100 Most Powerful Women in the World

Forbes magazine has come with the list of 100 Most Powerful Women in the world for this year. That magazine measures “power” in combination with public profile and financial weight.

Again, for the third year consecutively, German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, is rated number one. Sheila Bair, Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, USA, is rated number two. Indra Nooyi, Chief Executive of Pepsi, is rated number 3.

There are five Indian/Indian Origin/Naturalized Indian women in that top 100 list. They are:

3. Indra Nooyi, Chief Executive of Pepsi

13. Sonia Gandhi, President, Indian National Congress Party

20. Chandra Kochhar, Chief Executive, ICICI Bank

63. Navanethem Pillay, High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations (South Africa)

91. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairman, Biocon

Congratulations to all five of them.

Let us hope next year this number will double.

Oh by the way, Hillary Clinton is 36, Michelle Obama is 40, and Queen Elizabeth is 42.

I am surprised Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, is ranked only 35. She is 2nd in line to succeed Barack Obama as President of the United States, after Joe Biden, Vice President. The role of the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives is very different from the role of the Speaker of British or Indian Parliament. Speaker is chosen by the U.S. House of Representatives, and he/she is usually the leader of the majority party in the House.

U.S. Presidents cannot make law. It is the job of the House and Senate. Whether we like it or not, laws made in the U.S. affect every country in the world. No law can be passed in the U.S. House of Representatives without the blessings from the Speaker. Therefore, in my opinion, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, is a very powerful person.

The Allan Bakke Case

I just read the following news item:

“Women candidates appearing for competitive exams conducted by Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and Staff Selection Commission (SSC) will not have to pay fee while applying for central government jobs.”

I am just wondering if this kind gesture should be need based or gender based. If it is part of the efforts to increase representation of women in central government jobs, this exemption from paying fee should be extended to financially disadvantaged women. Not to all women.

Then I remembered about the famous Allan Bakke case in USA. Here it is:

Allan Bakke was born in 1940. He received his bachelors degree in Engineering from the University of Minnesota. He then served 4 years with the U.S. Marines in Vietnam. After returning from home, he obtained a masters degree from Stanford. He got a job with NASA near San Francisco. At NASA he was involved with testing the effects of weightlessness and radiation on animals. This work increased his interest in medicine.

In 1972, he applied for admission into medical school at the University of California, Davis. His MCAT score was above the 90th percentile in 3 out of 4 categories. UC Davis admitted 100 students in medical school every year. They “reserved” 16 seats for “economically or educationally disadvantaged” candidates. He had a lesser score than those in the general admission pool. He reapplied in 1973 and was rejected. Even the dean of the UC Davis Medical School thought that the faculty was of the view that “disadvantaged” means “membership in a minority race”.

When Bakke was rejected again in 1974, he sued UC Davis for discrimination.

Even though the lower court judge agreed with Bakke, he refused to order Bakke’s admission. He appealed the decision to the California Supreme Court. The California Supreme Court voided the minority recruitment program of UC Davis as unconstitutional.

UC Davis appealed this decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1978, U.S. Supreme Court decided the case. It ruled that while the University can take race into account to have a diversified student body, it cannot reserve a specific number of seats for students of color. It also ordered U.C. Davis to admit Bakke in the medical school.

In the meantime, Bakke was married and had 3 children. He went to UC Davis in the fall of 1978 to enroll himself. There were several TV and newspapers reporters and camera. Every one thought he will get himself admitted symbolically and will not pursue the medical course. Were they all wrong!!! He got himself admitted in medical school and graduated with an MD in 1982, at the age of 42.

Bakke is a very private person. He does not want to talk about this famous landmark case. He is now practicing as an anesthesiologist in Rochester, Minnesota.