3 Review(s)

First Day at Work is a book which talks about the journey of a woman through the prisons of pattern . This is a must read for all women and everyone else who consider themselves as allies. I love it when talent gets to express itself, not constrained by gender at birth. I get encouraged by my wife, my niece, Brene Brown, Michele Obama, Cheryl Sandburg, and most importantly all my amazing female coworkers. Then I hear on the news, in some parts of the world, men are deciding for women’s code of conduct in public - what she can be allowed to talk about? What can she wear? Is she even allowed to speak outside of her home? It becomes news when in some parts of the world now allow women to drive. Really? Give? Allow? Who gave us the right to ‘Give’ or the right to ‘Allow’? Are we really making progress or are societal patterns holding us back? This is a book based on the life of a woman who was born in India a month before India’s independence in August of 1947 and her journey over almost eight decades. A story which moves through societal patterns and observations. The book talks about Uma’s relentless efforts to fight the norm, her submissions, and her acceptances. Uma had a very simple dream. Uma wanted to be a teacher and be a lifelong learner and stay surrounded by books. The book explores whether Uma achieves her dream? And the price she pays along the way as she tries. Uma is not just a seventy-eight-year-old Indian woman - she represents billions of women around the world, east to west, north to south.