"It's Critical To Make Sure Our Voices Are Heard In The Right Corridors And Offices'' - Celebrating Womanhood

On the occasion of International Women's Day 2018, we asked the women of top b-schools across India to highlight their achievements, views on feminism, the #MeToo campaign and their perception of gender inequality in our country. My name is Nanditha Kini and I’m what I’d like to term a ‘seasoned’ consultant in the field of ERP and I.T strategy advisory, with over a decade of working experience in Microsoft ERP presales, implementation and project management. Armed with an MBA degree from the S.P Jain Institute of Management and; Research, obtained in 2016, I now continue my climb up the corporate ladder with three hobbies to steer away from the mundane; photography, blogging and western vocal music.

How would you explain feminism to a 10-year- old?
Feminism is making sure that boys and girls get the same chance to go to school, college and work. It’s in making sure that your best friends, both boys and girls get to play with both their doll houses and whichever sport they want to. It’s liking blue as a girl and pink as a boy. It’s making sure that you get to learn karate, music and dance.

Which female icon has inspired you the most and why?
This may sound egocentric, but to me, my first idol is my Mom. Idols are normally people we associate to legends. People who achieve the unachievable, and who attain the unattainable. My Mom is an educated home-maker by choice. It’s only because of her choice that I have had the ability to develop an open mind free of biases with an understanding of my identity, the world around and the capability to judge right from wrong. I believe that we each have at least one opportunity to shine; very few actually capitalize on it. To me? Success is individualistic. We each set our goals and achieve them. Anyone who sets goals and achieves them without an imbalance to other areas of life is someone I’d peg my idol. Oprah Winfrey, Margaret Thatcher, Madame Curie and J.K Rowling are women I look up to for their diligence, resilience and for overcoming all odds to achieve their individual goals.

What kind of impact do you think the #MeToo campaign created?
I wasn’t very convinced with the #metoo campaign when it first started. The cynic in me refused to believe that it would grow into more than a one- time candle-light march, or a social media outcry. It’s turned out to be one of those revolutionary campaigns that starts slow, simmers and cooks into a hot topic which deserves the importance that we credence it with, today. The impact is that as a woman, the importance of communicating with each other, and having a strong network of women- friends, family and colleagues, is critical to make sure our voices are heard in the right corridors and offices has been enunciated most, thanks to this campaign.

What are your thoughts and feelings about such movements?
I was shocked listening to and reading accounts of women from different quarters on the #metoo campaign. It’s only when we speak up and speak out collectively, will our voices be heard and substantive action be taken. We need more such movements, but planned ones with substantive actions pre-planned when a certain quorum of voices or opinions is collected. A social media outcry that starts off with a bang is like a fire-cracker. All noise and nothing substantial coming out of it. Campaigns have to have depth in substance, portray the conviction for which the
campaigners stand, and be clear in how its purpose is to be portrayed.

What attitudes towards women have you encountered by men in education - professors and students - that you wish to be corrected?
Absolutely none against women at all. Except for a professor in B school who always associated business research issues to couples’ relationship issues instead to actual business scenarios which we’d attended university to learn about. We don’t take it personally but attribute it to poor upbringing, education and the lack of exposure to the world at large.

Having gotten the benefit of elite education, how do you plan to pass it on to other disadvantaged women?
The need of the hour, in addition to the most obvious funding of education for the underprivileged, is also the awareness that education schemes and scholarships exist. Most people who live below the poverty line aren’t even aware of the schemes introduced by the authorities at the city, state and national levels. I’d like to change the education reservation system from a caste-based quota to a BPL quota with a percentage for women only. Also that women in Corporates, regardless of level and designation should get involved in CSR activities centred around educating the underprivileged. Practising true feminism, I say ‘under-privileged’ here, not just the women.