The middle path

PUNE, February 9: Every member of the qualified-but-cannot-work brigade unanimously agrees that there is need for good part-time jobs. 8220;Part-time work should become a way of life here, just like it is in the West. In fact, employers are losing out a lot by not utilising this existing workforce of women who are qualified and willing but cannot be tied down for long hours,8221; says Jhumkee Iyengar.

8220;It8217;s only the Indian woman who has to sacrifice so much in life,8221; asserts Daksha Raval. 8220;Ideally, a woman should have both, and why not? Right now, with both my daughters having grown up, I am toying with the idea of working again. In fact, my husband wants me to join his company but that will not work. One needs individual space8230;and flexible working hours or part-time work for women.8221;

Even Srila Bahumik admits, 8220;If the family is willing and if a woman has the kind of profession where she can go back to her job after her children are grown and independent, it is always better to do so.8221;With the worldchanging rapidly and India absorbing the Western work culture, perhaps part-time work is not too distant a dream. It would give something that the educated and home-bound woman of today rightly deserves 8211; the best of both worlds.