里希納·雷迪

An interesting survey among the top corporate giants around the world confirms that women in the workplace have proved their stupendous presence in almost every industry and in huge numbers. They are strong， smart， technically competent and emotionally valiant in comparison to their male counterparts. As such they are rightly called as the new age corporate women. But despite achieving such huge laurels， women still face many obstacles in their workplace.

Gender bias and sexual harassment are not just what we are talking about but there are few more issues that are big hurdles for women to grow high up in the corporate scene.

Men versus women issues

Men and women are always two sides of the same coin. Each one of them has their unique charisma and each one thinks and handles the situation differently. But it is still a shame that irrespective of being equally talented there is always discrimination in the eyes of the beholder. In corporate environments， where people of both genders participate in all activities with equal vigor and enthusiasm such vague differentiation is the biggest challenge for a woman.

One must understand that a working woman loves your concern but not your sympathy. She wishes to be recognized with her talent and not her gender.

Gender bias

Gender bias is another challenge that many women experience at their workplace. Though we can say that corporate offices are bridging the gender gap slowly， private institutions and government offices are still way far behind. Jobs that require frequent travel， physical exertion etc. are still open for men only as they are considered more eligible than women. Many companies while hiring women employees ask them openly about their marriage and further family planning as they cannot afford the maternity leaves and other flexibility perks.

One must understand that women are blessed with the opportunity to bring another soul into this world and this factor must not be a hindrance for their growth and progress.

Sexual harassment

One of the most shameful and heart-wrenching challenges that women face in the working environment is the kinds of sexual abuse she is exposed to. Mostly women fall prey to cunning men who lure them on the pretext of love and sexually harass them. Many men have the notion that working women are compromising in nature which is the foundation for such vicious deeds.

Women who stand up for their self-respect do not fail to voice out their difficulties but naive and fretful women still need to be fed with courage and must be taught to fight back against these vengeful men and show them their place.

Work-life imbalance

Another most noticeable challenge that women of today face at the workplace is the work-life imbalance. Differentiating personal life and professional career becomes a little hard for women in general. They tend to mix up work commitments with personal priorities and thats when all the issue starts.

The family feels neglected， friends feel lost and unfortunately， she has to face the wrath of her entire support system just because she has forgotten to draw the line between work and life. This challenge is mostly self-imposed and to get out of this mess， the woman has to help herself.

She needs to set her priorities right and plan her day well ahead. If she has to attend a family event and she is asked to attend a corporate dinner which is unplanned according to her， she needs to gather courage and politely refuse the latter as she has committed to her family. All she needs to manage is time and effort then everything falls in place.

Maternity leaves

Growing from a woman to a mother brings about a lot of changes in anyone. She learns to nurture a small being inside her. But does anyone perceive what all changes and challenges she is about to face at the workplace before and after the baby is born？

Handling mood swings and morning sicknesses without showing a slightest discomfort， traveling to and fro with her baby belly， avoiding office parties and late-night meetings as her health may take a toll， listening to her bosss taunts as she constantly applies checkup leaves， maternity leaves etc. are simply too hard for a pregnant woman.

Most of the firms have maternity leave policies where maternity leaves are granted for the first two babies which is appreciable. But once the lady resumes office post her maternity break， she may be in for surprise as her role would no more be the same. She may have to begin from beginning all over again. To bridge this gap and ease the challenge， corporate firms have now included flexibility policies for women who resume their career post-maternity breaks.

Lack of role models

Women have time and again proved their capabilities in the work front but still， the top cream layer is mostly occupied by men. The challenge here is female leaders are many but role models are few. When women look up to men for guidance and mentorship they feel they are disconnected and disoriented as there is a great difference in their objectivity and style of communication.

But this challenge is slowly minimizing as more and more women are entering as managers， politicians， presidents， CEOs and in the next few years to come， there will be more leaders who will turn role models for the generations to follow.

Power play

Many women leaders have stated vehemently that it took them a lot of time and plenty of courage to survive the power play politics and reach their current position in their workplace.

Driven by emotion and instinct， for women surviving office politics is one of the toughest challenges as it can hurt her inner soul and disturb her mental peace. Rather than falling prey to this false ego， able leaders should encourage healthy comradeship among fellow employees be it， man or woman.

Also， practicing the art of treating criticism as a feedback mechanism is the best way to tackle this challenge on the work front.

