BEING WOMEN | We need to plan, prioritise and set realistic expectations: MPG's Kanupriya Seyal

Amidst all the colour and celebration we might forget another day, which would mean a lot to some section and could brighten up their day. International Women's Day marks the occasion of celebrating the gains made by women in business, politics and education.

Kanupriya Seyal, Director Investments MPG is no different. On the D-Day, she plans to take up the backseat and enjoy and celebrate the strides that women have made and appreciate success achieved by women across the world.

"For me, this day is an opportunity to fully appreciate just how far we've come as women in the fight for equality. I also recognize how lucky I am to have been born in a generation where I didn't have to worry about having the right to vote or being allowed in the workplace," she says with a smile on her face.

While the world is getting a tougher and tougher place to live in ' be it be a man or a woman, Kanupirya feels the biggest challenge that continues to bother women is same as that of men.

"Women have all the same issues as everyone else at the moment such as being worried about their jobs, inflation and doing more with less. Women and men have similar career aspirations, advancement strategies, and barriers to success," she says.

"However, in my view, one of the biggest challenges that women still face in the workplace, regardless of their industry, is themselves. We think we have to be the "Superwoman' ' the high-flyer at work, the super mom, the darling daughter.

"An important key to our success is to realise it is not possible to do everything and do it well. We need to plan, prioritise and set realistic expectations as to what we can do," she explains.

So is one day good enough to salute or recognize the contributions of women in the society?

The United Nations in a statement said that the world still has "a long way to go" before women and girls universally enjoy the same fundamental rights and freedoms as men.

"I feel we should do on this day is tell the strong women in your life how much you appreciate them -- every day is a good day for that but why not make a point of it on women's day," she questions.

Inspired by her mom, Kanupriya took up a job, in which she could let her creativity flow. "The first thing that prompted me to take up this field was that there aren't many jobs which allow your creativity and strategies to come to life to be observed by thousands of people. Work results are very apparent and I felt that could result in a very satisfying career.

"Also I had good critical thinking skills in terms of being able to evaluate information and analyze its relevance and meaning - which I felt was crucial to succeed in this field," she explains.

But Kanupriya is of the view that more and more women should join advertising field and there should be enough representation of women across the sectors. "It's obvious that women have come a long way as successful professionals. Life in the workplace has become much more diversified as an increased number of women have made their presence felt in many industries and professions," she says.

"I feel more women should join advertising as this industry highly values diversity of gender and ethnicity. Also our industry is progressive, dynamic, forward-thinking that recognizes and rewards ability," she adds.