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| She
needs empathy, not sympathy
The world's
first woman Prime Minister and now a woman President, that's the
boast of most Sri Lankans when talking about women's rights in the
country. Look around and one can see women in all sectors, even
those which were known to be male bastions, is another common argument
put forward to prove that equality is the norm and discrimination
the exception in Lankan society. "The difference
between a man and a woman with regard to doing a job of work is
only in people's minds. I believe it all depends on your efficiency
and how you manage. There is absolutely no prohibition on women
doing any job. It's how you do it," says Legal Draftsman Therese
Perera. She explains
that there is no prohibition even in the labour sector for women
to do any job that a man does. Overtime, night work, all are open
to women if they are willing to take on the challenge. And even
with regard to salaries, the only sector, as far as she knows where
wages are not on par is the estate sector, where women get about
Rs. 10 less than a man. However, Mrs. Perera who started off as
an Assistant Legal Draftsman and rose to the top in 2001 in a career
spanning 28 years, says, "I don't think it's an easy thing
because women have to strike a balance between their official and
personal lives. They have to make time for one part without neglecting
the other. Of course, to be an efficient career woman you need the
support and encouragement of your family." It's a contrasting
view from a woman who has been in the higher ranks of the corporate
sector for 16 years. "There is a major difference between the
working woman and the working man. The women buckle down to their
work from the time they get to office, stopping only for a quick
lunch, because at the back of their minds they know they have to
finish up and head for home to see to their other duties. But for
men it's different," she says preferring to be anonymous. The men chat
for a long time during the day, but stay after office hours late
into the evening to finish up what they could well have done earlier.
The boss, of course, sees it in a different light. He assumes that
they are more responsible and willing to work late. "There
are also other barriers in the form of pregnancy and maternity leave,
in people's attitudes even when recruitment takes place, making
them reluctant to hire women," she says, citing the example
of the IT industry where working round-the-clock is expected and
bosses are hesitant to employ girls. In agreement
is Phoenix Advertising's Media Director Uma Rajamantri, though personally
she has not faced such discrimination. She says that in some instances
women have not got their due place. "Personally, I don't want
to believe this happens, but it is the reality." She backs up
her arguments with irrevocable statistics when she asks whether
women, consisting of 51% of the country's population, have got their
due seat in the workplace? How many women are doing top jobs? "It
is very difficult to climb the corporate ladder. If a man puts in
50%, a woman has to give 75%. It's through sheer grit and hard work
that they are able to come up in life. Women also have to play many
roles, whereas the commitment of the man in family life is quite
small. We too must have things like paternity leave where even the
father can take time off to look after the children. Here it is
more or less the sole responsibility of the mother and often she
has to quit her job. It has to be shared on all fronts, then only
will there be true equality." However, according to her, there
is hope. For, the opportunities for training are there in plenty
now and young women are getting equipped to deal with all the challenges. Nestle’s
Marketing Services Manager Thusitha Kumarakulasingham has battled
it out in a man's world and won. "It all depends on who you
are and how you apply yourself. Most people assume that women are
weaker and it is up to us to prove otherwise, that we can do the
job properly." And she is
the voice of experience, for she was the first woman, since its
launch 14 years ago to head and "very successfully" carry
out the SLIM awards project 2003, which concluded recently. She
believes that men and women have equal talent and stature. Conceding
that women have to work harder because they have to balance many
roles and it is not a smooth road to the top, she stresses it is
not an impossible dream. "Women need to have principles, be
focused and stand by what they believe. Honesty and integrity are
essential if we are to be taken seriously." "Promotions
are given on seniority and we have had no problems on the grounds
that we are women. There has been no discrimination," assures
Senior Assistant State Attorney Anusha Shanmuganathan with regard
to the Attorney General's Department, while a middle level banker
explains that performance at exams paves the way to the top. "We
have to sit for an exam and face an interview to get promotions.
There is no discrimination, but there are other factors that could
make the private banking environment more women-friendly. One would
be to allow new mothers to get off for one hour, when they come
back from maternity leave, to nurse their babies. Now this depends
on the whims and fancies of the manager and whether he likes your
face, but there should be a decision on this," she says. What of the
universities? "I can say categorically that within the Arts
Faculty of the University of Colombo, there is no discrimination
because you are a woman. There have been many heads of departments,
deans, a Vice Chancellor and an acting VC who have been women. At
the same time it does not mean that I'm trying to romanticize. If
speaking generally, there is a lot of authority vested in the heads
of departments and this may sometimes cause problems depending on
who the person is. But usually good teaching and extensive research
help one to forge ahead. However, a more women-friendly environment
could be introduced in the universities with facilities such as
child care," says Director of Studies Neloufer de Mel. "You are
recognized for what you do," says Ogilvy Outreach Media Director
Anoma Ratwatte, indicating that personally she has not faced any
discrimination wherever she worked. Latterly she has been working
for two female bosses, but even when she worked for men there was
no problem. She feels both men and women get a level playing field
in the advertising sector. "In fact, people like to recruit
young girls because they tend to be a little better than boys who
are more playful as soon as they leave school.” Some do the
same job, but just because she is a woman, she gets paid less. The
position will sound the same, but the males get more money, another
corporate sector employee said. "On paper it look good but
when it comes to rupees and cents, the men get higher salaries." But it is changing.
"The younger generation is astute and aggressive. They have
not been brought up in an environment like ours when the mothers
did not work. So young girls will fight for their rights. Even society
has changed. Those days products were not targeted at women but
now things are tailor-made for them." The major problem
in Sri Lanka with regard to women is that we are in denial that
there is discrimination, says a vociferous women's rights advocate.
"We need to get out of denial, accept there is a problem and
quickly set about putting reforms into place." Equality does
not mean treating people similarly, she explains, taking the example
of the stork and the cat. If you give the stork some milk in a saucer
and the cat some milk in a long necked bottle, you are giving them
both milk, but does that mean there is equality? They still cannot
get at the milk. Treating people similarly is no longer a sound
argument. "Women
have been systemically discriminated against and they are now at
a disadvantage. So there is a need to give a slight advantage to
them to make them get on a level playing field. The worst insult
professional women face is lack of respect, sexist comments and
placing them in stereotypes. It causes them humiliation. At most
conferences, women are asked to make the tea as part of their duty.
There's nothing wrong if a woman does it by choice, but it is wrong
when men fit her into that stereotypical role." Be it in the paddy field or among the tea bushes, in the garment factory or the market, the university or the boardroom what women need is empathy and not sympathy. Not to be regarded as a man or a woman, just a human being. |
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