India's Crown Jewels: Female Talent

[Godhumor]

Posting here since the article is from 12-03.

Harvard Business Review:

Many Westerners continue to view India as a place where women are poverty-stricken, oppressed, and marginalized. This is true. But India is also the place where educated, highly skilled women are staking their claims and making their presence felt. Last week's Financial Times ranking of the world's top women in business included five Indian CEOs; another study (PDF) finds that 11% of the CEOs of the largest Indian companies are women. As one commentator recently remarked, "For every Indian woman who makes headlines, there is a legion of middle class Indian women in the workplace."

...

Women make up 42% of India's college graduates, a figure that has grown steadily over the last two decades and is only expected to rise. Relatively unfettered by cultural preconceptions that steer Western women away from the "hard" sciences, they account for 44% of degrees in the sciences and 25% in business administration, management, or commerce. Also noteworthy: More than 50% of female college grads also hold a post-graduate degree, in comparison to 40% of men. "If you look at the number of top graduates from any Indian school," whether in management or engineering, as one HR manager for a global conglomerate notes, "a disproportionate number are women."

Armed with their freshly minted diplomas, Indian women are hungry to prove themselves. Over 85% aspire to hold a top job, showing levels of ambition nearly double that of their U.S. counterparts and markedly higher than women in Brazil, Russia, or China. Age doesn't affect their determination: Both older and younger Indian women show levels of ambition far higher than their counterparts elsewhere.

...

Thanks to the dynamic, fast-expanding Indian economy, there is plenty of room for ambition and aspiration. "You only have to look around to see proof that dreams can become concrete reality in India," said a senior female executive. "People have created fortunes in this market, and it is encouraging to know that one can create opportunities for oneself and achieve great things." The good times in India have been particularly good to those with the right skills; even in the wake of the global recession, India has seen the highest year-on-year salary increase in the region.


Read more: http://noir.bloomberg.com/apps/harvardbusiness?sid=Hbd80f4946601ac9a619fbbbe139b80a4

So, it looks like India, Inc. is, in someways, forcing a certain advancement in power for women. It will be interesting to see if other economies on the rise in Asia will follow the same lines.

[Godhumor]

1. Bumping as this fell off the front page awfully quick

I actually thought this was an interesting look at the advancement of women in a country not traditionally known for that happening.

[leftstreet]

2. Meh. Education for women in India is free up to the undergrad level

Another typical bloomberg advertisement article helping Capitalists decide where to park their filthy lucre.

Not knocking the women or the education, but to suggest that these women are more "AMBITIOUS" than other women...:eyes:

[Godhumor]

3. Bloomberg posted it, but it comes from Harvard Business Review

Not sure if that will make it better or worse, in your opinion, heh.

[leftstreet]

4. lol

same difference, kinda

But jeez...could they have used the word "ambitious" a few million more times?

:banghead:

[Godhumor]

5. Yeah, a thesaurus would have helped

Soft surveys can be strange--I posted the article more because of the underlying context of changes in the Indian workplace. 1/10th of CEOs being women would have been unthinkable just a few short years ago.

[leftstreet]

6. True, that is fascinating

But what a missed opportunity to write something up about the wisdom of allocating national resources to education, and the benefits of such.

oh wait, Harvard Biz Review, Bloomberg...