By Pragya Jhunjhunwala in collaboration with Arya Vinu
Oppression. A long-standing enemy to complete liberation and social progress. Before the Industrial Revolution came about in the mid-1800s, agriculture was the chief human occupation. Both, men and women, performed physically strenuous tasks and women were only given leeway when they gave birth. The Revolution changed the workplace from home to the factory. This division happened mainly due to growing protests of women and children in the factory system. Restrictions were imposed on the minimum age of working for children. This changed the role of women in the family gradually. Men took over the role of earning for the family while women took over domestic and household tasks. This was when men started being termed as the “breadwinner” of the house and women lost financial control and, eventually, respect.
The original roles of homemakers were motherhood and domesticity. As labour-saving appliances, such as washing machines and vacuum cleaners were invented, they were freed from some of the work, but it did not do much to their time spent on housework. As social and economic development started to come about, the demand for teachers and office workers increased. While men had started getting employed in these jobs, companies figured that they could hire women to do the job at lower pay, and this is how the discrimination in pay started. Men were given higher pay with the assumption that they had to be paid enough to support a family. Many working women in those days were single and not supporting a family so could be paid lower wages.
All these reasons seem so justified, don’t they? It seems as though they are trying to protect women and families and, yes I agree that, to an extent, that might’ve been true. However, then came the decision, presumably due to factors such as physical strength, that ALL women cannot work in factories. Moreover, we’re forgetting a factor, so easily overlooked- the fact that a portion of men rather wouldn’t be the breadwinner of the household. All these factors were so easily discarded, as though the mere thought of allowing women to act as the breadwinner of a household was, well, insane.
Talking about equality in the workplace, I have always felt that discrimination here stems mainly from an egoistic need. It was long believed that women were inferior to men for a long time resulting in unequal treatment. This presents the many hurdles a woman has to overcome to earn basic privileges such as credit, respect and equal pay. This is a progressive society and the sense of equality that is prevalent is admirable, but can we say this for the larger community?
According to Iris Marion Young, a socialist feminist, oppression has 5 “faces” or types- Exploitation, Marginalization, Powerlessness, Cultural Domination and Violence. Now how does this theory play out in feminism in the workplace?
Let’s start with exploitation, the core of which is essentially an inequality in distribution. As per Marx’s theory, gender exploitation is the unreciprocated transfer of power from women to men. An underlying happenstance in everyday working.
Then we have marginalisation- in Young’s words,
“Marginals are people the system cannot or will not use. A whole category of people is expelled from useful participation in social life.”
The category here being women (and the not-so-transparent glass ceiling) subject to demeaning and disrespectful treatment from the employer.
Thus comes powerlessness, which isn’t the inability to be assertive but the lack thereof due to oppressive environments.
This, of course, stems from cultural domination/imperialism- the 4th face of exploitation. According to Young,
“Cultural imperialism means to experience how the dominant meanings of society render the particular perspective of one’s own group invisible at the same time as they stereotype one’s group and mark it as the Other.”
Finally, comes violence. Although traditionally, violence refers to the exertion of physical force with intent to hurt or damage, Young focuses on the emotional aspect- intimidation and ridicule. A tool to insert dominance into an already subjected group.
Rising from this oppression, many have done something about it. However, it has come to a point where every attempt at raising awareness is considered as another outburst from the “feminazi“. A large percentage of people fail to realise that this isn’t a fight for special treatment, it’s for equality.
The first legal mention of women empowerment, at a global level, was in the United Nations’ charter in 1945. It stressed the principle of equality for men and women. But how much have we progressed from these extremities to equality today? It’s taken hundreds of years to simply recognize the core problem, much less rectify it. It’s in the little things, through cracks and nooks that inequality seeps, eventually drowning our cultural mindset in it.
Arya and I can do all the research, get into second-hand information, and give our opinions about them but what the women in leadership positions have really faced, they can only tell us. Let’s see what Ms Nivruti Rai has to tell her about her experiences!
Nivruti Rai is the vice president in the Data Platforms Group (DPG) and Country Head Intel India at Intel Corporation. Based in Bengaluru, she provides overall engineering and business unit leadership and leads operations for the site, driving innovation, cross-group efficiencies and execution for engineering teams delivering global products and roadmaps. She earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, statistics, physics and chemistry and a master’s degree in applied mathematics, both from the University of Lucknow in India. She also holds a master’s degree in industrial engineering from Oregon State University and a board of director certification from Harvard Business School. She has been issued one U.S. patent and has authored several technical papers on integrated circuit design methodologies and operations research.
Did you always expect yourself to be where you are today?
I have been fascinated by numbers since my childhood and Maths was my favourite subject in school. When I joined Intel as a recent college graduate 26 years ago, I was pursuing my passion and also fulfilling my father's dream. He wanted me to be a technologist and to prove to the world that I could achieve whatever I set my sights on.
