BY AASTHA NIRMAL

Women Empowerment has been a part of countless political discussions in India. Only about 32% of women hold representation in the Indian Parliament. Usually, men are linked with assumptions of leadership roles . While women are expected to follow what the societal norms.

The mindset of gender-based stereotypes and unconscious bias existence is transparent. In India, women are seen as mothers, sisters, daughters and other relations. Eventually, their professional identity deals with gender typecast as well. 

Women of Color Represented in Politics !

There is an undeniable fact that female participation in Indian Politics is merely anterior for some of the other male representatives of the party. However, we have some female leaders who don’t need men to aid them. 

Gender Typecasting Nicknames:

We have a bunch of Indian leaders whose nicknames are evidently gender typecasting. On one hand, male leaders of India are given names such as Netaji (Subash Chandra Bose), Lokmanya (Bal Gangadhar Tilak), Iron Man (Vallabhbhai Patel), women leaders are very affectionately called Didi (Mamta Banerjee), Behenji (Mayawati), and Amma (Jayalalithaa). 

How are gender stereotypes encouraged? 

Throughout their lives, women of color absorb what is expected of them from society. Due to years of behaviour influence and reinforcement, women develop passive traits that are called gender stereotypes. She is taught household chores so she can be the so-called house manager after starting her own family. She is taught empathy, gratitude, emotional values to grow into ideal sisters, daughters, and mothers, everything but an individual. 

These gender stereotypes are not built in our biology. We learn them like a language. They are over-simplified and over-standardised beliefs about men and women that we pick while growing up. 

BREAKING STEREOTYPES :

Beginning with the fact that women representation in politics, business, corporate work, or “jobs” in general is abysmally low in numbers, workplaces need to be more welcoming towards women. As a society, we are brainwashed into believing that breadwinning is a male-oriented concept. Whereas, women must carry out the roles of mothers, sisters and daughters and not have identities of their own. Let’s teach our girls they could be more than a “didi”, a “behenji” or an “amma”.

They can rule the world if they want to!