Male Dominated Fields

This week, I was feeling anxious regarding my future career. I had always thought Finance was what I would be doing for several years before transitioning to the entrepreneurial world. However, as the summer draws closer, I feel more and more unsure of whether Finance is truly my passion. On the verge of a panic attack, I decided to call my cousin in India, who is currently pursuing her MBA in Marketing.

After a robust conversation about my experience in a business school, we finally transitioned to her life and how she chose to tred on the marketing path. She discussed the creative and analytical aspect of her career, as well as the various hours, the incredible people, and the potential growth in the field. Finally, we moved on to discussing Operations Management, a career she looked into, and one that interests me as well. She told me that Operations is a male-dominated field in India, thus she decided not to consider it as her profession. Hearing that, I was stumped. I could not make the connection between being in a male-dominated field and her career. Though the world is changing, I believe people should pursue careers they are passionate about, and not disreagard them due to the percentage of men or women in the field.

I see this instability in the US as well. Men who choose to go into Nursing, or women who choose to go into neurosurgey are bombareded with questions related to femininity and masculinity, respectively. I believe this goes back to the environment we were brought up in. Contrary to my gender, I never played with Barbies, dolls, or dresses. In fact, when I did have a Barbie, I used to pull her head off and smush it under my brother's remote control cars. Though my parents tried to conform us to the societal norms, perhaps I chose not to accept them. Today, my parents do not deter me from honing various opportunities due to the gender reconstruction in our society.