A friend of mine reacted to my blog on women and career... my friend asked me not to overplay the gender card.... so much so that critcism of a woman in her job is considered to be a sexist thing.... my friend pointed out that the performance of a woman should be evaluated in a gender neutral manner and if she has done badly in a job that should be acknowledged.... and her gender should not be used as an excuse for her to get out of bad work and claim success irrespective....

I agree with my friend.... but there is some point to the fact that women have a more uphill task both personally and professionally while trying to excel in their careers.... I mean what is the consequence if a person is constantly asked, reminded, or even challenged everytime the person does something? and not just by professional colleagues but by society in general? So imagine the mind of a 16 year old who is really good at studies but who is suddenly bombarded by relatives with questions about - how much will you study ? if you study too much it will be difficult to get married... or imagine the mind of a determined woman who achieves a certain goal and then has to listen to someone in her office call her "cranky" or "single and hence successful"? Both these situations, next time she decides to do something the woman is going to think a bit harder about her choices... she might still do what she wants to do but that there is a 3 second thought that is wasted on her fear of reaction from the society....

Am I incorrect? I would love to believe so.