Tamil Nadu - Tiruchi   

Offer flexible timings to employed women: Gariyali

Staff Reporter

To strike a balance between household chores and academics

EMPOWERMENT: (From left) The Principal Secretary to Governor of Tamil Nadu, C. K. Gariyali, the Director of DMS Financial Services, Padmalatha Suresh, and the Head- Telecom Solutions of Tata Consultancy Services, Rajani Seshadri, at a seminar in Tiru chi on Saturday. — Photo: R. Ashok

TIRUCHI: With inbuilt energy drive and required support structure, women could excel in all three fields - entrepreneurship, corporate sector and public administration. This formed the crux of the seminar on `Women empowerment' organised by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), Tiruchi Zone, at Shrimati Indira Gandhi College on Saturday.

The Principal Secretary to the Governor, C. K. Gariyali, made observations on the prevalence of women discrimination, both at domestic and public administration sector. "None is to be blamed. The centuries of practices have made even the women insensitive to the discriminations."

Women are filled with apprehensions when it comes to the public sector, she said adding that only a woman Collector "would reach the kitchen of a hut" while the men "stop at the streets."

Reasoning out the decrease in the number of women in research level, Ms. Gariyali said that women were not offered flexible timings, as they have to strike a balance between household chores and academics.

Briefing on the challenges faced by women in the entrepreneurial arena, the Director of DMS Financial Services, Padmalatha Suresh, said that the breaking out the shackles and moulds were the first hurdle of every woman who dared to think out of the ordinary. "You will be deprived of a comfortable monthly income and you will have to start denying the initial profit to reinvest it for the business. But you will soon realise the risk was worth taken."

Though there was a steady increase in the count of women entrepreneurs in recent times, they comprised only 10 per cent of the total entrepreneurs in the country. "The profit margin for an entrepreneur is relatively high in the country than elsewhere."

Pointing out `dabbawalahs' of Mumbai, who became the Harvard University's case study, she said from a bangle-seller to a biocon, it was the woman entrepreneur who keeps her passion alive to improve her business. "Ethics and finance management are innately imbibed in every woman. They are more humble and they are brought up with human resource skills."

The Head- Telecom Solutions of Tata Consultancy Services, Rajani Seshadri, expressed concern over the state of women in corporate sectors.

On the hitches, she said a woman needed an external support structure that could make her competent enough with corporate men. "Companies must pool in more money to assist women with such structure to bring out a better employee."

An alumnus of Indian Institute of Science, Ms. Rajani urged the students to develop empathy, emotional intelligence and diligence and look out better career opportunities.

"You cannot be a super mom, energetic wife and efficient executive, all at once. Strike the target you wish for and excel in that."

An interactive session followed the seminar and the Chairman of CII, Tiruchi zone, B. V. Ramanan chaired the session.

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