Ritu Sengupta heads a design firm employing nearly 100 people. She is reaping the benefits of the booming Indian economy and is seeking self-fulfilment as a professional.
At work, she is breaking male bastions, at home, she is asserting her independence.
She is becoming part of the can-do crowd and feels that whatever a man can do she can do better.
But if a new survey is any indication, things for women are not as rosy as they seem and old-fashioned values may still have a tight hold.
The survey conducted by Bangalore-based TeamLease Services has revealed that almost 45 per cent of people prefer a male boss to a woman.
Mixed views
However, in the new age workforce, opinions vary. Vishal Bhatia, an engineer from IIT Roorkee who works under a woman boss in a multinational, says he couldn't care less if his boss was a man or a woman.
“For me the bottom line is job satisfaction. As long as I feel content in what I am doing, I will be happy. The last thing on my mind is the sex of my boss,'' he says.
Shalini Handa, a sales executive in a pharmaceutical company is even more upbeat. She says that she's never even thought about preferring a male or a female boss.
“As long as I am meeting my targets and doing my job well every boss is going to be happy with me — male or female. But she adds, “However, once I start slipping then all this thing about gender will start.''
Dr Dhiren Mukhopadhyay, senior vice president of a headhunting company says: “In India, I don't think there is such a marked bias against women bosses. In a way people are more professional here.
"They are more concerned about the kind of job they want and not the kind of boss they get. If they don't like the atmosphere in the office they simply move on.''
In fact India is not the only country to have this debate about male and female bosses. In a survey conducted by British company, Pitman Training, most women respondents found the boss's seat too hot to handle.
The survey saw a long road ahead for women who not only aspired to get managing positions but also to get respect at the workplace.
Women victims of success
The British men's resentment of women as their bosses may be put down as a typical male chauvinist reaction.
But what was surprising in the survey was that even British women employees found it hard to work under a woman boss and they would rather have a man as the mover and shaker in the office.
The survey threw up some very surprising results. It revealed that 82 per cent of British men preferred a man as their boss while an amazing 86 per cent of women had the same preference.
One unidentified woman says: “It's a shocking thing to say as a woman, but I do think that women employees today will be more threatened by a woman in a high position of power.''
Dr David Lewis, the psychologist who conducted the research, felt that the reason for a negative vote against women bosses was because they had to compete with men to achieve positions of power.
In the process, he says, they developed characteristics of males but in a more pronounced way. That explained why there was a kind of an underlying resentment towards them.
Readers say:
Generally I prefer male bosses as I think they're easier to read and you know exactly where you are with them.
— Nathalie, Dubai
I have always found women are less sympathetic. It is probably because they feel they have to work harder or be better than their male colleagues.
— Olivia, UK
I'd say I definitely prefer a male boss as there seems to be a slight edge of competitiveness with females. Maybe it is to
do with flirting?
— Christine, UK
I prefer male bosses because generally they are far more direct with their approach and often will not have family commitments.
— Sam, Dubai
Female bosses have to work ten times harder than their male counterparts. And then when you are strong in your role you are seen as a power-crazy female!
— Kirsty, Abu Dhabi
For me, it depends on the integrity of the manager and not their gender that makes it either easy or bad to work with them.
— John, UK
Personally I find that it doesn't really matter if your boss is male or female. I've had both and liked and detested both — it's about the person.
— Aarti, India
