Mysuru: Lamenting the meagre representation of
women in managerial roles across the country, judge of the Mysuru district court, HR Radha said that striking a balance between professional and personal life was not an easy task.
Radha, who inaugurated a five-day workshop ‘Capacity building for women managers in higher education’ at Sri Jayachamrajendra College of Engineering at the college’s seminar hall on Monday, said, “Many women are entering colleges and earning degrees in fields traditionally dominated by men, and yet the percentage of women in management roles is only around 3 to 4%. Hence, workshops such as these will really help increase this number.”
Pointing to the persistence of the problem of having to choose between profession and family, she added, “Although parents encourage girls to take up law, most ask them to refrain from practicing. They tell us, ‘No, don’t practice. We will face problems finding a groom for women lawyers. People tend to think you are very argumentative, and may start talking about rights instead of focusing on your duties at home. Better not to practice. After you get married, seek permission from your husband and then practice,’ they tell us. This happened in my case as well.”
Radha said that the support of the family was crucial for women to scale great heights in life. “I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to my husband, parents, in-laws and daughter,” she said.
Vice-chancellor of JSS Science and Technology University BG Sangameshwara appreciated SJCE’s initiative undertaken with the objective of ensuring the upliftment of women in higher education. The varsity’s registrar KS Lokesh bemoaned the paucity of women in decision-making positions, while SJCE principal TN Nagabhushan shared his insights on how to reduce gender disparity in higher education.
Former director of Women’s Studies Research Centre, Kurukshetra University Reicha Tanwar, meanwhile, cited a study conducted in 2016, which found that 54 women headed 819 institutions across the country, which accounted for just 6.67%. “This is not the case in foreign countries – in the US, 18% of the educational institutions are headed by women while it is 17% in United Kingdom and 21% in Australia,” she said, adding that women were poorly represented in central and state universities, besides Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).
The SJCE workshop has been designed to help women academicians to rise to
decision-making roles, and also sensitise them to the problems faced by women in the system. The workshop is sponsored by the central government’s Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme –III.
Major themes of the workshop
*Women studies perspective
*Women and academic leadership
*Women and governance
*Managing personal and professional roles
*Women and research
