Where are our female role models? Why do they continue to be the one offs?

Awakening the Rainmaker by Nishtha Anand talks about the peculiar situation of Indian women who tread and balance multiple stakeholders – spouse/partner, children, parents, in-laws, relatives , corporate stakeholders, the likes of Managers, Peers, Juniors, HR, etc.  An excerpt:

For women, the road to professional success becomes progressively tough as the demands increase, both on the personal and the professional front, and this is where mentors and role models can play a very important role. This is something that I also relate to very closely. A lot of my academic and professional success is driven by strong women around me, especially my mother. Growing up, I could see my mother managing her family and her job beautifully, and that gave me the confidence that I too could find that balance in my life. My mom is a finance wizard; she’s a Shri Ram College of Commerce alumna, a top-ranking college in India. She has made her career in the field of finance, a male-dominated domain, but she has successfully climbed the corporate ladder and has done well for herself. This laid a foundation for me to believe in myself and project a confident attitude. Thus, the right influences and encouragement in our childhood and the resultant confidence go a long way in enabling one to be the boss of their own life.

#RainmakerSpeak

Dr Rohini Godbole (Padma Shri, 2019), Indian physicist

‘ form almost 40% of the undergraduates in science … among the Ph.D.’s in science, about 25–30% are women … the proportion in faculty is around 15 and 20%, and at higher levels the number further drops.…

Women heads of laboratories, science departments of the government, or as members of governing or advisory bodies are rare.’

These numbers show that the leaky pipeline of women talent is not just limited to corporate India but is also visible in the field of STEM, research and academia.

…research is a highly creative and individualistic activity and each person makes his/her unique contribution. The process of scientific development, innovation and discovery can only benefit from diversity … given the fact that women are 50% of humanity, their intellectual potential is something that we can ill afford to ignore.

—Rohini Godbole and Ramakrishna Ramaswamy

Dr Rohini Godbole is a trailblazer in the field of physics. She is a high-achieving particle physicist, best known for her theoretical work about explorations of physics of the elementary particles at particle colliders, such as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, European Organisation for Nuclear Research. She has been decorated with numerous awards and is the first woman physicist to be honoured with a Padma award (Padma Shri in 2019). In 2021, she has been awarded the Ordre national du Mérite, or the National Order of Merit, considered among the highest distinctions bestowed by France. She has authored more than 250 research papers and several graduate-level textbooks, and has mentored many students.

She is a true proponent of gender equality in the field of STEM and has worked relentlessly for over two decades to increase women’s participation in science. She has initiated and co-edited books, such as Lilavati’s Daughters: Women Scientists of India and A Girls’ Guide to a Life in Science, which encourage young girls to pursue a career in science. She is one of the key persons who initiated the Gender in Physics Working Group (GIPWG) of the Indian Physics Association3 and was the chair of the panel for Women in Science Initiative of the Indian Academy of Sciences.

Excerpted with permission from Awakening the Rainmaker: A Guide to Gender Equality by Nishtha Anand published by Bloomsbury.

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