Read the June 2020 Issue of eShe Magazine

The latest issue of eShe is here! You can now read it online or download it to your device!

EDITOR’S NOTE: Women in Power

Of the 2848 candidates who cracked the UPSC exams to make it to the hallowed ranks of the Indian bureaucracy in the past three years, only 675 were women. As these candidates will move up the hierarchy to senior posts, the ratio of women to men gets even lower. For example, of the 88 secretary-rank officers in the central government at present, only 11 are women.

The Indian civil services have largely been a man’s world. The first woman IFS officer, CB Muthamma, who topped the 1949 list, and the first woman IAS officer, Anna Rajam Malhotra (née George) who was selected in 1951, were both made to sign undertakings that they would leave the services if they ever married. No such undertakings for men, of course.

Now, even though rules are the same for both sexes, the playing field is still ridden with potholes. Cover personality D Roopa Moudgil, the IPS officer who shot into the limelight after her 2017 Bengaluru jail exposé, shares some of the challenges she has faced and the courage it takes (p.20).

But these women officers are more than their public roles. We spoke to three bureaucrats who have created value in society through their own initiative even beyond the call of duty (p.10). As always, we have plenty of ideas and inspiration that await you in this issue. Have a powerful June!