A few years ago, as we came out of a meeting called to discuss the proposed reorganization of some departments at the corporate headquarters of Oil India Limited, two of my colleagues from other functions and I, all women, lingered near the elevator discussing the ramifications of the action plan proposed in the meeting before heading out to our respective offices. Just then the elevator stopped and our Chairman stepped out, looked at the three of us and smilingly said, “I can see that a great shopping expedition is getting planned.” He laughed and walked off. We all joined him in laughter as his comment was meant to be light-hearted. However, after the laughter died down, we all had a similar reaction. We looked at each other, and we were thinking the same thing. We felt crushed, wondering if that’s all a group of women is supposed to be talking about. Does our bandwidth begin and end with shopping, babies, and domestic issues?
In the Shackles of Stereotypes . . .Even Today
