Aparna Mathur’s Post

When women receive opportunities that can enhance their visibility and rise up the ranks, they hesitate. The #impostersyndrome and priorities on the domestic front come in the way. Vandana Vishnu urges sponsors for women to undertake an emotional journey with women from Surprise ( why me? what if I fail?) —Considerations ( mapping her eco system for the change in role) —Readiness ( working out strategies for success) This might be a more time consuming and high investment process but one that's like to have far reaching consequences in developing a more diverse and inclusive workplace.#Settingupforsuccess #womenleaders #seniorwomenleaders #diversity #inclusion #womencoaching https://lnkd.in/gmrgMVVS

The question of how much success is attributed to chance and how much to careful planning and hard work is a perennial one. Why do some individuals thrive in entrepreneurship while others falter? And why do some embrace failure as a stepping stone, while others succumb to its weight? While there are myriad answers to these questions, my conversations with successful founders of scaled-up ventures revealed a common thread. #growthmindset #entrepreneurs #businessgrowth #innovation #leadershipqualities #leadershipstyles Offline #Indianentrepreneurs #Indiagrowthstory Jinanda Sheth Nirupama Subramanian

"So normal to want a better life: So unusual to set out to be a better person. Our hopes for ourselves revolve around some form of deliverance- overnight fame; a financial windfall; the miraculous appearance of Mr/Mrs Right that will surely rescue us from misery and loneliness. Yet the slow grind for self betterment- learning to listen harder, appreciate more and be kinder to ourselves and others is an admittedly more arduous, yet infinitely more reliable route to fulfilment." The School of Life London encourages us to pause and ask ourselves some life-altering questions. However, I've noticed that few of us who proactively initiate the process of self-betterment. In my experience, the process I've undertaken for myself and my clients has been messy and discomforting, but also very liberating. #selfawareness #betterversion #fulfillinglife

What if we responded more to our feelings than the thoughts in our mind? With the heart expanding, we would be flying! #emotional #feelings #thinkingfeelingbalance #emotionalresilience #balance

I've been the happiest since I’ve had children I’ve also been at my lowest. I’m a much better version of myself I also haven’t always liked what I’ve seen when mirrors have been held up to me. I’ve never been in more company And at times never felt so lonely. I believe in myself, I trust myself I’ve questioned myself and doubted myself I’ve never smiled so much I’ve never cried so much I’ve never been so excited to watch them grow And simultaneously wished they’d stay little forever Some days I feel like I’ve achieved nothing But as I think of them at night, I know I have achieved everything It's one beautiful contradiction A journey of wrong turns that are probably still right And dreams of the future even if you don’t get enough sleep to dream Exhaustion but effortless love The hardest and the most rewarding thing ever MOTHERHOOD.  Abstracted from Jessica Ulrich's book- All I see if you. #motherhood #highslows For a working mother these pulls and pressures may be a tad more Growing Leadership of Women

How often do we actually build teams with people who are different from us? How often do we listen to a contrarian view? It is easy to surround yourself with people who think like you. Inclusion of diversity calls upon us to collaborate with others who think differently. We may disagree, but we respect each other's perspectives. #confirmationbias #collaborationbias #diversity #inclusion

I was introduced to Kabir, only a few years ago. Kabir’s messages speak to our core essence with an urgency and boldness that’s hard to ignore. He is as relevant today as he was in the 15th century. -- Our minds naturally seek comfort in the familiar. He pushes us to challenge these #biases and see the value in those who are different. #Inclusion isn't always second nature. Kabir reminds us that acceptance and appreciation for #diversity is a skill that can be and should be cultivated. Its the need of the hour in our world thats hyper-connected and a multicultural one. This extract from Shabnam Virmani’s book, Burn Down Your House; captures the lofty message that Kabir has for us. "If we embraced this wholeness within ourselves, perhaps we would be less anxious as men about the feminine within, less anxious as heterosexuals about our (perhaps unexplored) capacity to love someone of the same sex, less anxious as “us” about the lurking presence of “them” in us. We could relax into our porosity. We would no longer need to feel small, threatened and in constant need of securing our borders, rallying our defences against being overwhelmed by the “Other”. https://lnkd.in/gebsAX7h Sailaja Manacha Vinti Mehta (She/ Her/ Hers) #kabirphilosophy

Standing tall on his values for #integrity #equality No wonder he commands such high respect. Competence with integrity and authenticity is a winning combo as a leader. Rahul Dravid declines higher bonus for T20 World Cup victory, opts for equal pay with support staff: Reports  https://lnkd.in/gamSiEy6

The advertisement in which the mother is boasting about the "independent" son in an arranged marriage scenario struck a chord. Adding on to his mother’s comment, the prospective groom assures his would-be spouse of his ability to cook as if it were no big deal. This advertisement stirred memories of the time when my parents were searching for a suitable match for me, many moons ago. In one of the meetings, the father of the prospective groom relentlessly questioned me on my ability to handle domestic chores. I was shocked by the contrasting silence of his son, an Ivy League-educated, six-figure-salary-earner, as his father continued to emphasize traditional gender roles. Thankfully, things are changing. Arranged marriages are slowly shedding their age-old obsession with the woman's domesticity. This is the refreshing breeze we need in arranged marriages – a transformation as invigorating as the citrusy zing of Vim! What gender stereotypes do you still see play out in marriages? #genderstereotypes #equality #couplesshareload #progressivesociety #domesticresponsibility https://lnkd.in/ghvwdpug

Claudia Goldin, a Nobel laureate, has extensively studied the gender pay gap and the factors influencing women's advancement in the workplace. I found this part of her research quite fascinating. "Greedy work" is a term she uses to describe jobs that require long and inflexible hours, often with unpredictable schedules or demands that make it difficult for employees to balance work and personal life. She highlights how finance, a domain where we still find more men than women, has seen the greatest increases in income over the decades. #incomeinequality #Greedyjobs devalue roles such as caregiving and childcare, which have traditionally fallen disproportionately on women. Women, more often than men, may seek or remain in jobs that offer greater flexibility or predictability in work hours to accommodate family responsibilities. In India, as #unemployment and inflation increase and aspirations are high, the demand for "greedy jobs" will also increase. And in my view, two trends might emerge, (one can argue that we are already seeing this)- gender inequality in demanding and high-paying jobs will continue, and secondly, women opting for such roles will choose to not start or delay #familyplanning Her research emphasizes the importance of workplace flexibility and policies that support work-life balance as critical factors in reducing gender inequality in earnings and career progression. #genderpaygap Extract from Goldin’s Career and Family: Women’s century-long journey towards Equity