International Women’s Day 2022: Here’s a look at some career options that break gender bias

There have been times when you ask a kid, what would you want to be when you grow up, the kid would have a probable reply saying, an astronaut, a cricketer or maybe a superhero too.

Although we sooner or later realise that being a superhero is overambitious and cannot or should not pursue certain professions as it doesn’t align with the gender.

The Women’s Day this year themes around #breakthebias, so let’s take a look at some careers by which people are breaking traditional roots of stereotyping genders who are associated with the profession.

Bus Driver:
The bus driver industry is dominated by men as it is considered that women can’t drive, as they are heavy and difficult to drive. However these days, women have started taking up the steering, as the Delhi Transport Corporation too had hired its first female bus driver, Venkadarath Saritha, in 2015.

Firefighter:
Talking of the firefighter job, we think of men doing the job, due to the life-threatening risks involved in it. But many women have now started to step up for such jobs that possess the capabilities of skillsets of men. For inspiration, Harshini Kanhekar turned out to be the first woman firefighter in India who stepped up the game. In 2002, Harshini had applied for the Fire engineering course and became the first woman who got admission to the National Fire Service College at the age of 26, in Nagpur.

A similar story is of Taniya Sanyal who was the first woman firefighter who was appointed by the Airport Authority of India (AAI), as until 2018, AAI only recruited men.

Wedding Preists and Qazis:
Having a female priest in a wedding is a rare sight, but there is a growing number of couples that are now opting for female priests. Actor Dia Mirza, in February 2021 made headlines when she chose a woman priest, Sheela Atta, where Dia got married to Vaibhav Rekhi, a businessman.