Session

An odd Saturday morning. The concept of odd/even Saturday will be clear to people who have their close ones working in Public Sector Banks in India. My husband was working today, and I had an off-day. So, I was juggling between cleansing up the house and also enjoying my holiday. My mother called, and we were having a general conversation about how we, as women, should ensure that every day we must include some vitamin-rich foods. We were discussing a weekly chart where she can manage to include those foods with minimum disruption to her daily routine. Our bodies are getting weak over time, and I feel like I'm getting older faster than my mom. While dictating her options and suggesting alternatives, I did not know whether I would do the same for me. I don't have kids now, and I don't know if, with today's evolving Gen Z, my child will be part of Gen eZ. A term that I coined today as part of another conversation with one of my college friends. Besides, will she/he be able to take care of that for me? I don't know, and I certainly cannot rely on that. I will be needing these recommendations much earlier in my life.

Anyways, the call was interrupted by a reminder for a "Session" today with my friend. Let her be named Q for anonymity. To call her a college friend is an insult to the bond that I share with her. I do not have words for that. She is not my best friend, but the bond we share is an essence that has entwined our souls. I recently connected with her after a very long time on her birthday on a video call. It was so nice to see her, and we had a lovely conversation that day without any complaints about who calling who, who doesn't call, and who never picks up the call. We simply started, and she reminded that once I had asked her to take a session with my students regarding anything she has learned during her industrial experience. I told her we could still do that, and immediately she created a zoom call scheduled for today.

So, at 11:30 we started, and we tried to center around what should be the topic for students of today, which students she wants to address, and how long the session should be. So, during our conversation, we settled for the topic of how to make students interview-ready. And somewhere around the discussion, I started talking about how the female engineering students of my class have the least interest in shining out and have almost settled for being "dumb" as generally portrayed in movies. How they do not understand that gender equality is a term that they take for granted within the boundaries of the campus and is still very rare outside. And it is not simply about equal pay. It is about equal recognition for the same or even double the amount of work.

My friend is at level 3 starting from the top management, and in a room full of males, a CEO clearly puts out the question in clear words as to whom shall he go to clear his doubts? She is shocked. She is the one representing her organization there and still, the CEO thinks that someone specifically male would be an appropriate candidate to answer his questions. I am at level 3 from the top too. In a meeting full of faculty members from three departments, when I answered a "Yes" to lead an event, still, the responsibility was given to a male faculty member who is also at Level 3. I mean, why? Why is this still happening to us when we both have worked really hard to be where we are today? Why aren't we acknowledged or recognized or considered responsible for upholding the value of our organization? It's not about me not being offered the same amount of butter as my brother; it's about why my sweat and blood are of lesser value than a male's?

And the girls today must understand, if they do not learn this now, they are going to end at the bottom of this whirlpool. My best friends ever since college have been super pro-woman. I have been with the strongest of women ever since my birth. I always had a girl-gang on whom I have depended on blindly, and they have been my constant source of strength, inspiration, and everything powerful I have ever felt about myself. Starting from my mother, her sisters, my sister, cousins, friends, colleagues, my female in-laws, are so powerful women. Their everyday routine, their minute tasks show me the tremendous amount of strength they have within themselves. And whenever I think of them, I feel in awe of being with such great legends.

The best thing that my friend mentioned as a woman's strength doesn't mean to reach a particular destination, but it's an everyday struggle and everyday strength to what we bring to the table and still go on in the hope of getting recognized and acknowledged equally, not more, not less.

The discussion continued for about an hour. We wanted to design a session for students, and we ended up having a mindful therapy session for ourselves. Women make women, and strong women make women strong. I am blessed to have such a great friend, and I hope every female in this world should be a strong woman to her best friend.