Mumbai: First Lady President Of State Bank of India ,State Bank Of India) may not have been born in its 210 year old history. His book, ‘The Indomitable: A Working Woman’s Notes on Life, Work and Leadership’, Arundhati Bhattacharya Says that the severe crisis and unemployment had forced her father to have second thoughts about the third child when his mother was expecting him. However, her mother’s belief that the newborn would come with her own destiny resulted in a change of plans.
While Bhattacharya’s appointment was celebrated as an era of women’s empowerment, not much has been written about the challenges that lie along the way. Bhattacharya’s book, published by HarperCollins, is an indication of how deep the prejudice against women was and still continues, though to a lesser extent. This bias is carved into the law as the SBI Act refers to only one chairman, which is why it had to cancel its first batch of cards which were printed as the chairman.
Was not in SBI as a woman probationary officer until 1960. However, decades later, the bank’s offices continued toilet Separate for men, women and officers. Sixty years after the first woman officer joined, if women bankers have better terms of employment, they have Bhattacharya to thank. Most of the bank’s policies towards women employees and customers were based on the obstacles faced in their careers.
Her first brush with gender stereotypes was when her school’s celebrated alumni mocked her ambitions to become a biochemist, saying, “You sure? Not a kitchen chemist?” It also explains why women were not present in professional courses in the 70s. Bhattacharya, who qualified for a medical seat after the Joint Entrance Examination, could not pursue medicine as there were no hostels for women.
From the absence of a washroom in the early years to not getting credit (seen as a career kick-starter) due to her gender, the challenges continued. Even after being in a position of power, Bhattacharya found that the temperature in the board rooms was regulated by keeping in mind the men wearing thick suits and not the women in saris. This got him used to using the cup to warm his hands. “So, upon becoming the president, I thought I needed to assert myself on behalf of the women in the boardroom and requested my male colleagues to leave their coats and ties in their rooms,” Bhattacharya said.
As chairman, Bhattacharya is credited with offering a relaxation of 5 bps (100 basis points = 1 percentage point) if the woman was the first holder of the title in the home loan. This facility not only popularized the loan but also reduced defaults. And the success was copied by others and extended to more products, including Jan Dhan accounts, where more than half are held by women. They also introduced a two-year sabbatical initially for women, but later extended to men, which has helped the bank retain more women in its workforce. It was Bhattacharya again, who pushed for a five-day week, but had to be content with two Saturdays in a month.
While Bhattacharya’s appointment was celebrated as an era of women’s empowerment, not much has been written about the challenges that lie along the way. Bhattacharya’s book, published by HarperCollins, is an indication of how deep the prejudice against women was and still continues, though to a lesser extent. This bias is carved into the law as the SBI Act refers to only one chairman, which is why it had to cancel its first batch of cards which were printed as the chairman.
Was not in SBI as a woman probationary officer until 1960. However, decades later, the bank’s offices continued toilet Separate for men, women and officers. Sixty years after the first woman officer joined, if women bankers have better terms of employment, they have Bhattacharya to thank. Most of the bank’s policies towards women employees and customers were based on the obstacles faced in their careers.
Her first brush with gender stereotypes was when her school’s celebrated alumni mocked her ambitions to become a biochemist, saying, “You sure? Not a kitchen chemist?” It also explains why women were not present in professional courses in the 70s. Bhattacharya, who qualified for a medical seat after the Joint Entrance Examination, could not pursue medicine as there were no hostels for women.
From the absence of a washroom in the early years to not getting credit (seen as a career kick-starter) due to her gender, the challenges continued. Even after being in a position of power, Bhattacharya found that the temperature in the board rooms was regulated by keeping in mind the men wearing thick suits and not the women in saris. This got him used to using the cup to warm his hands. “So, upon becoming the president, I thought I needed to assert myself on behalf of the women in the boardroom and requested my male colleagues to leave their coats and ties in their rooms,” Bhattacharya said.
As chairman, Bhattacharya is credited with offering a relaxation of 5 bps (100 basis points = 1 percentage point) if the woman was the first holder of the title in the home loan. This facility not only popularized the loan but also reduced defaults. And the success was copied by others and extended to more products, including Jan Dhan accounts, where more than half are held by women. They also introduced a two-year sabbatical initially for women, but later extended to men, which has helped the bank retain more women in its workforce. It was Bhattacharya again, who pushed for a five-day week, but had to be content with two Saturdays in a month.
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