Women In Male-Dominated Fields: Outnumbered. Overlooked, Yet Unstoppable

“I’m still on film sets and I do the headcount every day. There’s 10 women and there’s 75 men every morning.” Australian actor Cate Blanchett publicly cited the blatant sexism that exists within the film industry at the recent Cannes Film Festival. She referenced the #MeToo movement that raised awareness of sexual abuse against women, saying it “got killed very quickly, which I think is interesting.” She added, “I love men, but what happens is the jokes become the same. You just have to brace yourself slightly, and I’m used to that, but it just gets boring for everybody when you walk into a homogeneous workplace. I think it has an effect on the work.”

Blanchett’s statement underlines a precarious reality. Although women make up half the population, they remain significantly underrepresented and, in some fields, are still missing from positions of influence and leadership. Filmmaking is one of those industries where men occupy key positions of authority, not just in Hollywood but also closer home.

This not only impacts opportunities for women, but also how they are viewed and treated across the board. Eva P, an actor from South India, says, “I’ve worked on a film where the set had a larger number of younger women as part of the crew: Assistant directors, the styling team, makeup and hair. The ADs especially made me feel safe while shooting an intimate love song. The set was also generally more welcoming as opposed to one where the crew didn’t have even a single woman. During the latter, lunch-time conversations were largely a boys’ club. Some men with potbellies began body-shaming certain female artists, myself included. The blatant misogyny was also quite evident on a daily basis. It felt a little hostile on some days to be honest. Fortunately, there were a few senior female co-actors who made the set bearable.”

Filmmaking is not an isolated industry. In healthcare, women are relegated to caregiving roles, while men typically occupy senior management positions and helm surgical leadership. In STEM professions such as IT, women make up over half of junior and mid-level roles, while decision-making and keynote positions are still held by men. Software Engineer Urvashi K Reddy from Bengaluru, built the architecture for a client migration project that exceeded both company and client expectations. “During our meeting with the client, he automatically turned to a male teammate and began asking him questions and praising the outcome. Essentially, he ignored me entirely, and my male colleague did nothing to correct it. When I brought it up with my supervisor, he dismissed the episode and used adjectives like ‘dependable’ and ‘hardworking’ to describe me. Even though I had designed the entire project, I was treated as if I were in a supporting role as a worker or executor. I have since switched companies, but even now feel that women in tech have to work extra hard to prove their competence, while men are just assumed to be naturally capable.”

One of the most male-dominated sectors is construction engineering, primarily because of the perceived physical demands of the job, which involves long schedules on-site. Ironically, 49 to 51 per cent of the unskilled labour involved on construction sites in India is female, as per a survey by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, so it’s time for these barriers to be challenged. Men also outnumber women in defence and security services such as the Armed Forces, police field operations, firefighting, and tactical response roles.

Finance is yet another field where the ‘boys’ club’ informally dominates access to opportunities. On the surface, there have been prominent women like Arundhati Bhattacharya and Shikha Sharma. But the leadership representation is still heavily male-dominated, with women being denied the same opportunities for growth.

Private Banker Fathima Anila from Chennai says, “I worked for several years at a global bank where diversity and inclusion were taken very seriously. So, while I was fortunate enough not to face any systemic bias, there were stray instances where I felt discriminated against. Once, a male colleague of equal standing and performance was given a pay hike in an appraisal cycle while I wasn’t. This was then justified to me with the reasoning that he was the primary breadwinner in a single-income household, unlike me. Today, I work for a boutique wealth management firm, and it is essentially age (I’m considered too young) compounded with gender that could potentially hamper career growth.”

There are some professions where women outnumber men, but it is interesting to note that these usually involve nurturing and support, such as education, childcare and eldercare services, nursing, beauty and wellness, hospitality roles, and admin and front desk. One would assume that food-related occupations come under this umbrella as well, but the number of male chefs is staggeringly more than women. As per one study by the Indian Culinary Forum, less than 10 per cent of professional chefs in India are women. However, good news is afoot as food historians, online influencers and women entrepreneurs are creating their own niche in the food space and turning things around.

Kavita Chesetty started Cupcakes Amore in Chennai more than 15 years ago. She says that at the time, “Owner-run independent patisseries were almost always by women. Male pastry chefs were attached to five-star hotels or worked in industrial kitchens. I never knew of a male pastry chef who ran his own bakery then. But at the end of the day, you are judged for the food you put out and as a chef, your work speaks for itself. If your cupcakes are perfectly moist and cookies chewy and it hits the right spot, people will respect you. My authority as a chef was never questioned either. But outside the kitchen, while managing the business side of things or dealing with vendors, perhaps I did feel some bias on occasion.” She also adds that women end up making choices that suit their personal lives, especially caregiving duties. “While it is taken for granted that a man can work long hours, miss PTA meetings, travel, and come home late without anyone raising an eyebrow, for women, I feel these are still seen as prerequisites. Maybe women give up more easily because of this, but for sure, we can pivot and take the plunge if it really matters. With Cupcakes Amore, I was more in control of the hours I put in, with lesser travel and better time management.”

For women across every profession, whether in law, politics, business, or academia, getting a foot in the door is often only the beginning. The greater challenge is being truly seen: Recognised for capability, trusted with authority, and valued equally in rooms where they have long been overlooked. Yet every woman who breaks through does more than claim her own place. She becomes visible to others. Her presence challenges old assumptions, widens what feels possible, and helps create a path for the women who follow.