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Young wives are the leading asset of corporate power. They
want the suburbs, a house, a settled life, and respectability.
They want society to see that they have exchanged themselves
for something of value. She is the pioneer for transformation of organizations
and society. She is the mother of the race and liaison between
generations laying the foundation for new relationships.
We can feel her divinity in the form of a mother, warmth
of a sister, dedication of a wife, innocence of a daughter.
She is a woman, she is life. This woman has broken out of
the confinement of the four walls of a house and Conventional
domestic duties of the house hold which she has been playing
since times immemorial. Ironically, sometimes she is admired
for playing multifaceted roles but more often than not,
accused of not conforming to the traditional and the unquestionable
societal code of conduct laid down for her. This article
attempts to examine the modern `Indian corporate woman'
amidst the paradoxes of the changing society and culture
exhibit that challenge her stature in society. Also, it
brings out various reasons for the mindset held for her.
Post-independence, the Indian society has been experiencing
a constant ebb and flow of changes influencing the stature
of women. The foundation for independent woman in independent
India was laid by the British who introduced the legislative
structure. Thereafter, through Five-year Plans, attempts
are being made to understand and define the role of women
in the development of the economy. A corporate woman plays
multiple and often conflicting roles. She has carved her
identity and is walking ahead undaunted despite pressure.
It has been stated (Abraham 2002) that women who work, carry
a double load—as employee and a house wife.
With the advent of liberalization, the MNCs and their working
cultures have permeated the Indian lives. Private businesses
have adopted various organizational practices and structures
from developed countries in the West to cope with the competition.
Increase in level of education led to an increase in the
number of working women. The Tenth Five-Year Plan increased
the investments in higher education especially for women.
The year 1998 witnessed the sharpest rise in the addition
of female employees in the private sector. The Supreme Court's
judgment in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi versus Female
Workers case in 2000, helped thousands of women all over
India earning daily wages as `muster-roll' employees in
getting entitlement to maternity leave and other benefits.
With India embracing these changes gracefully, the private
sector has been affected the most.
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