#ProgressiveWomen: Aspirations are not bound by geographical divide

What drives the hopes, aspirations and passion of women in India? How wide is the Urban and Non-Urban gap when it comes to what women want? All this and more was discussed at length by our esteemed panelists on Day 2 of the Twitter panel organised by Adgully yesterday (March 7, 2019). 

Rashmi Putcha, Co-Founder & Director, LIQVD Asia, was the moderator of the Twitter panel yesterday, while the members included:

Priti Murthy, CEO, OMD India

Shavon Barua, Chief Client Officer, PHD India

Sujata Dwibedy, EVP & Head of Buying and Trading, Amplifi India

Deparpita Banerjee, President - North & East, FCB Ulka

Srija Chatterjee, Managing Director, Publicis Worldwide India

Heena Tickoo, Director Client Servicing, DCMN India 

Rashmi Putcha started off the discussion by posing the question: “How does geography define the meaning of progressive? Does the definition of ‘progressive’ change for Urban and Non-Urban regions?” Priti Murthy responded by pointing out what divides urban and non-urban. According to Murthy, it is the accessibility of goods and services, “that’s a basic level of difference between urban and rural. It’s layered with top end benefits of education, housing and toilets too.”

For Srija Chatterjee, progressive is all in the mind and is not dependent on the geography one comes from. However, the external manifestations of progressive are different for urban and non-urban. But for the person, being progressive is in the mind. 

Meanwhile, Deparpita Banerjee noted that everything has relevance in a context. “The urban context allows for ‘more’ in the pursuit of the progressive, because there is already a jump start. While in rural, even being equally progressive sometimes takes you only this far,” she said. 

While sharing her views on how women in urban India and non-urban India viewed each other, Shavon Barua said, “I do believe there is a shared sense of sisterhood. Some empathy, shared dreams and at some level similar concerns – that need for finding one’s rightful place. A fair share of opinions and ideas are shared and germinated.” Taking the discussion further Chatterjee mentioned that women in urban and rural areas both saw themselves as having a pivotal role in the society that is critical to shaping tomorrow and making a mark for themselves in their own way and in their world. 

When asked to point out the key differences in the thought processes of urban Indian women and women in non-urban areas, Sujata Dwibedy noted that even though the beliefs might be different, it is about having the power to do whatever they both want, while staying true to their beliefs. Barua, on the other hand, was quite sure that rural women might be painting a rosy picture of their urban counterparts, even as women in urban areas might feel that the stress levels of rural women were lesser. “The truth is that it is pretty much the same. Basic respect, freedom, education, and equality continue to be the need in both areas,” she added. Adding to this, Priti Murthy opined, “It is coming from their exposure to world view vis-à-vis their life view.” 

Citing NSS data, Heena Tickoo mentioned that marginal women workers have been noticed to drop out of the workforce when household wages increased. However, urban areas displayed the age-old pattern of women quitting work after tying the knot. Banerjee felt said that this was probably because urban women feel that they are financially independent even if they are not earning it, which could be by way of inheritance or savings. 

Putcha here asked the panelists “What kind of media does the Urban Indian woman consume? Is the media consumption pattern different for the Non-Urban Indian woman?” 

Responding to this, Murthy specified how Television remains the norm, but mobile revolution in rural India has brought a fresh leash of life and is focused more on utility than entertainment. “In Urban India, the second screen is becoming the norm now,” she pointed out.

 

Barua adds that video consumption is a shared habit both in urban and non-urban markets.

Speaking about the media choices, Tickoo said, “Urban women, of course, have plenty of media available to them. However, in case of rural, women barely have the avenues. A BCG report reveals a typical internet user is a young female homemaker from an affluent household. Though not a college graduate, she is a decision maker.” 

While stating that content is the key today, Dwibedy remarked that viewing is screen agnostic. “While TV is most preferred, mobile as a personal source of content, rules,” she added.

To the question on the aspirational differences between Urban and Non-Urban Indian women, Srija Chatterjee noted that at a fundamental level, the aspirational desires for urban and non-urban women are the same. She added, “They want respect, they want recognition, they want reward. Their spheres and environment might differ, but their desires remain the same.” On the other hand, Priti Murthy said, “It is the progression to the next step and is different within even urban women. Therefore, comparing urban with rural is tough.” Heena Tickoo added here, “Where they want to be depends on where they are in life at the moment, hence aspirational differences are huge. Some might just want to support their family by having an income. For others, it is their passion that drives them.”

Challenges that Urban Indian women face 

Here, the panelists listed numerous pressure points for the modern urban Indian women. For Heena Tickoo the major challenge is handling the pressure of two jobs - one at work and one at home. “Mostly, only one of them pays and no points for guessing which one. There are also challenges at the workplace, but thankfully some steps are being taken in the right direction to overcome harassment, unequal pay, trolling, work environment, maternity benefits and much more,” she added. 

“The list is too long!” exclaimed Shavon Barua as she listed home, family, parenting, dating, work-life balance, social life – or lack of it – and in all this, staying sane! “But on a serious note, fighting bias and proving yourself is a huge challenge,” she pointed out. 

Srija Chatterjee noted that for women in non-urban areas, getting due recognition and respect is more important – not having their existence forgotten or being taken for granted. Meanwhile, Heena Tickoo felt that most rural women are not given the chance to have a mind of their own. “They don't have enough exposure to know what the possibilities are. Their thought process is mostly driven by sheer need. That’s why the need for money is the primary drive for women in rural areas to work. As per a World Bank paper, there’s a trend of more and more rural male moving to cities, which is bringing more rural females to the fields to take up the responsibility of managing family lands. This will foster the next generation to think even more about being independent,” Tickoo pointed out. 

Deparpita Banerjee added here, “The key challenge is the opportunity basket – while women want to have a balance between how much they work at home and the desire to also work out of home, there are only limited ways in which they can do the same.” Listing the things uppermost in the minds of rural women, Barua stated, “First and foremost is being treated as an equal, followed by health, nutrition, education, sanitation – the absolute basic needs. There is hope of the needle moving. While some of these challenges are being addressed, it needs more focus and it’s a long road ahead.”

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