The Female warrior
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The Female warrior
by Ardavan Tehrani » Mon Jul 11, 2005 12:18 pm
Reuters News Agency – These days Iranian women are not even allowed to watch men compete on the football field, but 2,000 years ago they could have been carving the boys to pieces on the battlefield. DNA tests on the 2,000-year-old bones of a sword-wielding Iranian warrior have revealed the broad-framed skeleton belonged to woman, an archaeologist working in the north-western city of Tabriz said on Saturday. "Despite earlier comments that the warrior was a man because of the metal sword, DNA tests showed the skeleton inside the tomb belonged to a female warrior"…
- Ardavan Tehrani
The second woman to head a public sector bank
by babak » Sun Aug 28, 2005 2:06 pm
The following article is not directly related to this topic but is nevertheless meaningful :
Source: Financial Express, India
‘Patience is not my virtue’
The second woman to head a public sector bank, Homai Daruwalla has set a tough agenda for herself and the Central Bank
SULEKHA NAIR
There is a ‘let’s be done with this quickly’ air about her. The newly appointed head of Central Bank of India, Homai A Daruwalla is in a tearing hurry. “I came in a little late today,” she explains, “and there is lots to be done.” Not just for the day but with aims and targets for the bank, she adds.
For a woman who once wanted to be a secretary and wear make-up with heels, Daruwalla has long veered off that course and today is the second woman in India to become CMD of any public sector bank. Mention the honour and a smile lights up her face, “Sounds really nice to be referred to like that. But let me tell you, it was not a smooth journey reaching here.” In a male-oriented society like ours, there is not much appreciation for a woman with talent, she says.
“I started my career with the Union Bank of India on June 13, 1975. Do you know it was the much hyped date of Friday, the 13th?! Every time I was due for a promotion I was told you are qualified for the post but a male would be much preferable. And that ‘but’ continued. Even for the post of the ED, it was the same thing.”
Setbacks upset her and she retreats, albeit forcefully, “I talk myself into facing the situation boldly and then bounce back. For I believe in doing the job well. As a woman professional, I think what stood in my favour was my polite but firm attitude.”
A life spent in working in challenging positions in banks, Daruwalla looks a dyed-in-the-wool professional. But she says after doing her matriculation, she hoped to work in the private sector. An advice from an acquaintance to pursue a graduation degree put paid to that plan. But after a BCom from R A Podar College, Mumbai, the CA appealed. “I thought with a CA, I could work with a private sector organisation and earn good money. I tasted failure for the first time when I flunked my CA exams. But I told myself, a CA stands for ‘Come Again’ and so that’s what I shall do. And I passed the next time around.”
Is it all about work? Has she lost out on other things as a result. Like marriage for instance. “I would have liked to be married but the man I wanted to get married to did not feel the same and the others who agreed did not matter to me. So here I am,” she shrugs. Is there a tinge of sadness at that? And again with the same bluntness she says, “It does. Especially, when one sees colleagues married and now with children. One feels a bit wistful, but there is only so much to it. I have some close friends with whom I share warm, jovial relations. That keeps me buoyant. My sister and brother are unmarried and all of us along with mother live a happy life. My life is not about just work. At home, I enjoy making the chowk (the Parsi rangoli) everyday. I love cooking. Then there are parties, shopping expeditions, TV programmes, music ....oh, so much to catch up on that there is no time to pause and lament anything.”
Among her staff, she is known to have a temper. “Of course I do,” she says. “Patience is not my virtue. I must get things done and done well. There is no time. The Central Bank was once ranked next to State Bank of India and now we have a lot of catching up to do. We have to start an upward march.” How does she propose to go about doing that? She says, “As a Parsi, I will target the rich Parsi industrialists in Mumbai. Once upon a time the Central Bank was known as a Tata Bank. But we hardly have any of the group’s accounts. So I will appeal to the Godrejs and Tatas to give their accounts to us. I have set goals, which I am sure will be reached and there will be a turnaround.”
