Power, Sexuality and Gender Dynamics at Work

Roop Sen is a researcher at heart who is passionate about asking questions—the right questions that allow better and deeper insights and, sometimes, delightful answers. Roop has always been curious about how our gender identities, social norms and power structures impact the lives and opportunities available to different groups of men and women and the non-binaries. In his engaging conversations, whether over endless cups of coffee with friends or at his workshops, he facilitates inquiry into how our childhood experiences and primary relationships shape our lenses for looking at ourselves and others, in organizations and society. He is a founding member of Sanjog, a non-profit, and Change Mantras, a consulting firm. As an activist, he supports people’s movements against gender-based violence in society and the organized crime that profits from it. As an organizational consultant, he works with client systems in India and other cultures on gender, organizational culture and identity politics to strengthen resilience in organizations. Roop is a fellow of Sumedhas, an organization that delves into the human context, where he co-anchors the Gender and Identity Lab with Sarbani Gomes and Ashok Malhotra. ‘From being an activist whose lens on gender was focused on gender-based violence, the labs have been a great learning experience on learning to look at ourselves with compassion without collusion,’ says Roop. The one who asks questions does not lose the way. And with this book, Roop’s pursuit is to evoke and provoke questions and discussions on issues that may be currently blurred but need to be moved into the spotlight so that we do not really lose the way home to a gender-just world for all. Uma Chatterjee is postgraduate in applied clinical psychology from the University of Delhi. She started multiple organizations throughout her life—from a special guidance clinic and laboratory for children with special needs in Chandigarh, Sanjog—an organization for the emancipation of survivors of sexual violence and slavery—to Change Mantras, a leadership development firm. A ‘compassionate leader’ is how Uma’s colleagues describe her. While she holds strong convictions about her views and does not hesitate to make unconventional choices in life, she is equally empathetic to people who have different views and beliefs than her own. Uma is perhaps best known for her work with young women and men in India who have survived gender violence and caste exploitation. She has invested a better part of the last decade fostering and mentoring the youth to mobilize, collectivize and organize themselves—to connect with each other and support themselves to heal and emancipate. ‘Empowerment cannot be bestowed by the privileged to disadvantaged, nor can saviours and crusaders rescue the fallen. The best way to heal the hurt is to listen and share, our vulnerabilities, our fears and anxieties, and those parts of us which we feel ashamed to reveal, even to ourselves,’ says Uma. A mother of a teenage daughter, she sees how, in so many ways, her daughter’s context, peer culture and worldview are different from hers. At the same time, the connection between her own mother, herself and her daughter, in their desire, their struggles and their hopes as women connects their worlds. This book, Uma hopes, will evoke ‘grey’ conversations on identity, gender and sexuality. For it is in the messy grey areas where we find complexity, compassion and the truth.