By IANS
Chennai : In a world where men wrote the rules, women need to see they are included in every sphere of life as equal partners, said Kiran Bedi, former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, here Saturday.
Addressing a meeting of the Chennai Chapter of the Ficci Ladies Organisation (FLO), she said the rules written by men revolve around competition, management, control and command.
“Women, on the other hand, have a culture characterised by cooperation, relationship and multi-tasking,” she said.
Citing her own experience in the police service, she said it takes determination to stand out and implement what one believes to be right.
“I have been asked several times by my male colleagues to conform to the system. Typically a male norm,” she quipped.
Referring to a recent leadership conclave which had only two women out of over 35 participants, she remarked: “Having two women is merely tokenism when there are several deserving people like Shanthi Ranganathan, chairperson, T.T. Ranganathan Clinical Research Foundation, and Shantha Sinha, chairperson, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, present here.”
She called upon organisations like FLO to chalk out plans to see women were included in every aspect of life as equal partners and were not just given token representation.
Later she presented the Champion of Humanity award to Ranganathan and Sinha and the Outstanding Women Entrepreneur award to Mallika Srinivasan, director, Tafe Ltd.
Speaking at the function, Srinivasan said the unique soft skills possessed by women are valued more by the corporate sector these days.
Talking about her experiences in treating alcohol and drug addicts, Ranganathan said all the 30,000 patients whom she had treated were men. The women and the children bear the consequences of alcoholism.
“Apart from the patient, the family members too need counselling and support to go ahead in their lives.”