Glass-Ceiling Breakers: Meet 6 Indian Women Leaders Who Studied Abroad

According to Oxfam’s “Gender Justice and Women’s Rights” 2022 report, around 153 countries still have laws that economically restrict the growth of women. Regardless of the curveballs, the new millennium provides an occasion to celebrate the remarkable progress made by women.

Across an array of industries — women are redefining leadership roles. This International Women’s Day, we are bringing to light the unflinching determination of Indian women who have made a difference globally.

If you are wondering what could be the right way to unleash your inner She C-E-O, acquiring an international degree should be next on your list.  

Celebrating the Women of Global Learning 

From facing strong headwinds to breaking glass ceilings, here is a list of women who have proven to be trailblazers. 

1.Indra K. Nooyi

Featured among the top 100 America’s Self-Made Women in 2022, Nooyi is a name to reckon with in the corporate world. Her go-getter attitude helped her to become the first woman to serve as the CEO of PepsiCo Inc., and now as a Supervisory Board Member at Philips. 

Hailing from Chennai, she completed a Master in Public and Private Management at the prestigious – Yale University in the United Studies (US). Moreover, she held executive positions at Motorola, Inc., the engineering firm Asea Brown Boveri (now ABB), and later joined the board of Amazon. 

With her at the helm, PepsiCo’s revenue nearly doubled, and she is also a renowned philanthropist. Her initiative to transform PepsiCo’s portfolio to include more nutritious products in tandem with supporting thousands of Indian farmers is commendable.  

2.Padmasree Warrior

From starting out as an engineer at Motorola’s semiconductor factory to becoming the CTO and Executive VP in the same organization, the highest-ranking woman in the company’s history, Warrior has had an inspiring career progression. She also had a seven-year run as CTO at Ciscoto, and is now the founder and CEO of Fable, a platform for social reading and book clubs. Indubitably, Warrior is a quintessential Indian techie.  

Women in STEM fields were a rare occurrence back in 1977 when she pursued chemical engineering and later took the Ivy League route. A Cornell-trained engineer, she believes a STEM education informs creativity and has shaped the industry vision of “seamless mobility” for next-generation communications. In addition to other initiatives, she is a member of the boards of Spotify and Microsoft, mentoring other women in the tech domain. 

3.Gargee Ghosh

Ghosh’s set of international degrees backs her phenomenal work as the Director of Development Policy and Finance at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Under her stewardship, the foundation develops and funds innovative ideas to make finance more effective in solving the problems of extreme poverty worldwide.

She started her learning journey with the University of Victoria in Canada by pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics. She also holds graduate degrees in international relations (MSFS) from Georgetown University and development economics from the University of Oxford.

Before working at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, she held senior positions at the Center for Global Development, McKinsey & Company, and Google. She has served on the board of President Barack Obama’s Global Development Council CAMFED USA.

4.Rashmi Sinha

What name springs to mind when you look for PowerPoints or Notes? “Slideshare” is a good guess! 

Sinha deserves your gratitude for creating the world’s largest professional content sharing platform, making it simple for professionals and students to access the PPTs.

At Brown University, she pursued a Doctorate in Cognitive Neuropsychology. To advance in her career, she further pursued a postdoctoral program to comprehend the concepts of human-computer interaction.

5.Anandibai Joshi

Anandibai Gopalrao Joshi is known as the first female Indian physician. She is the first woman in India to complete her studies abroad. She pursued western medicine at the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania. 

Pursuing the second-only medical program in the world to be open to women helped her write her thesis on obstetrics. Her international degree allowed her to work as a physician and serve the nation.

6.Kalpana Chawla

Chawla’s gumption to register her name as the first-ever woman to travel to space is inspirational. Upon finishing her bachelor’s degree, she moved to the US to obtain her MSc in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Texas. Her quench to acquire knowledge; motivated her to pursue studies at the University of Colorado, earning a second degree and a PhD in Aerospace Engineering.

These women straddled various strata of society but have pushed through the barriers that generations prior couldn’t or didn’t have the opportunity to do so. 

So, how can you be the driving force behind the generational change and set your legacy?

Study Abroad: A Gateway to Realize Your Dream Career 

Have the stories of these inspirational women infused within you the zeal to be a revolutionary leader? Taking firm steps to realize your study abroad dreams will help you scale new heights while contributing immensely to society. 

Wondering which university and course abroad is the best for you? Our counselors can offer you the right career ‘iki-guide’. So, what’s holding you back? Contact us today!