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What's the trick?

She had imagined that she would be happy with this new job but somehow she wasn't. It was supposed to be this big leap for her as she had finally forayed into the Senior Management. The youngest member in the ExCo and the only female, she should have been proud of herself. But there was something that was bugging her, something which left a gnawing feeling everyday, especially after some or the other ExCo meeting.

She had been introduced into a struggle most females in important positions are party to - the struggle of being ignored and snubbed by male colleagues. Add to it the fact, that she looked meek and childlike among the suited men with ties and spectacles. How could she ensure that people listen to her? She had to figure that out - and soon enough considering that she had the big presentation coming up on Investor Day. She had the presentation ready. She knew exactly what she had to say and she was confident that she would not fall short of words. It was just getting that initial attention... The moment when she walks on the podium and people don't ignore her and continue doing their stuff.

She started working on her looks. She wanted to be taken seriously and not appear like a child between them. She should appear more professional - someone who means business, someone who is sure and confident of oneself, someone who ought to be taken seriously. Yes, that was the key. She only needed to workout an impressive professional look. She told her predicament to her mom and sought her help. Together they went around the malls, picking up a few attires that should do the trick.

Business pant suits, skirt suits, and even work dresses and blazers. They all looked classy as she tried them out and stood before the mirror. She hoped they would do the trick. The day before the D-day, she had goose bumps. Not because she wasn't ready for the presentation, but because she wasn't 'ready' for the presentation. She wasn't confident if any of her attires would do the trick. Flicking through the newspaper to calm her nerves, she stopped dead on one page. The solution to her problem was right in front of her.

Next morning, when her mom walked in her daughter's room, all the new dresses lay discarded around and she saw her daughter dressed in one of her own crispiest sharpest bright saree. The purple and red was the starkest contrast to grays and blacks that she had been talking about. Needless to say, she was surprised.

"Hey, what is this?"

Her daughter smiled and said, "I realized where the problem was... The problem was with these dresses and everything that I had been wearing till now... I was trying to fit in... Fit in with people in the business suits, who all looked same and behaved same. So, they ignored me. I know what I need now... I don't need to fit in... I need to stand out and that's what I'll do?"

Impressed, the mom just stood there. It was really true. Her daughter was born to stand out and not fit in. And yet they hadn't realized that till now. She smiled, "How did you figure that out?"

"This did the trick."

And she showed her mom the newspaper cutting showing two ladies, Union ministers Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, as they stood as the only women in a sea of men at the SCO meet in Beijing, dressed in bright crisp sarees.


© Nishtha Khurana, 2019. All rights reserved. The text as well as the pictures are both subject to copyright and are the property of the author. Please do not copy or reproduce without permission.

 

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