Women achievers from India and Japan emphasized the importance of determination and patience in overcoming challenges while sharing the journey of their life at the India-Japan joint celebration of the International Women's Day.
Dr. Anuradha TK, Distinguished Scientist & retired Director of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), shared her journey from a humble middle-class family, being schooled in her mother tongue from a village school to reaching to the position of a senior-most female scientist at ISRO. She talked about the importance of teaching basic principles including self-respect, freedom of choice in decision making at the virtual talk organized at the celebration co-organised by KIRAN Division, Department of Science and Technology, Embassy of India, Tokyo, Govt. of India, Japan Science & Technology Agency, Government of Japan and moderated by TIFAC, New Delhi.
“If you have the passion, you can achieve, but for achieving greater goal, you have to give up on small things. It is only you who can pursue your dreams, nobody else is going to achieve them for you,” she said.
Sharing her inspirational journey from being a young high school girl fascinated about joining the Space programme and becoming aerospace engineer Astronaut Ms. Naoko Yamazaki, who retired from Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), reiterated the need of having women in top leadership positions as it helps improve understanding about work-life balance which she personally felt while raising her daughter.
Ms. Annie Sinha Roy, the First Woman Tunnel Engineer of India, shared her challenging experience of working in a male-dominated career for over 14 years. She stressed how her sheer determination to excel helped her to persist in such a risky, confined area with high temperature below the ground with single entry and exit point.
Describing her journey of working in close association with the Delhi Metro Rail, Dr. Reiko Abe, Civil Engineer, Chairperson, Oriental Consultants India Pvt. Ltd., spoke about her experience of being the first female student of civil engineering in Yamaguchi University.
Ms. Rajni Bector, Entrepreneur and Padma Shri Awardee 2021, talked about her journey as a mother and a businesswoman, which started from her kitchen to the ice cream unit set up at the backyard of her house in 1978, unveiling her love for baking by whipping up remarkable ice creams, breads, and biscuits to the conglomerate established now.
“A lady is a born entrepreneur. As she can manage everything at home, she can manage any venture,” she pointed out.
Sharing her work on ‘Early life and Healthy Ageing’, Dr. Naho Morisaki, Chief, Division of Lifecourse Epidemiology, Department of Social Medicine, National Center for Child Health and Development, Japan, acknowledged the support of her husband and colleagues at work-front for contributing to her successful career.
Ms. Monica Bhardwaj, the first woman DCP, Delhi crime Branch, shared her inspirational journey of being born in a small village of Haryana and traveling 5 hours to every day to attend college in Delhi University. She said that it taught her patience and time management.
Talking about her experience in India that shaped her life Dr. Aya Okada, Professor & Associate Dean, Graduate School of International Development, Nagoya University, Japan she worked as a UNICEF staff opined that India is doing better than Japan in promoting gender equality in higher education.
Mrs. Namita Gupta, Scientist 'G' DST pointed out that collaborations between India and Japan can help women of both the countries. We can take these collaborations to another level further by having exchange programs of women scientists and technologists with Japan,” she added.
Dr. Usha Dixit, Counsellor (S&T), Embassy of India, Japan, while proposing vote of thanks to all participants highlighted the importance of gender equality in science, technology, and innovation and said that women have the capability to transform the employment scenario of the country.
