Since World War One when the men left for the battlefield, the women were left to tend to the home and factories. Getting that taste of working life and earning for oneself transformed a generation of women to continue working rather than heading back to their homes when the men returned. 

Fast forward to the 1960s on flower power, protests against Vietnam and the burning of bras a symbol of female repression. Women have protested for equality and a right to work. The 1980s we saw women with bold big hair and even bolder and bigger suits taking on the corporate world, having a family was not even on the agenda. From the 1990s till today there has been this belief that women can have it all, home and successful career. 

Having a family does affect your career, you take time off, in the UK maternity leave is almost a year-long, in the US it is a lot less. There is that pressure woman put on themselves that after the kids we will go back to their careers as nothing happened. There are many great examples of women with great careers and families, we all have examples from our own family, you may be one yourself. 

Working mothers are 'supermoms' in my books but they should not feel like a failure if things do not work out on any given day. As this attitude to feeling that you have to get it all right and perfect is just going to lead to depression and feeling like a failure. COVID 19 has meant were staying more at home and some may be helping their kids with online learning too and may feel guilty that they are not putting the energy in their work.

This article is about how this 'supermom, I can do it all' attitude can make you feel depressed in an already stressful situation. 

So for all the working moms and the moms who are managing it all, I applaud you and that it is ok to believe that things do not perfectly balance.

So for all the moms on our community please read and share your thoughts, is work-life balance harder to maintain during covid. How have you organized your routine to bring more balance? Is the mom guilt real?

How to find work-life balance

We have seen in a short number of years the explosion of comments, likes, raised questions and issues that provoke a wide variety of emotions that leads to action. The uploading of the video of the last moments of George Floyd who was pinned down for eight minutes and could not breathe while onlookers were desperately shouting to stop. This clip became a call to action to #blacklivesmatter movement and the world witnessed universal solidarity to black people and their continued struggles for equality.

Social media has an important role in spreading knowledge and instigating reactions from its audience. It can be used for good or for evil, it's great to see Trump being banned from Twitter, realizing the negative effects his tweets had on US society.  

In Pakistan, have seen social media, in particular, Instagram as a platform for expressing our selves through our selfies, businesses advertising their new locations, collections and offerings. We are all heavily influenced by the 'gram'. I stumbled on these articles which share the title using social media to lead change. Also, the graphic designer who uses social media to exhibit her creations,  inspired by women' issues in Pakistan.

Tell me what do you think about these articles? Do you agree with them?  Or do you think Instagram should just be used as entertainment only and not a rallying device????

Shehzil Malik

Samya Arif

 

In the last few years, we have seen a surge of non-tech people start new careers in the sphere of TECH. By learning to code, women especially have found a replacement or additional income stream by learning to code, that works around their busy schedules.

In Pakistan, there are many online providers that offer free or for a small fee to teach the essentials that can literally transform lives, making women confident and financially independent.

HerDomain also works with clients who need to hire for data entry and other assignments that by taking several courses can make you hirable. So if you have joined this community to seek new career direction or a way to start a side hustle, then learn to code, digital marketing, data analytics, graphic design. Udemy, Skillshare, digiskills.pk are some platforms where you can learn at your own pace for a fraction of the cost (digiskills.pk is government-funded, so it's free).

Here is a blog post by Marie-Philipe Gill, a blogger and data analyst, in her post she talks about reasons why women learn to code. Have a read and comment below if you agree with these motivations and has it motivated you to reach out to females relatives and friends and get them to consider a career by learning how to code!!!!

What Brings Women into Coding

1st of January is the day we reset to the beginning, we write down our resolutions or goals, or aspirations whatever you want to call them. We all have a list of what we would like to change, introduce, improve get rid off. 

Forum 2.0 has had a bit of a refurbishment in order to encourage more engagement between community members, to raise questions, to offer support, encouragement and advice. To motivate and inspire with your comments, stories, even pictures of your workstation. 

We created three new channels; Wellbeing, Productivity and Career growth as a way you can post or read about issues you're interested in. Let me know in the comments, what topics are of interest to you. Also, I would like a community member to moderate a channel; that they are interested in. So if you are passionate or want to learn more about the issues in the channels moderating the channel will be a great opportunity for you just comment down below.

is usually one of the main reasons why many leave their regular 9-5 jobs and decide to start their own business/startup.

The last decade has seen the rise of social media as an industry and viable career option, many leaving their jobs to become fulltime bloggers, vloggers, influencers etc. While others have gone on towards the freelancing route.
All the community members here are skilled in a wide range of tech, creative, administrative and the list goes on skills, all can be monetized in the realm of freelancing. My friend Marjan Arbab is a veteran blogger, and created several economics courses on Udemy as well as earning from her other writing activities. She is also the start-up success manager at National Incubation Center Karachi,

Many of you are seasoned freelancers but I thought for those who are thinking about adding additional income through freelancing here are some articles that could provide guidance to getting started with your new side business. 
How to Start Freelancing in Pakistan

Digiskills.pk

For our community members, what motivated you to start your freelancing careers?
What advice would you give to other women thinking of pursuing a freelancing career?

