HOME TO HOME AFFAIRS – WOMEN AS ADMINISTRATORS
Mrs. K. Kameswari, M.A.Eng., M.A.Ed.,PGCTE
Assistant Professor of English
“Oh woman! Please provide us with wealth through your intellect.” (Atharva 7.48.2)
A woman speaks after waking up in morning, “My destiny is as glorious as the rising sun. I am the flag of my home and society. I am also their head. I can give impressive discourses. My sons conquer enemies. My daughter illuminates the whole world. I myself am winner of enemies. My husband has infinite glory. I have made those sacrifices which make a king successful. I have also been successful. I have destroyed my enemies.” (Rig 10.159)
Vedic philosophy placed woman on a high pedestal. Her intellect was unquestionable as the source of wealth and essential part of home and society. She was treated as the deity of the home. Women enjoyed equal status in their social and religious lives because a man without woman was taken as an inadequate person. She took equal part in religious ceremonies with her husband. Vedic age was the golden age for women in which the status of women was not unequal to that of men. Women got the same education. Most of the female characters of Ramayana and Mahabharata were well educated. Women had been given an important place in the society.
Managing the household affairs came to them naturally. The seeds of administration can be found in women ages ago when they were even confined to the four walls of the home. At the domestic front, women were the driving force who not only enjoyed freedom but also influenced men to act in a particular way. Home was the basis of production. Women managed spinning and weaving of clothes at home. They helped their husbands in agricultural pursuits also. Status of Women in the Smritis is noteworthy here.
Manu says “Women must always be honoured and respected by the father, brother, husband and brother-in-law who desire their own welfare, and where women are honoured, there the very Gods are pleased, but where they are not honoured, no sacred rite even could yield rewards”.
With such kind of honour, women showed considerable ability in making the arrangements and performing the tasks needed for financial growth of the family. They took care of the budgeting processes, planning of the materials, food management, distribution and allocation of the available resources for various purposes. Status of Women in the Buddhist Period has marked a decline to the rights of women. Many evil customs were prevailing in the society. Consequently, women remained at home and shouldered the responsibility of managing the household affairs and rearing of children.
After 500 BC, women’s position was changed and degraded. Many sociologists attempted to study changes in the women’s status around the globe in general and in Indian society in particular. The studies revealed that women faced gender discrimination in the field of administration outside the home. Existence of joint families and more children has deprived women of their rights of education. The women never even bothered about their own rights as felt secure in the large family structure. This has made them complete dependent on men.
This obsession for years has changed women’s life. There has been a considerable improvement in the next few decades. Women empowerment emerged by means of higher education, high profile professions, legal and political awareness. The global scenario has changed in favour of women which accepted women as a productive resource. Women population forms half of the entire human population. Their contribution in the administration has been recognized. Every home maker is a good administrator as her skills came to lime light when most of them started home enterprises and proved to be successful entrepreneurs.
Of late, a notable number of women are working women. They have been showcasing extraordinary talent in maintaining work life balance. Their professional and administrative skills have come to the forefront with the advancing technology through social media. The successful administrators have paved the way for the young generation to function as thoughtful, goal-driven and result-oriented administrators. When it comes to networking, women are the most skilful at the domestic level as well as professional level. Their mastery over navigation, discovery of opportunities, the ways in which they protect one another, creative thinking sets them out as it makes an impact to create a difference in the lives of people.
Another special quality that draws women to the success of administration is the building of relationships which are long-lasting. Their effective communicative skills bond people together. These relationships are very essential in the collaborative work environment in the corporate world to sustain as successful leaders and administrators. They are good at time management and can quickly assess the areas to collaborate, organize and strengthen the organizational set up. Women’s sociability, positive and never give-up attitude serves better in the business leadership. They are natural strategic thinkers who can ensure the growth of organizations for which they are associated with.
Feministic Psychology identifies common characteristic features of women all over the world. There are specific patterns which are considered as feminine like gentleness, sensitivity, compassion, tolerance, nurturance and empathy. Women stay objective and handle situations with absolute control over the personal feelings to dictate the course of action. When an occasion requires discipline, women administrators showcase their ability to be unbiased in dealing the cases. As efficient administrators, women are able to inspire their staff to perform beyond company standards.
