International Women’s Day celebrated at Apeejay Institute of Hospitality

Traditionally women have managed the hearth and the household and raised children. They have been a support to the men folk who were considered to be the providers for the family.

Women had to fight long battles just to be treated fairly and given equal opportunities in the personal and professional lives. International Women’s Day can be traced back to the women’s suffrage movement in the late nineteenth century. Over the last two centuries women have progressed tremendously in all walks of life. They have achieved great success and have made their contribution note worthy in every sphere of work that they have taken up. Today they are in the defence forces and have even captained projects to space apart from being the top professionals in the conventional careers.

There are also regions, small pockets in the world where women are still suppressed and demeaned; they deal with violence both mental and physical. They have to fight gender bias
regularly; this is not an issue just in the developing countries but also prevalent in the developed nations. “Women are leaders everywhere you look, from the CEO who runs a Fortune 500 company to the housewife who raises her children and heads her household. Our country was built by strong women and we will continue to break down walls and defy
stereotypes”. ~ Nancy Pelosi International woman’s day marked on 8th March every year, celebrates the emancipation of women. It celebrates womanhood and pays tribute to all their achievements and brings them on one platform to share their views, deal with issues of concern and empower them.

This year at Apeejay Institute of Hospitality Dr. Anjali Kalse, Director, Executive MBA Programme at Bharati Vidyapeeth Institute of Management Studies and Research, Navi
Mumbai was invited as a special guest. Dr. Kalse delivered a motivational talk ’The recipe of success’. The session was attended by the lady staff members, The Park Hotel women team members and the girl students. The session was liked by all this was followed by brunch put together for the ladies by the staff and students.

Apeejay Institute of Hospitality also was invited by Corporate Travel Company, FCM Mumbai to do an interactive session for their women employees. Our Professor Ms. Laxmi Todiwan did a motivational session titled,” Reinventing yourself through positive communication” and our second year BSc. Hospitality Studies students Ms. Anushka Nikale and Ms. Shradha Tendulkar did a demonstration of creative napkin folds. The ladies loved the session and tried their hands at making napkin folds.

A moment of truth is that we do not subscribe to the idea of marking one single day to celebrate womanhood but every day we must celebrate the strength that they bring with them.
While many of us are lucky to have the support and cooperation of our families, colleagues and friends to enable us to grow and succeed whereas there are many out there who still face innumerable challenges and lack of opportunities.

This year the IWD theme is ‘Balance for Better’ - which speaks for gender equity and equal opportunities for all. We must commit ourselves to ensuring that we create a support system for all women and men to empower them. Let it not remain a ceremonial function but is taken beyond that and into our homes, offices and the society - together we can make the difference!