Sonal Singh On Sonal's Table
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For the past few months, I have been addressing working women on the topic of “Transcending Emotional Barriers”. In the sessions held, I have had the privilege of meeting women on a one-on-one or group session. The undercurrent of the discussion and the ensuing colloquy has always centered on the “emotional well being” of the woman. Be it an unmarried career oriented woman, a mother with an infant at home or a woman getting back to the job front post a sabbatical.
The media off late has been replete with news of women empowerment campaigns. I beg to adopt a more divergent view in stating that women already are an empowered gender. Women need not be handed empowerment like an award being conferred or a title being bestowed in recognition of services. We were born empowered by virtue of the fact that we were born women and have the power to bear more strong women from our wombs. However, unfortunately society makes our empowerment dependent on a multitude of factors like marriage, spouse, family & in-laws. So, even though we may be strong and independent, we are bound by our ties to the emotions that we feel for our home, family & relations. Try as we may, we cannot disregard our roles as harmony creators or synergy makers at the home front and this to a certain degree impedes our empowerment.
When it comes to the home front, even the strongest or most career oriented woman, will find herself drawn into familial issues. This is because the female psyche, loving and nurturing as it is, draws the strength to perform at the work front, from the serenity of her home environment. This is in the innate nature of a woman and it is ingrained into the fabric of her persona.
Let’s face it, women are pro creators and nurturers. Irrespective of marital status, a non-disruptive home environment helps us to square our shoulders and put our best foot forward. Born with the talent for management, all women at some point may find themselves juggling multiple roles & responsibilities. Some do this with aplomb while others succumb to the pressure and battle ill health and depression. Unseeingly but often enough, this depression sets in deep and starts to affect the work-life balance of the woman. It takes a toll on the mental health of the woman and may reduce a confident, gregarious person to a reticent & quiet state.
The World Health Organization report states that symptoms of depression, anxiety, and unspecified psychological distress are 2–3 times more common among women than among men. Studies in India and across the globe have shown that CMD (common mental disorders) such as depression, stress, insomnia and anxiety are strongly associated to female gender. A lot of times hormonal factors related to the reproductive cycle may also play a role in women’s increased vulnerability to depression. Additionally, if the home environment in such cases is disruptive with nagging in-laws, an abusive husband, a dysfunctional family, divorce or separation etc ; then the stress of having to face those situations on a daily basis tends to compound mental health issues. Moreover, life milestones like childbirth and post par-tum stress, trying to come back to work post a sabbatical often also create a tense mindset in a woman.
A working woman facing any of the above issues is often not able to perform to her optimum level at the work space. Even in a gender diverse organization with excellent opportunities for growth, such a woman may find it difficult to achieve a work life balance. She may not be able to achieve harmonious integration of all facets of her life and this is turn may further lead to non-performance at the work space.
So, when we talk about empowerment, the moot issue remains that till such time that a woman is emotionally encumbered by familial issues; she will not be able to embrace the empowerment. Till such time that women in India continue to pull double or triple work shifts (at work and at home), they will forever carry their home into their offices and vice versa. This in turn will continue to lead to mental and physical stress, leading to the creation of emotional barriers which will impact mental health and undoubtedly in the long run impede professional success. Hence, the need of the hour is not to empower women but to help them transcend these emotional barriers so that they may regain the strength to compete at par with men & succeed.
