How Two Indian Women Paved the Way for Women in STEM in India
Kamala Sohonie and Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw: Trailblazing Women in STEM
I woke up on a Sunday morning, eager to catch up on some brain tumour research articles. As I opened my laptop, I noticed a new Google Doodle. It was an illustration of an Indian woman in a white lab coat, surrounded by images of a microscope and a glass slide. I was instantly drawn to it and clicked to see what was Google celebrating today.
The Doodle was honouring the life of Kamala Sohonie, the first Indian woman to earn a PhD in biochemistry by fearlessly overcoming gender bias and the strong societal stigma of women working outside their homes. Thus, becoming an inspiration to women everywhere who are interested in pursuing a career in STEM, and in India by allowing women to become part of scientific programmes at leading research institutes, IISc Bangalore. She was appointed as the first female director of the Royal Institute of Science in Bombay and was later, recognized with the Rashtrapati Award, one of the most prestigious awards in India.
Forty years after Sohonie’s groundbreaking achievements, another Indian woman made history. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw founded Biocon in 1978, with just a seed capital of Rs 10,000. Starting out in a makeshift laboratory in her garage with one retired mechanic as her first employee. She has revolutionised the biopharmaceuticals industry so much so that on its first day of listing in the Indian Stock Market, Biocon became the second Indian company to cross the $-1 million mark. Today, Biocon is one of the leading biopharmaceutical companies in the world, and Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is a billionaire entrepreneur.
Sohonie and Mazumdar-Shaw are just two examples of the many Indian women who have made pivotal contributions to STEM. Their courageous and empowering stories are an inspiration to all women across the world who are striving to achieve their dreams.
Being a #WomanInSTEM, seeing Google honour Dr. Kamala Sohonie, gave me a sense of hope since it is no breaking news that women are still underrepresented in STEM fields and other high-paying jobs. The gender-equality war is still far from being over.
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