Can one expect woman-friendly policies from her? “Recently, we launched the education loan which will be given to the girl student who has done well academically and has got admission at IIM at a 1% less rate of interest.”
Three years on, at the end of her tenure at Central Bank, is there a roadmap she has drawn for herself? “There is still time for it. But I am sure it will be some work or the other. I can never be idle.” And with that the Perry Mason detective fan zooms away to her cheques and balances.[/url]
Source: Financial Express, India
‘Patience is not my virtue’
The second woman to head a public sector bank, Homai Daruwalla has set a tough agenda for herself and the Central Bank
SULEKHA NAIR
There is a ‘let’s be done with this quickly’ air about her. The newly appointed head of Central Bank of India, Homai A Daruwalla is in a tearing hurry. “I came in a little late today,” she explains, “and there is lots to be done.” Not just for the day but with aims and targets for the bank, she adds.
For a woman who once wanted to be a secretary and wear make-up with heels, Daruwalla has long veered off that course and today is the second woman in India to become CMD of any public sector bank. Mention the honour and a smile lights up her face, “Sounds really nice to be referred to like that. But let me tell you, it was not a smooth journey reaching here.” In a male-oriented society like ours, there is not much appreciation for a woman with talent, she says.
“I started my career with the Union Bank of India on June 13, 1975. Do you know it was the much hyped date of Friday, the 13th?! Every time I was due for a promotion I was told you are qualified for the post but a male would be much preferable. And that ‘but’ continued. Even for the post of the ED, it was the same thing.”
Setbacks upset her and she retreats, albeit forcefully, “I talk myself into facing the situation boldly and then bounce back. For I believe in doing the job well. As a woman professional, I think what stood in my favour was my polite but firm attitude.”
A life spent in working in challenging positions in banks, Daruwalla looks a dyed-in-the-wool professional. But she says after doing her matriculation, she hoped to work in the private sector. An advice from an acquaintance to pursue a graduation degree put paid to that plan. But after a BCom from R A Podar College, Mumbai, the CA appealed. “I thought with a CA, I could work with a private sector organisation and earn good money. I tasted failure for the first time when I flunked my CA exams. But I told myself, a CA stands for ‘Come Again’ and so that’s what I shall do. And I passed the next time around.”
Is it all about work? Has she lost out on other things as a result. Like marriage for instance. “I would have liked to be married but the man I wanted to get married to did not feel the same and the others who agreed did not matter to me. So here I am,” she shrugs. Is there a tinge of sadness at that? And again with the same bluntness she says, “It does. Especially, when one sees colleagues married and now with children. One feels a bit wistful, but there is only so much to it. I have some close friends with whom I share warm, jovial relations. That keeps me buoyant. My sister and brother are unmarried and all of us along with mother live a happy life. My life is not about just work. At home, I enjoy making the chowk (the Parsi rangoli) everyday. I love cooking. Then there are parties, shopping expeditions, TV programmes, music ....oh, so much to catch up on that there is no time to pause and lament anything.”
Among her staff, she is known to have a temper. “Of course I do,” she says. “Patience is not my virtue. I must get things done and done well. There is no time. The Central Bank was once ranked next to State Bank of India and now we have a lot of catching up to do. We have to start an upward march.” How does she propose to go about doing that? She says, “As a Parsi, I will target the rich Parsi industrialists in Mumbai. Once upon a time the Central Bank was known as a Tata Bank. But we hardly have any of the group’s accounts. So I will appeal to the Godrejs and Tatas to give their accounts to us. I have set goals, which I am sure will be reached and there will be a turnaround.”
Can one expect woman-friendly policies from her? “Recently, we launched the education loan which will be given to the girl student who has done well academically and has got admission at IIM at a 1% less rate of interest.”
Three years on, at the end of her tenure at Central Bank, is there a roadmap she has drawn for herself? “There is still time for it. But I am sure it will be some work or the other. I can never be idle.” And with that the Perry Mason detective fan zooms away to her cheques and balances.[/url]
- babak
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