Shortlisted Entries
Aishwarya Bhargav
- Age: 29
- City: Bengaluru
However, only a third of these women make it into the workforce.
I am a Mechanical Engineer, a professional in a field where women is a very small minority (less than 5%).
I always wondered why this was the case, and realized that Mechanical Engineering was perceived to be masculine, and hence people did not let their daughters become mechanical engineers! This belief is definitely not true!
Being a woman and career options are most certainly unrelated!
One thing that I want to tell women, and show women is 'WOMEN CAN BE ANYTHING THEY WISH TO BE'
Girls and women of today hear me out!
You can be anything that you want to be. Gender is no longer a limiting factor for anything. If you want to do something that no woman has ever attempted, do not shy away from your dream. Work hard, break the barrier and set a path that others can follow.
Remember 'The only thing constant is change'
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I have always wanted to be different. This was the sole aim that drove me into becoming a Mechanical Engineer. After spending a good part of my life in a girls school, Mechanical Engineering was not considered a conventional option for girls.
The initial stages of college were not easy on me. Being one among the two girls in the midst of a hundred boys was daunting. People seldom spoke to me and I was driven into the verge of depression. The college cited safety reasons and did not allow me to partake in any co-curricular activity. I was unsure if I had made the right decision and regretted my decision at times.
During this period, I realized that I should be the change I wanted to see. I fought to secure permission for girls to partake in extra curricular activities. This also turned me into an extrovert. At the end of four years I was a decent Mechanical Engineer, a good friend and on the whole a changed person. I found my calling in Bio-Mechanics and subsequently became a research scholar at the National University of Singapore. I am now a writer, an entrepreneur and a Mechanical engineer, all rolled into one.
My goals and aims have changed with time. My passion lies in increasing awareness and making education and healthcare accessible. I am a far way away from achieving my goal, yet I am sure that I am on the path to achieving my goals.
I believe that women are the harbingers of change. There is absolutely nothing that a woman cannot achieve. Women are built to conquer the world. The only limiting factor that limits a woman should be her own imagination.
To every woman out there, you have it in you to succeed in any field you choose. Girls of today, you can be the next Kiran Mazumdar, Kiran Bedi, or Durga Banerjee. You can create our niche by smashing the glass ceilings that hold women behind."