The global pandemic has taken the whole world by storm. This article is an encapsulation of how women across the globe, across different professions and domestic situation sets, are managing those crazy workloads. These divas are not only keeping the lights on, but going the extra mile to make a difference to their communities and ecosystems.
Just Because She Handles It All, Doesn’t Mean It’s Not Heavy
It seems like this post would have been quite timely for International Women’s Day. But here we are today, in the middle of a global health crisis, with our lives completely disrupted. Everything has changed on us and very fast, leaving barely any reaction time.
All of us around the world have been compelled to adjust to a “new normal” and figure out a path to keep things on track. No kidding, it has been a steep learning curve with lots of anxiety due to the uncertainty of how this pandemic will play out.
While everyone slowly settled into their new routines, reset their goals, and created new workspaces, it seems like things didn’t quite settle in all that smoothly for one person — the woman of the house.
Suddenly, just like the exponential Corona curve, she saw an exponential increase in the body of work she had to manage every day. This was in addition to managing her own work schedule, and without any external help.
From meal planning, groceries and house cleaning, to making sure the kids are productive throughout the day, to managing everyone’s physical and mental health, to meeting work deadlines… the list is endless and without respite.
Granted, she brings with her the DNA to be versatile, to nurture the household and family. However, this pandemic requires taking this DNA rooting to a whole new level, especially when there are so many unknown variables to deal with everyday.
And so, this article is dedicated to all those divas leading in many different ways from the frontlines. I bring to you a potpourri of different perspectives on how some of these creative, intelligent, hardworking, professional women are finding novel paths to thrive in this new normal.
The Brave Ones — The Resilient Divas on the Frontlines
For some, the call of duty takes precedence. THE BRAVE ONES, the healthcare workers — the doctors, the nurses and the nutritionists — who wake up each day to serve the affected, and come back home with mixed emotions of doubt, fear and an unexplainable victory.
Despite a full load of work, they don’t forget to nurture and secure their families. I have heard first-hand stories of these women who are healthcare workers at hospitals and nursing homes. When things flared up, they had no protective equipment, no clarity on the modus operandi, and yet, there was a dire need for their support. These folks relentlessly go to work everyday to make the situation better!
Indu Jegan, a Registered Nurse at Kaiser Permanente, Santa Clara, CA
The Determined Ones — The Divas That Find a Way
Some women figure out a brand-new way to do things. Whether it’s teachers at a school or teachers elsewhere — like in a pre-school. They are THE INNOVATIVE ONES and the builders who quickly found new ways and paths to get their kids back on track. Of course, they have to be supported by an ecosystem around them to make this happen, but they find their pathway to connect and influence.
I know how my son’s 5th grade school teacher brought new energy into their distance learning course curriculum. In a very short time, she learned how tools like Zoom, Google Classroom and Google Meet could work to bring her world closer. She started working with the kids on a daily basis, helping them with their coursework, running office hours, and establishing a way for the kids to take their tests — all in a very short time!
Here’s a pre-school teacher and a very good friend who finds a way to keep in touch with her kids and touches their heart in new and innovative ways.
Shweta Singh, an Associate Instructor of Special Needs Kids at Hacienda Elementary
And here’s another example of a business executive who has a very busy work schedule with two kids in college, a demanding home routine, and a weekend full of classes where she teaches Telugu to kids. She also sits on the board of various non-profits, kickstarting various missions. Let’s see how she looks at this situation, and how she manages to convert every challenge into an opportunity.
Hima Jayanty, a Lead Analyst at the Bank of Scotland and a Language Consultant at Cambridge University
The Innovative Ones — The Divas That See Every Challenge as an Opportunity to Be Better
In this category are the many women who are in the workforce — executives, entrepreneurs, technologists, and others, constantly finding new ways to drive the future of work. They have to keep their teams motivated, keep the company’s goals on target, and find growth opportunities in uncertain and challenging times!
I, being a founder of a new business initiative, know how tough that is — to not keep things status quo and continuously push the envelope to explore new boundaries.
Padmini Murthy, Technology Marketing at Google and Founder at Content Sense — Content Shop for Social Tech and Social Innovation Startups
Author Bio Padmini is a product marketing executive with 15+ years of experience in marketing high growth SaaS products. She has taken products to market in record time with successful funding and exits. From DevOps/AIOps tools and machine intelligence for e-commerce and marketing, to cloud stack centric products (infra, platform, and B2B apps), and blockchain, she covers a significant spectrum for telling their story. She has founded Organic Marketing, a start-up marketing accelerator, and Content Sense, a tech content shop for social-tech startups. She lives in Silicon Valley.
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