WeÂ’ve received a few tips (Thanks, Mytri and Brimful!) about an article entitled “A Flair for the Unconventional”, which ran in the New York Times on Sunday. Following your links, I expected to be slightly bored by something dealing with outsourcing or tech or consulting blah blah blah. I was prepared to let one of the staff entrepreneurs/business titans tackle it, so I could get back to writing a more ANNA-esque post. 😉

But when the page loaded, I was slightly startled to see a striking Brown woman whose picture sat atop a sidebar of “important details” about her: her title (Chief Executive of Rose International, an IT services company in the Midwest), her birth date, her nickname (Himanshu became “Sue”), even what she likes to do in her spare time (nature walks). The last bold, highlighted, impossible-to-miss bit of information contained…

her weight-control regimen?

Are you kidding me?Since when is it important for me to know that Himanshu “Sue” Bhatia relies on the “Zone” to keep her figure? Granted, I’m not familiar with this column entitled “The Boss”, so it’s entirely possible that they have in the past asked CEOs who are men how they diet. But I really doubt it.

A quick search through previous “Boss” columns confirmed my cynicism. Nope, no “weight-control” questions to be found. In fact, of the two columns with similar graphics that I did find, the article about the male had rather straightforward information contained in the sidebar under his picture, while the piece about a woman who heads the Centers for Disease Control included how many stray cats she had, what comfort food she preferred and how she liked to exercise. Huh. I want to call “double-standard”, but it really feels like no standard.

Shame on you, grey LADY. The next time you are characterized as a “liberal” mouthpiece, I’m going to throw up a little in my mouth while remembering how lame you were when it came to discussing women in leadership roles.

This reminds me of grad school, where my excellent professor Kathleen Schafer brought a copy of an article that had been in Roll Call to class (t’was Women and Leadership in Public Office if you care about such things). She announced that a group of women Senators had held a press conference concerning some serious matter I no longer remember, then she held up the paper for all of us to see. There was quite predictably a group picture of some of the most powerful female politicians in the country– what wasn’t predictable was the focus of the photograph.

Roll Call had published a picture of the womens’ feet, along with a caption discussing the footwear preferences of a group of leaders who deserved a better portrait, hell, a better level of attention and respect.

If it were a similar occasion with male Senators, I sincerely doubt that we would’ve seen a close-up of their wingtips, followed by a brief discussion of their personal “style”. The focus would be on substance, not fashion. How novel.

Isn’t it great to be a woman?

:+:

Rant aside, do you wish to learn more about Himanshu “Sue” Bhatia? Okay. First fact—-Vinod would probably dig her. 😉

WHEN I was a teenager living in New Delhi, I read “The Fountainhead” by Ayn Rand and decided I wanted to be an architect. My parents wanted me to be a doctor, but I stood my ground and took the entrance exam to study architecture.

Admission to college is very competitive in India, especially for a professional degree. At the time, there were about 2,000 students competing for about 28 openings in the School of Planning and Architecture. I was one of six women admitted.

Maybe this is why it’s important that we know she’s in the “zone”. Not.

I have a history of doing unconventional things. After I graduated from college, I saw an ad for a beauty contest and entered it for fun. I had no expectations. I grew up in a family where girls were encouraged not to attract attention to themselves, so this was more a rebellious act than any desire to win. To my surprise, I came in second. I was offered a modeling contract, but I had bigger plans. I left for the United States two months later.

At least they didn’t hyper-focus on how she met her spouse:

I had worked in architecture for a year in India, and I wanted to get a master’s in my field here. The semester had already started in that program, however, so I got a master’s in management information systems instead. I also got married. It was an arranged marriage.

This Woman’s work, this Woman’s world, this Woman’s worth:

My last salaried job was working in information technology for Edward Jones, the investment firm. They had a program where I could work at home, which seemed attractive because I had two small children. But when they told me the hourly rate compared to my annual salary, I thought, “Is that all, for my qualifications?”

Dude, she SHOULD have married Vinod. I think he would’ve been more of a cheerleader. 😉

My husband tried to talk me out of starting a business. “Why do you need to do something different?” he asked. I had seen my parents struggle, and I wanted a better life. “I have to,” I told him. I was ready to fail. I started cold-calling and attending networking breakfasts. I wrote a business plan with the help of the Small Business Administration. I was lucky to get a few contracts and felt I owed nothing but outstanding service to these clients for putting their trust in me.

She get it from her Mama:

My mother used to teach night school and wasn’t there when I got home from school, so I learned how to fend for myself. When I was 12, she visited the United States for several months, leaving the household responsibilities to me. I had to learn how to use my time and energy wisely. I learned survival, which is what business is all about. I’ve also learned that as a leader, how kind you are is more important than how much you know.

Revenge tastes sweeeeet:

Two years ago we put a great deal of time and money into landing a new client in Texas, but the company chose three large multinational companies instead. I said fine, remember us. I got busy with other ways to strengthen the company. The client called recently and said one of its suppliers was not performing. They gave us the contract instead. Persistence pays.

Himanshu Bhatia is an inspiring human and I’m sincerely glad that the New York Times profiled her– but my gratitude does NOT cancel my irritation. I am consummately certain that “A Flair for the Unconventional” wouldn’t have suffered if they omitted describing how the woman chooses to eat. Speaking of, I won’t be forgetting the bitter taste all of this stupidity has left with me, not for a while.