Bollywood actress Dia Mirza on Thursday said that when she decided to join the film industry, her producers and directors spent four hours with her family convincing them she would be safe and not harassed at the workplace.
She said in her 15-year career she never had to face any harassment at her workplace.
Mirza shared her views at Power Women Seminar, a leadership meet where seven successful women shared their journey and views on women empowerment.
The seminar was organised by BusinessLine, supported by World Trade Centre, DHFL and All Indian Association of Industries.
Namita Vikas, Group President — Climate Strategy and Responsible Banking of YES Bank; Kiran Manral, Columnist; Rupa Naik, Director, World Trade Centre; Nidhi Lauria, Business Head (Assam and North-East), Vodafone India; Tanu Mehta, Independant Legal Counsel and Mediator at Bombay High Court, and Ann-Carin Mansson, HR Manager for India, IKEA Business, participated in the seminar.
Vikas said responsible banking is not just about economic growth but also about the focus on the environment. It is not just the bottomline but the triple bottomline of revenues, environment and societal impact, “With such background, the bank is looking at empowering women,” she said.
She said YES Bank was not just looking at diversity at work but also invested in the diversity of thinking. The mix of men and women, and differentiated thinking of women is what the bank is keen on harnessing and nurturing. In all-women branches, it has been found that it fuels a lot of entrepreneurial ventures and women customers are finding it easy to come to the branch for the business requirements, she said.
‘Not a male bastion’Mansson said IKEA last week had introduced parental leave of six months where both husband and wife can get leave for child care.
“Indian fathers take up a lot of responsibility of their children and those fathers working for IKEA will have the opportunity to look after their children for six months.
“In these six months, the fathers become the main caretakers of children, while the mother go back to work. Because that’s how I believe we should be truly equal in this world,” Mansson said.
Lauria, who is the first woman head of a telecom unit in India, said the telecom industry is seen as a male bastion but not anymore.
Over the years, whether it is the Armed Forces or the telecom industry, doors have been opening for women as well.
Citing a story of success, Lauria said that wherever women have started working, the market servicing quality has enhanced and Vodafone started doing very well in those areas, she said.
Columnist Manral said she has raised the issue of violence against women and sexual exploitation of children on internet platforms, but people became very uncomfortable and she received a lot a negative feedback and backlash on the social media.
Rupa Naik said she lost her father very early and the task of running her father’s pharmacy fell on her mother. It was from her that she learnt the lesson of being financially independent, and every woman has to be economically independent.