As a little girl in India, my dad instilled a love for math, science and debate. My mom taught me literature and arts and, most of all, kindness and resilience. My dad constantly reminded me that the only way I would succeed would be by knowing more, working harder and never taking anything for granted.
My first Master’s degree is in Physics. There were six or seven women in my class of about 40, and not a single professor in the physics department was female. When I got my second Master’s degree and my doctorate in the U.S., I saw very few women in leadership roles again. Women of color in leadership positions were rarer still. As a faculty member, I saw the same pattern repeated in academia. And I committed myself: I have a personal responsibility to mentor, support, hire, coach and sometimes coax women to pursue leadership roles, whether in academia or elsewhere. Why? Because I knew that they, too, would serve as role models to people like me. And that remains my commitment today.
In 2021, only 8.2% of the Fortune 500 companies reported having women CEOs, even though more women than men are earning college degrees and represent more than 57% of the US workforce. In free-market economies, economic power dictates the most critical decisions — and not having representation in these corridors affects our well-being and the well-being of issues and people we care about.
So what can we as individuals do? We have to advocate for ourselves and others like us. And we must seek mentors or be a mentor. Even as I mentor others, I continue to have mentors myself — both formal and informal ones. What I look for in a mentor is experience, authenticity, smarts, grit, a deep and abiding commitment to diversity and a genuine desire to see me and others like me succeed. I also believe that we need to be sponsors for women and others who have been denied a chance.
I could tell many stories about when I was, and still am, discounted — not merely as a woman, but also as a brown woman. But for each of those stories, I have many others where I triumphed because my “tribe” — my mentors, sponsors, supporters, cheerleaders and friends — lifted me up and made sure I did not fall into the trap of self-doubt and self-pity. To those mentors — who come from all genders and walks of life — I owe a debt of gratitude.
Happy Women’s History Month! Who will look up to you today, and who will you look up to?
Tanuja Singh, D.B.A.
Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs
