International Women's Day Interview: Indrani Saha, Diebold Nixdorf, Director, Human Resources (India).

Name: Indrani
Saha

Age: 46 Years

City: Mumbai,
India

Occupation:
Director, Human Resources (India)

ST: Please
tell us briefly about you.

Indrani: I am a proud Indian & a
working woman for last 25 years in field of Human Resources Management. I love
to interact with people. Travelling & reading are my hobbies. My motto in
life is to be happy & give my best in whatever I do.

ST: Who
is a woman that inspires you the most and why?

Indrani: Mother
Teresa – She dedicated her life to charity and humanitarian work, she
is regarded as one of the most selfless people to have ever lived. Recognized
in 1979 when she won the Nobel Peace Prize. However, one of the most admirable
things about Mother Teresa is that she wasn’t doing it for the recognition –
she spent more than 30 years of her life helping others before anybody even
knew who she was. She believed in doing whatever was possible to help, whether
big or small, with her philosophy being; “If you can’t feed a hundred people,
then feed just one.”

ST: How
are you celebrating this year’s International Women’s Day?

Indrani: Every year we invite a senior
woman leader from within the organization to address all the staff in the
company followed by sessions on health and safety, grooming and spa session.

ST: What is
the most important message you want to send out to all the women around the
world on this occasion?

Indrani:

Their right to live in peace.

Their right to be treated with
dignity.

Their right to equality of
opportunity.

Their right to be educated.

ST: What
according to you is ‘women empowerment’?

Indrani: I would like to put it differently
that what does it really mean to empower women? Is it political
empowerment? Economic empowerment? Social empowerment? In fact, these
categories are not mutually exclusive. They are mutually reinforcing.

Women around the world are
decision-makers for themselves, their families, villages, businesses, and
governments.

Women’s political empowerment– More political participation in elections and government is
necessary to give women a voice in the policies that affect their lives.

Women’s economic empowerment–
This entails that women have the authority to make their own decisions
regarding use of their resources, leads to prosperity for families and
communities.

Social empowerment– Often achieved
through public policy and education, liberates women from the mistreatment,
exploitation, and oppression that inhibit women from reaching their full
potential.

The barriers preventing women’s
empowerment extend beyond individuals – there are institutional and systemic
reasons why women in some societies cannot participate freely. To break down
these barriers, individuals have to work together to reform the laws, social
norms, or whichever institutions are inhibiting women’s productivity. Societies
must also acknowledge the potential for growth and prosperity that can be
achieved when women are included.

ST: What would
you say are the main challenges facing women at present in India?

Indrani:

a. Selective
abortion and female infanticide:

Social discrimination against women and a preference for sons prevails
today even after 70 years of independence.

b. Dowry and Bride burning:

Regardless of caste & class, today also we get to hear about these
incidents.

c. Domestic
violence:

It is endemic and widespread. Around 70% of women in India are victims
to domestic violence.

d. Disparity
in education:

The disparity is higher in rural areas where over 63% or more women
remain unlettered.

e. Child Marriages:

Inspire of awareness being created by media, we still see that this
prevalent in the country.

f. Inadequate Nutrition:

Women in many communities eat last and generally have left overs to
satisfy their hunger. The 3rd March Times of India carries an article on this
subject.

g. Sexual harassment:

Every 7 minutes, a crime is committed against women.

Every 26 minutes, a women is molested.

Every 34 minutes, a rape takes place.

Every 42 minutes, a sexual harassment incident occurs.

Every 43 minutes, a women is kidnapped.

A shameful plight!!!

h. Status of
widows:

They are treated poorly, hardly given proper food and sometimes
altogether abandoned as one can witness in the streets
of Vrindavan and Varanasi.

i. Military
Service:

Women are not allowed to have combat roles in the armed forces. The
study also held that a permanent commission could not be granted to female
officers since they have neither been trained for command nor have they been
given the responsibility so far.

j. Equal pay for
equal work:

While there have been several court rulings guaranteeing the right of
earning the same pay for the same amount of work, it remains a distant reality
in practice. This is particularly true of the unorganized sector especially
dealing with manual labor. Besides these women get no maternity leave, or
proper transportation facilities especially in the night shifts.

k. Property
rights:

While the law of the land enshrines equal property distribution to the
family of the deceased in the absence of a will irrespective of the gender,
this is again normally just on paper. In practice most families leave daughters
out of property rights and payment of dowry is symbolic of the girl’s
disinheritance. Besides different religions have different takes on the
matter.

ST: Where do
you want to see yourself in next 5 years?

Indrani: I aspire to lead a healthy and good life. I see
myself as a better individual than what I am today, both personally and
professionally and contribute positively to the society.