#IAmCapable, She Exclaimed!

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The day had begun with the usual chant of prayers and the aroma of incense sticks filling the house. It was a special day, however. That day was to be when Deepti had to take the first step towards the professional world and her parents wished her well. Her mother had a certain wish for the Almighty, to make this walk of Deepti's life, a bit different from her past.

Within a few months of obtaining the title of being a graduate, Deepti had landed a job at one of the 'Big 4' firms. It was her 'dream job', so to say, and she hoped to carve a name for herself with her perseverance and sincerity towards work. 

It was not long after she had joined that she gradually proved her mettle to her seniors and received a promotion within a couple of months of her joining. But, blame it on her beautiful physique and elegant mannerism that her colleagues came to think of it as a case of favouritism towards her by the senior management. 

Well, such 'chinese whispers' spread like wild fire and it came as no surprise when Deepti found herself at the receiving end of such rumors as the one doing the rounds. She was, however, used to being judged on the basis of her beauty and being demeaned on the basis of talents she possessed. 

The people around her used to be stunned by her looks and were of the uninformed opinion that her looks were the only positive to her individuality, thus overlooking her efforts in every walk of her life. Her beauty had actually turned out to be the beast in her life, quite literally, thus hampering her concious attempts to make her peers look beyond her appearance. 

Her mother's disappointment knew no bounds when she learnt that Deepti had been subjected to the same false reputation time again. More often than not, it was Deepti who used to talk her mother out of such disappointment and this time around too, it was the same. Though she had always been bothered about such remarks all through her life, Deepti never let it reflect on the outlook and let her work do the talking. 

Deepti thus chose to break the stereotype by putting her desire to reach her potential in the limelight when she was chosen as a representative to a prestigious national summit and had to deliver a presentation on her firm's behalf. She then chose to silence her colleagues who witnessed her efforts and confidence, to realize that they had been in the wrong all this time. 

Now, she is on a much better, level playing field in her professional life and has been able to successfully overcome the judgemental perspective being offered to her. :) 

It's not just about Deepti's experience, but even statistics are of  a similar opinion that one must not judge a woman based solely on her appearance. Nihar Naturals #IAmCapable survey conducted by Nielsen India reveals the following startling facts: 

• 69% of men agree that their judgement of women is based on their looks. 
• 64% of women agree that the judgments passed on them have affected their ability to reach their true potential. 
• 70%of women agree that majority of judgments on women are from family members or friends rather than strangers. 
• 72% of women agree that working women face more judgments on their looks or their clothes than housewives. 

One needs to understand that the age-old adage 'Do not judge a book by its cover' holds true even today, and one must learn to look beyond appearances and appreciate the qualities and capabilities of a self-made individual, be it female or male. 

I’m breaking stereotypes based on appearance by sharing my experience for the #IAmCapable activity at BlogAdda in association with Nihar Naturals.