One Swallow Does Not A Summer Make. But One Strong Woman Can Much Change In Society Make. 

At Believe in Yourself, we have always stood for empowerment of the all by generating opportunities to “create a society where people seek to become the best version of themselves by ‘Believing in Themselves’.”  And to commemorate women’s week this March, we organised a tweet chat, an opportunity for leaders to lend their voice and views on all things about Women at Work. It had a phenomenal response!    

#ChooseToChallenge is a war cry to up the ante, for once and for all. 

A total of 7 questions about the role of women in today’s corporate world in India beginning with the most important one “What does #ChooseToChallenge mean to you” set the ball rolling. 

An interesting scenario emerged whereupon it was suggested strongly that the focus should shift from ‘how things should be’ to ‘how things could be’. Breaking the old shackles of antiquated mental models on what women should be capable of to what women can be capable of requires a certain amount of self-awareness and courage to be open to difficult feedback – by both genders. 

Experience speaks. 

Many tweets were strong voices of women who had first-hand experience of being challenged by the very same ills that the world is speaking against – gender bias and inequality but who at the same time found invaluable help from unexpected sources. They spoke positively in that having a professional coach, a mentor, even a trusted network of leaders helped them tremendously in the words of Harlina Sodhi, Co-founder and CEO, Believe In Yourself – “the coach has been my anchor; grounding me, at other times a lighthouse; protecting me from harm and many a times, the one who has taken me to places I would not have gone myself. I would recommend life coaching to all those who #ChooseToChallenge themselves."

Promoting inclusivity

Gender equality is a human rights problem, not only a women's issue, and it impacts many facets of society, including the workplace. We need more males to be equal partners in the dialogue around gender equity in order to promote equality in all lines of command in the workplace and see more woman leaders. Having a male worker as a partner will lead to empowerment and mutual respect for both men and women. Social change-makers, such as the UN's 'He for She' Campaign, have been setting good examples for citizens of both genders to take radical action towards unity and strive toward a gender-equal environment.

Kulmeet Bawa; President and MD SAP (Indian and Subcontinent) shared that: “SAP has committed to minimum 25% of leadership to women.  

The way forward.

On being asked which 3 things they would recommend for all to work on in 2021 and onwards, the tweeters were amazingly similar, almost as if the tweets were orchestrated! (however, we assure you there were not ☺). Self-empathy, self-kindness and self-respect topped the list and rightly so. 

In the corporate world, much like one’s personal world, women can command respect, receive kindness and compassion if they themselves characterize these qualities for themselves first. No longer, will today’s woman ‘go gently into the night’ – she will make her voice heard, she will stand up for herself, and one step at a time, one day at a time, she will win. In fact, this tweet chat was testimony of the fact that ‘she’ is already winning out there. 

Supria Dhanda; Country Manager & VP Western Digital in one tweet put it so aptly: “Being resilient, holding steadfast in my inner belief and nurturing a highly trusted network on leaders and friends has helped me overcome challenges and roadblocks in my own life journey. 

After all, We, (the women), are already changing the narratives. A renewed focus, with a mindset of already being champions in whatever we are doing currently, shall further enrich our efforts and vision.”

It is time to: Believe In Yourself - Need we say more?