Ego clashes

Adam was the first human being in this world and then came Eve. Men always try to prove their superiority while at work. An alpha male will feel his ego is crushed when he has to report to a woman manager. Howsoever the lady is kind to him， he will try to find faults against her approach or mode of work etc. Women who are at a higher rank face this challenge while interacting with their peers， subordinates， and superiors.

Out of the three， handling her peers is the toughest job for a woman as she needs to imbibe special communication skills. The emotionally weak men need agony aunts or 3 AM friends to vent out and rant while women can keep any amount of agony and pain within them and yet smile gracefully. Working women need to encash this ability of hers to persuade and win the trust of her peers and this will definitely help her to befriend her colleague and turn the ego clash into nothing.

Restroom gossips

An office without gossipmongers is like a cake without icing. Tea breaks， lunchtime， restroom meetings are the venue and time when gossips are created and spread across. When a woman reaches a respectable position in her work there is always plenty of speculation about her journey to that position. Some comment on her ability while some comment about her friendly attitude.

All you will need to do is not to reciprocate any hard feelings. Women should know to face and win over this emotional challenge in her stride. In a world where good and bad co-exists， women must grow their emotional quotient and let their work speak for them instead of engaging in verbal battles.

Security

Last but not least the most threatening challenge for women at the workplace is their security. With more and more cases of physical assault and abuse being reported in dailies and news channels， women need to learn the art of self-defense for their security.

Many organizations have employed special security services for helping their women employees to get back home at late night. Not just working women but every girl should always be prepared to face the wrath of uncivilized men and hence must equip themselves with defense mechanisms and face their challenge with oozing self-confidence.

一項針對全球頂級企業(yè)巨頭的有趣調查證實，幾乎各個行業(yè)的職場女性都有突出表現(xiàn)，而且人數眾多。與男性同行相比，她們堅強、聰明、工作能力超強、待人處事果敢。因此，稱她們?yōu)椤靶聲r代的企業(yè)女性”恰如其分。但是，盡管獲得了這樣巨大的榮譽，女性在職場中仍然面臨許多阻礙。

我們所討論的不僅僅是性別歧視和性騷擾，在職場晉升中，女性還會遇到另外一些巨大的阻礙。

男女對比問題

一直以來，男人和女人就是一枚硬幣的兩個面。他們各自擁有獨特的魅力，有不同的想法，處理問題的方式也有差異。但令人遺憾的是，不管男女是否擁有同樣的才能，在旁人眼中總是有區(qū)別的。在企業(yè)環(huán)境中，男女都以同樣的精力和熱情參與所有的活動，這種模糊的區(qū)別對待就是女性面臨的最大挑戰(zhàn)。

人們必須明白，一位職場女性需要的是關心，而非同情。她渴望人們認可她的才華，而不是她的性別。

性別歧視

性別歧視是許多女性在職場遭遇的另一挑戰(zhàn)。雖說可以看到，企業(yè)正在慢慢縮小性別差距，但私人機構和政府部門做得還遠遠不夠。那些需要經常出差、耗費體力的工作仍然只對男性開放，因為人們認為男性比女性更符合要求。許多公司在雇用女性員工時，會公開詢問她們的婚姻狀況和未來的生育計劃，因為公司負擔不起產假和其他彈性津貼。

人們必須明白，女性享有將另一個生命帶到這個世界的權利，這一因素不應該成為她們成長和進步的阻礙。

性騷擾

女性在職場中所面臨的最可恥、最痛心的挑戰(zhàn)，是她們所遭受的各種性侵犯。很多時候，女性會淪為狡猾男性的獵物，這些男性以愛為借口引誘她們，并對她們實施性騷擾。許多男性認為，職場女性在本質上是妥協(xié)的，正是這一想法滋生了這種惡劣的行徑。

敢于挺身維護自我尊嚴的女性會說出自己的困難，但輕信他人的苦悶女性仍然需要有人給她們打氣，必須有人教她們反擊那些記仇的男性，并向他們表明自己的立場。

無法平衡工作與生活

當今職場女性面臨的另一個嚴峻挑戰(zhàn)是無法平衡工作與生活。區(qū)分個人生活和職業(yè)生涯對女性來說通常有點兒困難。她們往往會把工作責任和私人要事混為一談，這時候問題就出現(xiàn)了。

家人覺得被忽視，朋友感到失落。很不幸，只是因為忘了把工作和生活劃分清楚，她就不得不面對后援團的集體憤怒。這一挑戰(zhàn)大多是強加給自己的，要擺脫這種混亂，女性必須自助。

