Seminar on What Women Want

Women don’t need empowerment, but encouragement and equality at work place, opined women at a panel discussion on ‘What women want: women as integral part for the growth of businesses.’ The event was organised by the ASK Circle Mutual Fund Round Table (MFRT) in association with Business Standard.
 

According to Niru Tulsiyan, a practicing Chartered Accountant, women are self-empowered, and in fact much better in handling stressful situations at work than men.
 

Mamta Binani, Former National President of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI), said recent changes in the Companies Act promoted gender diversity. The norms require that companies should have at least one woman in the board.
  

“Women take different roles, at family at work, and maintain a balance. Family support plays a crucial role in keeping the balance,” Binani added.
  

Jyoti Jain, Joint Managing Director of TT Ltd., a textiles company, echoed the same view. She said women needed more social and family encouragement to mark their presence in businesses.
 

“Women don’t need any special treatment but some sort of flexibility in timing and safety at work places is desirable. Every day is a new challenge for a woman, and there is a need to prioritise the needs,” she said.
 

However, while women have made tremendous progress across sectors, speakers agreed that many times their investment decisions are left to men.
 

“These days, women and men take joint decisions in every facet of life. However, women should be more proactive in making investment decisions. This is an area where women are still lagging,” said Tulsiyan.