This article seeks to draw out the differences between women in corporate India and other countries. It discusses how professional, sociological, psychological and cultural issues impact the lives of working women. It also takes a look at the common challenges women face with regard to the attitude towards women in the workplace. This article explores how women's own perceptions of career, family and motherhood have a telling impact on the goals, performance and well-being of working women in different countries.

What is on the other side that we need to see? Though we don't realize it, women on every part of this planet play the same role of delicately balancing of work and home. What separates the women of the world, however, are the boundaries of country, cultural orientation of the society, religious differences and their roles in the corporate world. Women in India have had their own journey, breaking away from the traditional mold of the home and hearth and joining the predominantly male-dominated workforce. To evaluate our progress, it's necessary to sit on the other side of the bus and look out of the window at women in countries around the world to compare achievements, problems and their prospects for the future in a global economy.

It's an accepted fact that there can be no progress in a country's economy without the participation of its women. Women have joined the mainstream workforce and have made an entry into all the male bastions and citadels of power, be it social, political or economic. The result is that women have reaped the fruits of education and training, contributed to the growth of the economy by creating opportunities, pursuing challenges and reinvesting in societies by educating and empowering the generations of women after them. Women the world over are united by yet another common element-the presence of certain constraints. Some of these constraints are imposed by the social customs and laws of the country, the perceptions of womanhood and the attitude towards the girl child, access to education and professional training and the overall status of women in the country of residence. Education is the major trump card for a woman to get a better job opportunity, salary scale and increased social status. In the US, education is mandatory irrespective of the sex of the person. In India, people with money opt for elite education for their sons and daughters, while the poor choose to educate their sons rather than their daughters. In certain parts of Africa access to education and good schools is even harder so that even the privileged sons do not get an education, leave alone the daughters.

Linked to this, are the attitudes towards marriage and perceptions of motherhood. In cultures like India where the influences of the patriarchal family are strong, marriage and children are a societal priority. In the West, marriage is a matter of personal choice devoid of family pressures or societal stigma. While an Indian woman would have to do a fine balancing act between husband, children, in-laws, parents on the one side, and her career responsibilities on the other, her counterpart in the USA would be relatively freer to make career choices. However, that doesn't mean that the women in the more developed countries do not have the challenges of home and work. While the lack of education and cultural pressure become roadblocks to a woman in one country, the lack of adequate childcare is a problem in another. For example, for a professional woman in an organization, providing for her children while she is at work becomes a key issue and often is a deterrent to her own professional advancements.

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