她需要分清輕重緩急，提前做好一天的計劃。如果必須參加一個家庭活動，又獲邀參加一個計劃外的企業(yè)晚宴，那她就需要鼓起勇氣，禮貌拒絕后者，因為她已經承諾了她的家人。她需要做的就是安排好時間和精力，之后一切便水到渠成。

產假

從女人成長為母親，任何女性都會經歷很多變化。她要學會在自己的體內孕育小生命?？墒?，有沒有人察覺到，在孩子出生前后，女性在職場將要面對的所有變化和挑戰(zhàn)？

她要應對情緒波動和孕期晨吐，卻不能表現(xiàn)出絲毫不適;她要懷著胎兒來回奔波;她要謝絕辦公室聚會和深夜會議，因為健康可能受損;她要忍受老板的奚落，因為需要不時申請體檢、產假等——這些對孕婦來說簡直太難了。

大多數公司有產假政策，女職員生育頭兩胎可以享受產假，此舉意義重大?？尚萃戤a假重返崗位時，她可能會大吃一驚，因為職位不再相同，她可能不得不從頭再來。為了彌合這一差距，緩和這個問題，公司現(xiàn)在為產后重返職場的女性制定了彈性政策。

缺少榜樣

女性一次又一次證明了她們的工作能力，但高層崗位主要還是由男性占領。這里所說的挑戰(zhàn)是，雖然女性領導者眾多，但是榜樣很少。當女性尋求男性的指導時，她們會覺得格格不入、找不到方向，因為男女的客觀性和溝通方式大相徑庭。

然而，隨著越來越多的女性邁入經理、政治家、總裁和首席執(zhí)行官的行列，這一難題正慢慢得到解決。未來幾年，將會有更多的女性領導者為后人樹立榜樣。

爭權奪利

許多女性領導者激動地表示，她們耗費了大量時間，鼓足了勇氣，才在職場的權術斗爭中生存下來，達到目前的地位。

受情感和本能的驅使，對女性來說，在辦公室政治中生存下來是最艱難的一大挑戰(zhàn)，因為這可能傷害她的內心世界，擾亂她的精神安寧。有能力的領導者不該淪為這種虛偽自我的犧牲品，而應鼓勵員工間無論男女建立健康的同志關系。

此外，應對這一職場挑戰(zhàn)的最佳方式是，將提出批評當作一種反饋機制。

自尊沖突

亞當是世上產生的第一個人，然后才有了夏娃。男性在工作中總是試圖證明他們的優(yōu)越。當一個大男人不得不向一位女經理匯報工作時，他會感到自尊心受到打擊。無論這位女士對他多么親切，他都會試圖找出她在工作方法或模式等方面的問題。職位較高的女性在與同事、下屬和上司交流時都會面臨這種挑戰(zhàn)。

對女性而言，這三者中最難處理的是同事關系，因為需要借鑒一些特殊的溝通技巧。情感脆弱的男性需要知心姐姐或者凌晨3點也能傾訴的朋友來發(fā)泄和抱怨，而女性能將任何程度的創(chuàng)傷和痛苦埋在心里，同時保持優(yōu)雅的微笑。職場女性需要運用這種能力說服同事，贏得他們的信任，這也無疑有助于她和同事成為朋友，化自尊沖突為烏有。

廁所八卦

辦公室沒有八卦人士，猶如蛋糕沒有糖衣。茶歇、午餐、廁所相遇都是傳播流言蜚語的好時機。當一位女性在工作中升至體面的職位時，人們總會對她的升職過程有諸多猜疑。有人議論她的能力，還有人議論她友善的態(tài)度。

你要做的就是不以任何負面情緒去回應。女性應該知道如何從容面對并戰(zhàn)勝這種情感上的挑戰(zhàn)。在善惡并存的世界里，女性必須提高情商，讓工作為自己代言，而不是卷入口舌之爭。

人身安全

最后一點也很重要，職場女性面臨的最具威脅的挑戰(zhàn)是自身的安全問題。每天的報紙和電視新聞報道了越來越多的身體攻擊和虐待案件，女性需要學會自衛(wèi)，以保證自己的安全。

許多機構為深夜下班回家的女員工提供特別安全服務。不僅是職業(yè)女性，每個女孩都應該時刻準備好面對粗暴無禮的男人。因此，女性必須有自己的防御方式，以十足的自信迎接挑戰(zhàn)。? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?□

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎者）