Women in India are getting out of their houses and making a mark for themselves. As opposed to the past, today women stand shoulder to shoulder to their male counterparts when it comes to career options and growth, and there are plenty of opportunities for them in all kinds of industries.
The modern Indian working women has actually graduated from being a housewife to an equal income earner. As the economy flourishes and traditions take a backseat, women have found avenues to leverage their creativity, passions and career goals.
Here are some of the top career options that women in India find attractive for various reasons.
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Journalism / Public Relations
Not to generalize, but women stand a better chance when it comes to jobs that require communication, multitask and nurture social and corporate relationships.
The number of Indian women in journalism has in fact outnumbered their male counterparts and this has also helped businesses reach out better to their audience.
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Designing
True to trends across the globe, creative professions are definitely a woman’s cup of tea.
Of course, there are many talented men in this field, but the modern Indian woman now has more exposure to careers like fashion designing, jewelry designing, interior designing, graphic designing and similar creative faculties.
Many Indian women are starting their own clothes boutiques or freelancing to pursue their designing career goals.
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Social Work / Counseling / HR
It’s a fact that, on average, women have better communication skills than men. With the benefit of these skills, women professionals are often better suited to jobs that involve an empathetic approach.
Whether it is an NGO or a psychology counselor, a woman professional is often preferred in fields that require empathy and interpersonal communication.
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Medicine / Nursing
Nursing has always been a popular professional for women. In India, the growing acceptance for education of girls and women professionals has also led to them pursuing higher and more responsible positions in this domain.
Though the initial years may be filled with struggle, women in India can hope to strike a balance between their medical career and household responsibilities. The medical profession also gives women more stability and risk-free employment opportunities.
Careers in pharmacy and diagnostics have seen a steady uptick in women professionals, but we also have a large number of women doctors, surgeons and other professions that require specialized training.
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Education
For a long time, education has probably been the first choice of career for the modern Indian women. To become a teacher is both a safe and respected profession.
Also, teaching kids is something that would be more acceptable in the still-traditional Indian community. Consequently, we are seeing a steady rise of women educators and education professionals in tutoring, curriculum designing, professorship and related fields.
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Digital Marketing Head
While more companies are looking to create an online presence, there has been a steady rise in women employment in the digital marketing sector.
The inherent skill of patience and being able to cope with rather monotonous work has also made woman a more preferable choice when it comes to digital marketing.
Coupled with the fact that digital marketing can often be carried out as a remote working or work-at-home job, and it becomes even more attractive for women looking for that elusive work-life balance.
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Air Hostess / Hospitality
Women are joining the hospitality field in growing numbers, as they inherently add an element of glamour to the job.
Further, the communication skills that most women seem to possess also help their roles as hospitality professionals, whether the choose to be an air hostess or a hotel receptionist.
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Banking / Insurance
Banking and insurance is a booming sector for the Indian economy. The ideal candidates are expected to have good communication skills, customer handling skills and a basic knowledge of the industry.
The work in a bank is also respectable and also offers promising career growth. Through a variety of entrance examinations, women are opting to work in both public and private sector banks.
In fact, women like Chanda Kochhar, MD and CEO of ICICI Bank, are being widely recognised for their role in shaping retail banking in India.
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Sales / Marketing
Again, this is a job profile that requires excellent communication skills, an understanding of people, and the ability to multitask.
Women seem to find more opportunities in this field and are being hired in a variety of roles, ranging from a sales head to marketing managers.
These jobs also offer a basic fixed salary, another reason for women to pursue them, if only for the sake of security.
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BPO / KPO / Customer Service
By nature, women are more understanding when it comes to hearing out grievances and guiding clients. BPOs and KPOs automatically prefer women to be at their customer service desks.
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Entertainment
Another important employer for Indian women is the entertainment and glamour industry. From acting to modeling, anchors, cinematographers and stylists, women seem to find more opportunities than men.
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Sports
Gone are the days when sports was the domain of men in India. Thanks to some very promising talent, women are also being encouraged to take up sports as a full time profession. In the 2016 Rio Olympics, Indian women were our saving grace, being the only ones to win medals for the Indian contingent.
PV Sindhu became the youngest Indian ever to win an Olympic medal, while female wrestler, Sakshi Malik, picked up a bronze, becoming the first Indian female wrestler to win an Olympic medal.
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Government Jobs
The only reason why government jobs still make it to this list is the advantage of stability and safety. While this is true for both men and women, a government job is still the most desired choice for many young people in India.
For women especially, it supports their goal of becoming an equal earner, allowing them to following their passion and earning respect in society.
While this list is not meant to generalize, women do seem to have an advantage in many of the above fields.
© Naaree.com