Many women administrators have proved themselves and excelled in their skills to keep the employees’ morale high, whether it’s arranging after-work gatherings or providing incentives and bonuses for exceeding goals. Women are good communicators as they are patient listeners and keep the communication flowing in the organization. An effective administrator is one who maintains a good relationship with employees to strive for the gains of the organization. Women mentors are good at exchanging experiences and exhibiting empathy towards employees. They understand and accommodate individual preferences by allowing a certain portion of flexibility in the work environment. These traits have enormous role in proving women’s successful administrative position in the modern world. Recent research in human psychology suggests that women’s brains are better than men’s at multitasking. The multiple tasks women perform within the timeframe of 24/7 show a great deal of women’s ability in their ease of shifts from one work to the other.
Svetlana Kuptsova, author of the study, and part of the National Research University Higher School of Economics Neurolinguistic Laboratory states “Our findings suggest that women might find it easier than men to switch attention and their brains do not need to mobilize extra resources in doing so, as opposed to male brains.” It is also proved that women find it easier to switch between tasks at hand. However, Kuptsova and her colleagues could give no explanation as to what areas of the male and female brains respond differently, and why this has been so unclear. The results implied that women are more equipped to stop and process what’s going on in front of them in a stressful and complex situation.
With the transformation of administration, women have emerged as a new galaxy of administrators and improved the status of women in the current outset. A great deal of women is contributing to the nation’s growth by means of leadership engagements in various fields. Recent studies in this area have provided evidence to the fact that women leaders are equally competent along with men for leadership positions. They have become role models for many budding entrepreneurs through their efforts in the field of training and development. In the course of leadership, women with higher cognitive levels, experience, soft skills have become successful in empowering others. Today, organizations have recognized women to be competent to provide equal opportunities for them in various leadership projects. The below data suggests the competencies of top leaders based on various parameters.
According to Forbes resources, Beth E. Mooney, CEO of KeyCorp, became the first ever woman chief of a top 20 US Bank. A Catalyst, July, 2011 report states that nearly 52% of administrative positions are held by women.
Forbes list of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women, 2016 quoted the top 10 selection which includes –
Angela Merkel, Chancellor, Germany
Hillary Clinton, Presidential candidate, United States
Janet Yellen, Chair, Federal Reserve, United States
Melinda Gates, Cochair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, United States
Mary Barra, CEO, General Motors, United States
Christine Lagarde, Managing director, International Monetary Fund, France
Sheryl Sandberg,COO, Facebook, United States
Susan Wojcicki, CEO, YouTube, Google, United States
Meg Whitman, CEO, Hewlett-Packard, United States
Ana Patricia Botín, Chair, Santander Group, Banco Santander, Spain
These findings reveal that appreciated men’s abilities in administration as “Think manager-think male” by Virginia Schein is challenged by the new women that is to say in the sense of the best emergent women. These with the emergence of new roles for women have risen to the occasion in providing best examples for the upcoming administrators. Women who had limited role at home as home makers have passed the hurdles, crossed the borders, enhanced skills, focused on the modern technology without quitting basic responsibilities as a mother, sister, daughter and wife. They sharpened their dexterity, shaped their career with expertise, motivated their teams as team leaders, mentored the staff as efficient administrators, built bonds with the same basic binding thought, energized the levels of position as sources of energy, perfected as profit makers and presented themselves as competent administrators.
Drawing the inferences would give the essence of the argument that women’s role in the modern arena is not confined to home alone. The wide spectrum of developmental activities across the globe has opened new frontiers for the women administrators. The emphasis on the transformational leadership in the recent years focuses on feminine traits as empathy, collaboration and emotional intelligence. The transformation is an effect of sufferings of the past which have strengthened her in all spheres. Maternity has deepened her role and education has broadened her knowledge. The indomitable courage and marvelous efforts displayed by women led them to success. Their remarkable achievements leave an imprint upon the new generation women administrators.
References:
- Bass, B M, Bass & Stogdill. Handbook of Leadership: Theory, research, and Managerial application: New York, The Free Press.1990
- Unger, R. K., & Crawford, M. E. Women and gender: A feminist psychology. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.1992
- Vedavachaspati, Priyavart. Mera Dharma: Prakashan Mandir, Gurukul Kangri University, Haridwar