Sunday, November 28, 2010

15 seconds of fame

So I was on national television for all of 15 seconds and frankly I don't think I made much sense. The question I had to answer was how as a woman I've contributed to the product I'm working on. Say what? I mean, I contribute. I do a good job. And maybe I do better than some other people would have, but how being a woman have I made a difference? Our roles are defined irrespective of gender and purely on skills and talent. Given the nature of my job I think I haven't really done anything special on account of being a woman. However, I believe that having a diverse team is an indication of a healthy team. Men and women are not wired the same, we approach problems differently and I guess it helps to have a mixed group when you are brainstorming or say tackling a problem. A woman's perspective might just come in handy specially so if it is a product you are designing with women consumers in mind.

As to why I got this opportunity, I wasn't the first choice, but the other person happened to be on leave and I volunteered. I'm camera shy and all that but hey I want to be famous too. :P Also funny how I'm usually never the first choice for many such events. Like recently,I got to go on campus placements (something I've always wanted to do) because someone else dropped out. That talk I gave once simply because no one else was qualified enough, the chance to 'garland' few delegates (in this case though I am not sure why I even agreed to do it).... Oh well, I'm not complaining.