Sreelekha Abburi, EKAM IAS PVT Ltd. Hyderabad

International Women's day greetings to all. Happy that from 9% in 1970 to 31% in 2020 there has been porgress in women entering into public administration. It's inspiring to know we have women as top rankers in recent years in Civil Service Exams, and that currently 21% of serving IAS officers are women according to NIC. 

Though United Nations Development Program states that women in bureaucracy improve the quality of the functioning of the government and departments as they emphasize on responsive and accountable services, even today biases against women do not go away completely. For example, there are many young women candidates who drop after either first attempt or even in the middle of the training for UPSC exams at our institutes.

The reasons mostly being pressure from the family or society citing marriage or future disturbances due to the process involved and uncertainty of the success. Though there are many such challenges many young women are trying to overcome these through counselling to their parents, working hard to prove their mettle being determined to fullfill their aspiration nowadays. This is a welcoming sign.

Awarness and orientation in this regard helps women and society not only to achieve higher administrative positions for women fulfilling their career dreams but also to increase their percentage in bureaucracy. People should come forward to support them in their efforts.