It’s a long-held myth that girls struggle with numbers and finance
Yet another male bastion has been breached. It’s a long-held
myth that girls struggle with numbers and finance. Well, try telling that to Maitreyee
Narayansing Rajaput, Arti Jain and Charmy Suresh Sheth. The three have made history
by sweeping the top three all-India positions in this year’s chartered accountancy
exam, considered one of the most difficult to clear.
What’s more, the pass percentage of girls surpassed that of the boys. While 2,368
(21.9%) of the 10,816 girls who took the CA finals this year cleared the last hurdle,
the pass percentage was 19.8% for boys, with 4,277 successful aspirants out of 21,603
who took the exam. Topper Maitreyee (21) of Pune is the daughter of a retired high
school teacher. She told TOI she was excited that the top rankers were girls but
refused to read too much into the girl’s vs boy’s debate, saying the results could
be pure coincidence.
She was surprised at her achievement, too, but had always been good with numbers.
I hope more and more girls will be drawn towards accountancy as a profession, she
said.
Industry observers say the result reflects a growing trend of young women doing
well in the financial sector. We are really proud that girls have bagged the top
3 positions. While intellectually they are second to none, there is also a sense
of comfort that corporate draw while hiring them, though there is no bias, G Ramaswamy,
president of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), said.
Sanjhi Agrawal, who topped the 2010 exams, said she was not surprised.
Please remember that this is not a one-off and is now a trend, she said.
Courtesy: Times of India
