On the occasion of International Women's Day, Darshana Thakkar recounts stories of some highly successful women in STEM.

While women form about 50% of the world's population, in the 21st century and tech world, women are still struggling for inclusion and equality in society and the professional world.

'Inspire Inclusion' is the campaign theme of International Women's Day 2024.

Women forge a better world by inspiring others to understand and value women's inclusion.

And when women are inspired to be included, there's a sense of belonging, relevance, and empowerment. I firmly believe and recommend the phrase that there is a time of collaboration and not competition among women.

Being a woman, on the occasion of International Women's Day, I can't stop myself from writing stories of women in STEM.

Traditionally, in India, women choose careers in teaching, gynecology, and finance. Women's contribution to STEM has continuously increased in India in the last few decades.

 The percentage of women who opt for STEM education in India is higher than in most countries. Data by the World Bank show that India's share of female graduates in STEM at 42.7 per cent in 2018 was higher than comparable data available for the US at 34 per cent in 2016, Australia at 32.1 per cent in 2017, and Germany at 27.6 per cent in 2017.

In 2021, the country of Georgia had the highest share of women employed in STEM fields, with 55.6 percent of all those engaged in STEM fields being women. Mongolia, Kiribati, Dominican Republic, and Cambodia rounded out the top five countries employing the highest share of women in STEM fields.

In 2023, Mongolia had the highest share of women employed in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, with 57 per cent of all those employed in STEM fields being women. Belarus, Lesotho, the United States, and Barbados rounded out the top five countries employing the highest share of women in STEM fields.

Despite all the challenges, India's history is filled with examples of women scientists who have held top positions in institutions, many of whom have also won top prizes, and innovated and led cutting-edge technologies. A few such examples are:

1. Dr Tessy Thomas

Dr Tessy Thomas, also known as "The Missile Woman of India", is a prominent Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientist. Breaking barriers in the field, Dr Tessy designed the navigation scheme for the long-range missile systems, which are used in all Agni missiles. She received the Agni Self Reliance Award for Self-Help and has received several scholarships and honorary doctorates over the years.

2. Ritu Karidhal

Ritu Karidhar – the Rocket Woman of India – was the Mission Director of Chandrayaan-2 and Deputy Operations Director of Mangalyaan. With the aim of a moon exploration mission, the team that launched Chandrayaan-3 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, was led by her. The project's objective was to explore the moon's South Pole. She also has many awards to her name like 'The ISRO Young Scientist Award' by former President APJ Abdul Kalam, ISRO Team Award for MOM (2015)', 'The ASI Team Award',Women Achievers in Aerospace (2017)' award by the Society of Indian Aerospace Technologies & Industries (SIATI).

3. M Vanitha

Vanitha was the project director for Chandrayaan-2. During her early career, she handled data operations for multiple satellites as the project's deputy director. Additionally, Vanitha participated in the 2013 Mangalyaan Mars mission, which was a success. In 2006, the Astronomical Society of India presented Vanitha with a prize for being the best female scientist. She was also listed by Nature as one of the five scientists to watch in 2019. Several seniors applauded her for her impeccable astronomical services.

4. Dr Gagandeep Kang

Dr Gagandeep Kang, a sprightly microbiologist and virologist, also known as the 'Vaccine Godmother of India', led the nation's fight against Covid-19. She was awarded the prestigious Infosys Prize in Life Sciences in 2016 for her contributions to understanding the natural history of rotavirus and other infectious diseases. In 2019, she became the first Indian woman to be elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society.

5. Mangala Mani

Mangala Mani is ISRO's first woman scientist who spent over 403 days in Antarctica. Mani was the only woman in a 23-member expedition team that went to India's research station in the icy continent in November 2016 – popularly known as the Polar Women of ISRO. After completing such an exigent task, Mani explained that physical strength is not everything and that men might be physically strong, but women win over with emotional strength. She also said that women must have faith in themselves, and with that, they can achieve everything they want!

6. Chandrima Shaha

Chandrima Shaha, first female President of the Indian National Academy of Sciences (INSA), has received numerous awards like the Shakuntala Amirchand Award of ICMR (1992), and the Special Award for the 50th Anniversary of DNA Double Helix Discovery (2003) for ‘significant contributions towards the understanding of Cell Death Processes in different Model Organisms’.

7. Kamakshi Sivramkrishnan

Kamakshi Sivaramakrishnan is the founder and CEO of Samooha, a secure data collaboration application that enables businesses and enterprises to securely share, collaborate, and garner insights from their own data and the data of their partner ecosystems. A serial entrepreneur, her previous company, Drawbridge, Inc., was acquired by LinkedIn in 2019. Before starting Drawbridge, Sivaramakrishnan was part of the early team at AdMob, which was acquired by Google in 2009 for $750 million.

There are many challenges for women in pursuing their career goals. Marriage and relocation, motherhood, and family are significant reasons women step up the career ladder. At the organisational level, major roadblocks are:

• Pay gap

• Flexible working schedule

• Inadequate childcare benefits, and

• Formal return to work or career break policy.

There are many ways to ensure women's and girls' needs, interests and aspirations are valued and included on an organisational or group basis. Organisations and groups can #InspireInclusion through action in areas such as:

• Forging women's economic empowerment

• Recruiting, retaining, and developing female talent

• Supporting women and girls in leadership, decision-making, business, and STEM

• Designing and building infrastructure meeting the needs of women and girls

• Helping women and girls make informed decisions about their health

• Involving women and girls in sustainable agriculture and food security

• Providing women and girls with access to quality education and training

• Elevating women and girl's participation and achievement in sport

• Promoting creative and artistic talent of women and girls, and

• Addressing further areas supporting the advancement of women and girls.

Summary

In a nutshell, collaborative efforts from all parts of society, including both men and women at home and work are highly appreciated to utilise the vast talent pull for national growth. Recently, during one event in Vadodara, Gujarat, I came across an incredible family and an amazing #mother-in-law.

One lady approached me, saying her husband had asked her to meet the only solo woman entrepreneur at the Exhibition Hall. After a brief discussion on her career break due to family, she introduced me to a young woman accompanying her as her daughter-in-law. She insisted I help her daughter-in-law start an independent business, and she will accompany and support the business.

If all the family members pursue such an amazing feeling, no one can stop a woman from pursuing her career milestone.

Darshana Thakkar is an MSME Transformation specialist and Founder of Transformation-The Strategy HUB. She is a pioneer in transforming MSME companies with an Electrical engineering and MBA in operations background and 28 years of hardcore industrial experience. She helps MSMEs define growth paths, derive marketing strategies, improve business operations, adopt digital Transformation, and increase profitability. She is a winner of several regional and national awards and recognition as an MSME activist and women's business leader. The Transformation was listed among the most trusted consulting companies in 2022 and the Top 50 consulting companies for MSMEs in 2023. She holds a few honorary positions among the Industry Associations.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/darshanamthakkar/

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