‘It is on us to drive the change when it comes to equality and sharing responsibilities,’ say celebrity couple Neha Dhupia and Angad Bedi

In India, as in the rest of the world, women mostly shoulder the responsibility for domestic work, even if she is working. But for women to truly succeed, the load needs to be shared equally at home.

According to a United Nations report, women tend to spend around 2.5 times more time than men on unpaid care and domestic work. This acts as an impediment to women’s careers, and prevents many of them from joining the workforce.

But the big question is this: how does one achieve equality at the workplace and at home? HerStory caught up with celebrity couple Neha Dhupia and Angad Bedi to take cues from them on how to build an equal partnership, and to learn how they make it work at home.

Driving equality early on in life

Neha believes that one of the ways to change the existing equation is to by changing the society’s core values.

When the generation is brought up to believe that both men and women are equal, and both have to split responsibilities, be it externally or inside the house, you will see a mindset shift.  And, thankfully, you see this change coming in at an accelerated pace, and sharing the load becoming more integral to our households and societies.

Equal partnership

An equal partnership is tackling all the challenges together as a combined unit. And Neha and Angad juggle their individual schedules depending on what needs to be prioritised for them as a couple.

Neha and Angad, along with Balaka Niyazee, VP, P&G Korea, and her husband, Kausar Niyazee, were a part of #WeSeeEqual Summit in Mumbai organised by United Nations Women and P&G. The Niyazees have also been driving a campaign on both men and women sharing the load.

And Neha has a partner who truly shares the load. “From rustling up breakfast on some days, to getting our daughter to the sets, to meeting me when I have long breaks in between, Angad makes a lot of effort without making a big deal about it,” she says.

And the couple prioritises needs according to the particular moment. “Both our fitness goals and regime are important, but since she is getting back to her regimen after pregnancy, she needs to get priority. She is a super fit girl and she needs to get to her earlier fitness levels,” Angad says.

The way forward

Much is spoken about equality, but are people walking the talk?

“Boys of today will be husbands of tomorrow. It is the way they teach their kids. Our mothers and grandmother made a lot of sacrifices, and they could have been fewer or lesser if the men had helped out. The bridge is now getting narrower. Men are also looking at sacrifices being made by women. In whatever little way they can help at the personal and on the professional front they should do that. It shouldn’t be a conversation any more but an accepted fact,” Angad says.

But things are changing on the professional front, even in Bollywood. Neha points to her own experience at work with pregnancy, and motherhood so far. “I worked till the last day and when I was being wheeled in for delivery, I was talking to my team, and that very day I was back to checking my emails and connecting with my team.  The point I am making is that being pregnant is not a professional setback to a woman,” she says.

And it is during such times where a woman has to take a career break that she needs all the support and help to keep her professional momentum going.

"It truly is on us to drive the change. As a mother, I think our generation is at the cusp of change, and we have to be the flag-bearers to push it further. We have to ensure we raise the next generation as a generation of equals. And it all begins at home. So I am very glad I have someone like Angad. I am confident my daughter will grow up seeing a very equal household. She will see her father do the tasks, and her mother go out to work as many times as she will see the roles reversed. And I will be the happiest mom if one day she finds a partner who also believes in equality and sharing the load, like Angad is for me,” Neha signs off.