How Women Are Fearlessly Exploring Various Career Avenues
“People used to say that boxing is for men and not for women and I thought I will show them some day. I promised myself and I proved myself “ – Mary Kom
As tough as it can get
On 21st May, 2018 the all-woman crew of Indian Navy’s sailing vessel Tarini created history by circumnavigating the globe in a grueling 254-day voyage covering 21,600 nautical miles. This was the first of its feat ventured by all-women group. This proved beyond doubt that women are no less capable than men in doing whatever they set out to do. Pratibha Jhamwal, one of the team members of the six women crew said, “it took 2 years of preparation, dedication and belief in them by the senior officers that they could do it, that they were able to complete the task across dangerous high seas.”
Breaking the stereotype
This is just an example of the new avenues which women are aspiring to explore. Even though there are some regressive minds that still come from an orthodox school of thought, the new Indian woman is shattering all those glasses and moving ahead. Women are no longer interested in doing a mundane 9-5 jobs that will please their families. There is no area where it can be said that it is only for men, be it armed forces, sports, or any other field earlier thought of as taboo for women.
We have women sports commentators like Mayanti Langer, women cricketers like Mithali Raj & Harmanpreet Kaur making as much headlines as men cricketers, women like Kalpana Chawala (Late Astronaut), Indira Nooyi (Former CEO of Pepsi Co), Vartika Joshi (Skipper for Tarini INSV) have all proved that there is no field that women cannot conquer. The Defense Ministry announced on 5th march that all women officers of short service commission will be given permanent posts in all 10 branches of army. Till now it was possible in only two branches - Judge Advocate General (JAG) and Army Education Corps. Not surprising, when we have powerful Smt Nirmala Sitharaman as our Defence Minister.
Finance once thought to be a man’s domain, has been taken over by women. Almost all leading banks in India have women at the top. Arundhati Bhattacharya, former Chairperson of SBI, and first woman to head SBI, was listed as the most powerful woman by Forbes in 2016. The organizations are realizing the importance of having women in higher management positions and are now consciously creating policies to enable women to move beyond the glass ceiling and be partners in creating wealth. More and more women are entering the board of companies. Federation of Petroleum Industries recently held a symposium which showcased the efforts they have taken in ensuring that women progress in the energy sector. They have strong views on having a diverse workforce and are working towards it.
Women have always been good entrepreneurs, but never ventured into the big leagues earlier, but today, women like Kylie Jenner, who at 21 years has been named by Forbes as the youngest self-made billionaire ever toppling Mark Zuckerberg who held the record previously.
As we are completing the second decade of the 21st century, I would say that women have proven that there is no dream big enough that they cannot achieve!