Over the years, I grew as a technologist and as a leader, going from design engineer to circuit technologist, principal engineer, senior director, and today, vice president and country head of Intel India. Of course, there have been opportunities and challenges, successes and failures over the course of my career. I never set out with any title as my goal. Rather, I ask myself how my work can enrich the lives of people. I believe technology can positively impact every industry and aspect of society, and our country can play a leading role in harnessing the power of technology for a better future.
Would you like to share some challenges which you often face at work?
One challenge that comes with working in a global organization is that you need to collaborate with a very diverse team and ensure alignment to a shared vision. You may be sitting in India and connecting virtually with someone in Israel or the USA. The team may have people with different areas of expertise and levels of experience, from different backgrounds and cultures.
Collaborating across these boundaries presents not only logistical challenges but also cultural and behavioural ones. It takes time to understand and adapt to one another, for which you must develop an inclusive mindset.
At Intel, I have seen the needle moving in the right direction, but we need to continue our focus on inclusion and leverage our diversity as an advantage to create and deliver next-generation technologies that will shape the world.
As a woman, did you face any obstacles you would like to share and how did you overcome them?
I have had my share of obstacles as a woman in technology. From being one of only two women in an engineering batch of 70 to sometimes being the only woman in a conference room, I have felt the lack of gender diversity in the tech ecosystem and the negative perceptions that women are sometimes subjected to as a result. I recall once being mistaken for an office assistant because of my gender. I have never let these perceptions deter me and have proved my mettle.
Having said that, we are making progress. Progress not only in terms of representation of women in technical and leadership roles but also progress in terms of challenging unconscious biases and inculcating an inclusive mindset. At Intel, we are committed to diversity and inclusion and I am very proud to say that we have made great strides in attracting, retaining and growing women talent. We have achieved gender pay equity worldwide as a company and we will continue our work for the advancement of women in the workplace until gender equality is a norm and not a program.
What have been some of your biggest learnings and insights throughout your career?
As a technologist, I never stop learning. Some of my biggest learnings, however, have been about people. I believe, in the words of Maya Angelou,
“People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.”
I make it a point to get to know the people I work with. Whether it’s a leader, an engineer, or the person who serves my tea. Especially in these times as the world copes with the pandemic, I think it’s more important than ever before to connect with one another and take the time out of our busy schedules to ask, “How are you?”, to listen and to support one another.
What are the three things you would tell your teenage self?
The first thing I would tell my teenage self is to be fearless. Don’t be afraid of failure. Be bold and take risks. Seize opportunities as they come. I like to say, “In failures, we learn, and in successes we earn.”
The second is, be authentic and true to yourself and others. Live with integrity. Be truthful and own your mistakes. Focus on solutions rather than blame.
Lastly, I would say, keep an open mind and heart. Listen to people and really hear what they are saying. Respect your differences and embrace them.
What drives you?
The biggest motivator for me is being able to solve a problem. It’s knowing that I’m not just creating a product or a service, I’m solving a problem and making life better for someone out there. Another thing that gives me tremendous energy is seeing the difference we make to the communities around us, not only by giving money or things but by sharing our skills and expertise, by giving what may be the most valuable resource – our time – to those in need. Last but not the least, we should have a support system behind us, whether it’s family, friends or a mentor. We all have days when we need help, or just a comforting word or smile. I take strength from all of these and it never fails to energize me and keep me going.
I will admit, we have come a long long way in the feminist movement. From horribly stereotyped female roles in pop culture (we still love you, Monroe) to breaking all norms, we became better people. We’ve shattered the status quo and created our own new reality. Women have conquered male-dominated fields and even bested the latter in more ways than we can count. But have we achieved the equality we deserve? In a time where gender equality is a fundamental right, do we realise the inadequacies women still face? Gender equality still is a seemingly never-ending fight even today. Despite the many groundbreaking milestones women have overcome, we still have a long way to go. According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2020, it will take an average of 100 years to close the gender gap. 100 years. For the same opportunities. For. Equal. Treatment. So yes, let’s celebrate the prominence we’ve gained today, the obstacles we’ve overcome and the misogynistic balls we’ve kicked. And let’s continue to strive for nothing but the best and fight the fight for equality, just beyond our reach.
Being a great leader does not stand its basis only on logic and compatibility. It extends to the emotional capacity of a leader to listen and understand. Women are at an advantage, having a more transformational leadership style. According to a study conducted by Hagberg Consulting Group, women managers were ranked higher than men in 42 out of 52 leadership traits. And yet the leadership gap among the two is big. Why, with our extraordinary skills, are we still so underrepresented in politics, the corporate sector, the scientific community and what have you? We need more Cheryl Sandberg’s, we need more Arundhati Bhattacharya’s, we need more Jacinda Ardern’s (could she have handled the pandemic any better?!), we need more Nivruti Rai’s.
We live in an age and day where a good percentage of women don’t face obstacles because of their gender. But misogyny still lurks, ever so slyly disguised. We’ve shattered the glass ceiling only to face another. Women need more political and social representation. Women need more economic opportunities.
We have come far fighting for the right of equality and will continue till we get what we deserve. However, looking back, let’s note the hurdles overcome, be proud, and continue going forward. Ending this the only way Beyonce taught us to, who run the world?
Comments