Does gender matter?
THE MYTH that women are somehow more suited for careers in non government organisations (NGOs) is, I believe, just that — a myth. From grassroots activism to policy advocacy, the sector, in reality, employs far more men than it does women. Like nursing, teaching and other socalled 'caring' or 'nurturing' jobs, low wages, more than job descriptions, make NGO careers less than viable for a particular segment of Indian males — those with professional qualifications and aspirations in areas like marketing, finance and technology. This disparity, together with a lack of awareness of the career options available and patriarchal social norms that still correlate a man's value with his net financial worth even more strongly than they do a woman's, prevents many of this group of men from considering careers in the sector. It also limits the pool of skills available to the development sector, hampering its ability to grow and thrive. CRY — Child Rights and You, was founded by a remarkably visionary man and 28 years on, it employs as many men as women. The NGOs that CRY partners are peopled predominantly by men. That said, is there some unique role that women can and do play in NGOs? The goals of social transformation that the NGO sector pursues are inherently long-term. The problems we seek to solve are complex, requiring diverse groups of people to work together to evolve multi-layered solutions. Patient collaboration and participative, rather than unilateral or autocratic decision-making and management, are also far more critical in an NGO than in a forprofit organisation. Our current modes of socialisation seem to better equip women more than men in these areas. When I compare my years in the corporate sector with the time I've been with CRY, I see very little difference in the hard technical skills required or the professional growth achievable. What is different, however, is the nature of that professional engagement. It seems to me that the corporate sector, by and large, still values and rewards intellectual abilities almost to the exclusion of all others. 'Bring your brain to office and leave the rest of you at home', it seems to say to its employees. Success in the NGO sector, on the other hand, requires a fine balance of intellect, emotion and values. This ability to 'think with your heart and feel with your mind' seems to, both, come more naturally and be more important to women than men (with apologies to all the men unfairly judged by that generalisation). People at CRY manage brands, provide venture funding to projects across India, negotiate strategic alliances with corporates and NGOs, manage start-ups and joint-ventures in India and overseas, shape government policies, manage investment portfolios, ensure the highest standards of governance, inspire a new generation of Indians, motivate a team of 200 professionals without major financial incentives and develop technology solutions and online enterprises on shoestring budgets. Above all they are individuals with a compelling passion to restructure the world so that every child has an equal chance to realise his or her potential. Surely none of those attributes are intrinsically female. Are they?
