The Role of Women in Modern India
So, what’s the role of women in modern India? An increasing number of Indian women are today taking their rightful place in the Indian economy as entrepreneurs and professionals. Traditionally, Indian women are expected to stay at home and take care of their family. It has always been a man’s responsibility to work and provide for the family.
However, this is changing fast as more Indian women than ever before are today a part of the workforce. Men and women share household responsibilities equally. It has the liberalization of the Indian economy in the early 1990s that started a chain of events which led to such a major transformation in the society. While certainly there are still challenges women generally face in society, many Indian women take these hurdles head on.
For instance, in the area of activism, Ria Sharma, founder of Make Love Not Scars, uses her platform to speak out against acid attacks. Her organization hosts staff members who’re committed to providing support for victims, such as rehabilitation, medical care and compassion.
[PM Modi Pays Respects To Kalpana Chawla]
Moreover, in the airline industry, a group of Indian women made their mark in society honoring International Woman’s Day. From March 6, 2016 to March 8th, flight AI 73 flew from Delhi to San Fransisco back to Delhi.
Meet the women of Business and Technology
Here, we take a look at the role of women in modern India. In particular, we look at the role of Indian women in business and technology.
Role of Indian Women in Modern Business
A survey done in 2005 found that only 10 percent of Indian entrepreneurs were women. This number has certainly grown since then, and perhaps a new survey would throw up surprising results. There are many women who head major companies in India and many more who hold high-level positions in the corporate sector.
Some of the famous businesswomen in India include Lalita Gupte, Anu Aga, Kalpana Morparia, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and Simone Tata. These women have been role models for millions of girls and young women in the country, and have inspired many to break through the social barriers at both home and in the workplace.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, in particular, had achieved remarkable success as an entrepreneur. Ms. Mazumdar-Shaw began her entrepreneurial journey in the early 1980s, by starting India’s first biotech company, Biocon, when she was still in her early 20s. Biocon is a major player in the global biotech industry today and Ms. Mazumdar-Shaw has gone on to achieve remarkable success as a businesswoman.
[Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw meets with Malala Yousafzai]
Many modern Indian women head top positions in the country’s banking sector. Naina Lal Kidwai, Kalpana Morparia, Lalita Gupte and Chanda Kocchar head some of India’s biggest private banks. Simone Tata is another successful businesswoman who singlehandedly built Lakme into the major cosmetic brand that it is today. Additionally, after his unfortunate death, Anu Aga turned her husband’s failing company, Thermax Group, into a real force in the industry. Thermax, an environment engineering and energy company, manufactures vapor machines, boilers, is now headed by her daughter, Meher Pudumjee.
Role of Indian Women in Modern Technology
Indian women have shown that girls can code just as well as men. There are actually more women working in the technology sector in India than in the U.S. 34 percent of the technical jobs in India, including 25 percent of the programming jobs, are held by women. In the U.S., only 30 percent of the technical jobs are held by women.
The number of young Indian women joining engineering colleges rises every year. Women programmers can be seen everywhere in the campuses of top Indian IT companies such as TCS, Infosys and Wipro. While this is good news for sure, a lot more has to be done.
Women have found that getting into an entry-level job in technology is far easier than rising to top managerial positions. There seems to be a preconceived notion in the Indian IT industry that women are not technically strong enough to be trusted with top positions in technology.
[Gender Issues Compared Between India and America]
But this is changing fast with many Indian women rising to the top in technology such as Padmasree Warrior, CFO of Cisco, Vanita Narayan, head of IBM India, Neelam Dhawan, head of HP India, Kumud Srinivasan, who heads Intel India and more.
Final Thoughts
Why are women doing so well in business and technology today? One reason is that the corporate culture of today is no longer the same as it used to be in the past. Today, education and managerial ability matter more than networking, knowing the right people and having the right connections. Business in India is no longer a boy’s club.
The determination of the Indian women entrepreneurs, managers and professionals to break through the barriers imposed by the society was the turning point that led them to success. The Government of India’s initiatives such as Start-up India, Digital India Program and National Policy of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship 2015 and are expected to spur more Indian women to success in business, technology and other professions.
