smile wondering what I was doing there. I did not get hassled. I just did my job and showed them who the boss was. My knowledge and that Dr in front of my name opened doors for me”.
The situation has improved but much more needs to be done. Parvish kamat was very clear in her mind when she said that the government would have to step in and help women stepping out to start their business. She said “There has to be hand holding and there has to be a special window for women. There are approximately 32 to 40% women in the workforce. Many drop out to start families. If the government helps them, the contribution to the state exchequer would be substantial”. And finally, she said the government ought to provide easy loans at reduced interest rates to encourage women to take
that chance.
