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Current State of Women Leaders in India: Challenges and Opportunities

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Current Perspectives on Asian Women in Leadership

Abstract

The goal of this chapter is to present a detailed discussion of how traditional beliefs about gender roles and modern notions of women’s independence create a contested space for Indian women leaders. Considering the alarming trend of women dropping out of the workforce in India, it is critical to develop an in-depth understanding of gender stereotypes and resulting tradition–modernity dualism facing women leaders in India. We reviewed the extant literature to offer a comprehensive discussion of gender stereotypes percolating the social, political, economic, and cultural spheres of life in India and present examples to highlight how Indian women are navigating challenges posed by such stereotypes to emerge successful in different sectors in India.

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Ghosh, R., Narendran, R. (2017). Current State of Women Leaders in India: Challenges and Opportunities. In: Cho, Y., Ghosh, R., Sun, J., McLean, G. (eds) Current Perspectives on Asian Women in Leadership. Current Perspectives on Asian Women in Leadership. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54996-5_3

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