Domestic duties should be divided equitably between men and women: Justice S Ravindra Bhat

Supreme Court judge Justice S Ravindra Bhat on Saturday said that glass ceiling for women in legal profession is real and lack of representation of women in judiciary is a concern..Elaborating on this point, Justice Bhat explained that even though Madras High Court has the highest number of women judges, yet that number is nowhere close to the desired strength.“When it comes to the judiciary, gender representation has historically been a concern. Tamil Nadu with highest number of female judges, but nowhere close to where it needs to be. The glass ceiling is very real and palpable for women,” the judge acknowledged..Flagging another obstacle, Justice Bhat highlighted how domestic work was a reason holding back women from taking on more responsible positions in professions.He acknowledged that the ’work from home’ lifestyle could have been a possible solution but that has also turned out to be a cause of greater burnout for women since domestic responsibilities are not divided equally between man and woman and the boundaries between work and home life blurs to the detriment of women. "Domestic expectations that burden women disproportionately cannot be seen as inevitable and instead the effort must be to progress towards a society that recognises and prioritises a more equal division of such labour," the judge said..The Supreme Court judge was speaking at a conference on Women in Power & Decision Making organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI).At the outset he pointed out the irony that he was a man speaking at an event for women. However, he was of the opinion that these efforts could not be directed only at women and needed engagement from men."I am acutely aware of what some may perceive as ironic that being a man I have been invited to speak at this inaugural session.. its a thought I have wrestled too with and I think it calls for genuine engagement," he said.The proverbial issue of making room for more women at the table cannot be seen as only a women's issue but requires work at systematic level, he explained..“Undoubtedly, women in leadership positions have the key to opening pathways for more women to rise up the rank but the primary challenge is to bring them to these positions in the first place,” the judge said.While pointing out that career challenges for women were diverse, Justice Bhat said that these issues being institutional should be handled by organisations at an institutional level..While considering mandatory representation, the judge pointed out that while India has tried to lay down representation through legislature, efforts are required to ensure it doesn’t remain a token representation."Often representation devolves into a merely tokenistic gesture where women are given ornamental positions where the decisions are being made by someone else. This does more harm than good, given that women are occupying positions of power without any of its consequential benefits flowing to other women in the ecosystem,“ the judge highlighted.In this regard, he stressed that representation in a real sense has a cascading effect.He observed that there seemed to be a rise in the number of women in litigation and the endeavour now should be to provide a productive work environment for them to ensure that they do not feel the need to step away from their career. "It begins with basic steps. It requires leaders and stakeholders to be alive to the unique issues faced by them and quickly work on their resolution in order to retain their participation,” the judge suggested.