Hi All
I hope everyone is well and had a great Monday. There was an article on BBC about people sharing their passion for reading and its known as 'Bookstagram'. I know I am guilty of posting pics of what I am reading I did that since getting back to reading in 2018 when I discovered liberty books and readings. pk, online retailers where I could get the latest non-fiction and fiction books at great prices with quick delivery. The prices of Liberty books are a bit higher but they do package the books in nice brown paper, it gives that real vintage vibe.
Last year I read Becoming by Michelle Obama and oh my word. She is truly an inspiration to all women. Reading the story of her childhood, how her mother fought for her education. Her career journey, meeting Barack and the Whitehouse the list goes on.
It is so important for women to hear the stories of such women, their struggles and journey which is not always portrayed in the media.
Even today there is still a great level of inequality in the workplace for women and more so for minority women, that we have to shout 10 times louder than our 'white' counterparts.
I saw on youtube a short clip of Michelle on Ellen's show and it was so funny when she described her first kiss with a boy named Ronnel, the way Michelle said it's a BLACK Ron-Nel was so funny. It's like saying white people can not say Denzal Washinton the way black people do. Den-Zell!!!!!

Here is a link to the Michelle video I was talking about
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-hQt7-CHpk


Actually, my point is that let's start a book club!!!!. What we could have one day in a month we can post about a favourite book we have read, what kind of books are we into, how do you get in the feel of reading? Do you have a special place in your home you like to read? or a special coffee mug? Also, those who are parents do you get time to read to your kids. I remember just before Dinner my dad would tell us stories of Sinbad and Genie in the lamp, the films he would see in the cinema during the 1940s in Quetta.

So let me know is a book CluB a space you guys would be interested?????

Goodreads is a great place to find book recommendations, join reading communities and make new friends. 

Bookstagram

A well-written resume is your best tool in getting you foot into the door of any company/ job you are applying for. Recruiters or the automated software takes a few seconds to either forward your resume to the next stage or throws it in the bin. To get your resume to the next stage takes hours of effort. I have spent many on my own resume 'dumming' it down for entry-level roles as well as reviewing my students.
Each job requires its own resume, even if the job you are applying is the same kind of role, if you are sending the same resume to many employers and not getting an interview call, the best guess is that they can see if you can not put effort into a resume, what effort can you put into the job.

Most of you are working remotely and have worked on your resume with Rimsha . What I want to do is start conversations about what tips and tricks you know about writing that great resume. What advice can you offer to other members and what resources have you used?
For now here are some links for resuming writing for a data analyst role.
Comment below and share your secrets and guides to writing that perfect resume.

Resume writers in Pakistan

Oh MY  WORD!!!!!!!

I wish I found out this brand while I was in Pakistan. Her story, products webpage are all so stunning and really affordable when you compare to other brands like paper, who also sell bespoke journals, wellness books and other stationery.

There are 4 main products, a planer, study planner and a positivity planner. Seriously I would have purchased them all if I knew about this brand.

facebook page
Instagram

Inspire Me Pakistan

Inspire Me Pakistan

https://inspireme.pk/

The founder, Humna Raza with her husband designed and created a product that had a clear market demand. You can read more about her story on her website.

Here is a link to her blog, that has many inspiring posts about productivity and wellbeing.

Since teaching from home when COVID 19 began and our university closed its door to regular teaching and moved us all to MS Teams online lectures. I had that sudden feeling to be super productive. That every second of the working day had to be used well. Hours were spent in preparing for lectures, to make the content engaging and interesting so the students would not get bored. To purchase more equipment from my own money to minimize wifi disruption and to help in delivering those lectures.
I would have my coffee ready at my side and when the lecture would start I would forget about it and then the lecture ended and my coffee would be stone cold.
There have been many hacks, and apps and journals etc all marketed to help us stay productive. But many times I have felt that the day has passed and I feel like I have not achieved anything of value. It was those days when out of a class of 45 students only 10 would show up and then half would just have their laptop on while they ate their lunch, did their chores etc. Those were the days that I felt like the most unproductive person on the planet.
With many changing careers, myself included we have to use our limited time well, with learning new skills and getting experience. So that leads to turning to self-help gurus, apps and articles to give us those golden nuggets of information on how they become so productive, accomplish their goals and still have time to make dinner and workout!!!!

How the pandemic could redefine our productivity obsession

Reaching your 2021 Career Goals

Hi everyone!!!!

COVID 19 has given many of us that extra time, maybe too much time that we wish we had to give to ourselves. We were able to do that workout, do our nails, learn that course or read that book we always wanted to read.
As busy women with family responsibilities, a full-time job and even studying, finding that time to look after ourselves could be seen by others as being selfish. I have sometimes felt guilty for spending time alone to pamper myself when I could have been doing something around the house.
This space is where I and all of you can post your self-care tips and tricks. What do you think is self-care, do we really need it? What do you do to unwind, relax and should we feel guilty if we take time out for ourselves?

Let's start this important discussion, that as working women from Asian communities where self-care is still a new concept, what are you feeling towards this?

I will be posting resources that I think helps me to unwind and I look forward to reading what helps you and if you are feeling any strain or stress do write it here. Typing your feelings is a great way to relieve stress and you don't have to feel embarrassed or shame as this forum is a safe and judgemental place for all of us to connect and support one another!!!!!

How to Make Time for Yourself
The Missing Ingredient in Self Care
"Why Self Care isn't Selfish"

Do watch these videos and let me know what you felt and if you can relate to any situation in your life!!!