Book Review- Lady, You are not a Man

This is a book by Apurva Purohit, CEO of Radio City and an alumna of IIM Bangalore. I picked it up at the Hyderabad airport recently, and since I had heard of it from the alumni, decided to read it at once.

It has a semi-feminist  and humorous look at the positives and negatives of the workplace. Its tone and language are not feminist in its aggressive sense, and men would enjoy reading it as much as women. I did. The take-offs on men/husbands and their egos are particularly good. How a subordinate (man) needs to be cajoled into doing something after planting the seed in him and making him think it was his idea, has invaluable lessons for women bosses.

There are summaries of the sections at the end of each, which make it a little didactic (hope that is the right word), but you can skip those portions. The case studies of real people sprinkled throughout are very nice, adding to the 'theories of the workplace' coming from Apurva's own experiences.

The importance of Indian men understanding the value of women generally, and those in their lives, has been brought out well. How women can help the process, as mothers bringing up sons (the same as girls, helping with cooking or household work, and respecting husbands/fathers who do it) is also relevant to the feudal/patriarchal society that is still evolving around us.

A good read, with a lot to learn. For both genders.




5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I agree it's a good book. I read it a couple of months back and then I have to chance to hear Apurva and Sanjay Purohit. The thoughts conveyed in the book are good and can be related to a lot of personal things a working married lady goes through almost everyday! :)
However, I would recommend Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg. That book is a wonderful piece of research and is very well written.

Parul :)

Rajendra said...

nice to hear from you, Parul. Good thoughts. Will try out Sheryl's book too.

Diamond Head said...

I would say one has to contextualize who the author is and if they are a mouthpiece for something else. Author's background CAN and DOES inform the writing. Caveat Emptor!

Garima said...

looking forward to read it ....and ur blog just came in at right time sir :-)

Rajendra said...

Welcome. I am sure you will enjoy it, Garima.

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