Sudha Murty Describes Gender Equality With Bicycle Analogy In Viral Video

Sudha Murty, the former chairperson of the non-profit Infosys Foundation, recently described the concept of gender equality with the help of an analogy. In an undated video, the celebrated author said, “Life is like a bicycle. There are two wheels. One wheel is male, the other one is female. You require both wheels to move. You can’t say, “I don’t want the other wheel at all.” The celebrated author then explained that men and women are built differently and have different strengths.

She said that women are naturally good in languages and make excellent managers as they have high emotional quotient (EQ). The septuagenarian claimed that men have a low emotional quotient compared to women. The 72-year-old ascribed this observation to her life experience.

This above-mentioned video was posted on Sudha Murty’s official X account. Commenting on it, an X user expressed their agreement and wrote, “Absolutely 100 PERCENT correct.”

Another person wrote, “Madam-unfortunately today’s wives are way different than what you think. Not every woman isn’t wise like you. Trust me if guys have decided not to marry and the way time is changing very soon India will have more unmarried men and women.”

Over the decades, Sudha Murty has broken the glass ceilings in male-dominated fields. When she was 17 years old, she became the first female engineering student at B.V.B. College of Engineering & Technology in Hubli, Karnataka. The year was 1968, and the college didn’t have a women’s toilet.

In an interview with Canadian newspaper, The Globe and Mail, Sudha Murty, recalled, “My teachers were not keen because they thought it’s not a girl’s domain and I may fail. My classmates were not very happy because they’d never seen a girl in class.” Despite this, she went on to earn a bachelor of engineering degree and later a master’s in computer science from the Indian Institute of Science. She graduated at the top of her class both times.

When she was 23 years old, she saw a recruitment call for engineering jobs at Tata Engineering and Locomotive Co. It was 1974, and the ad stated that “lady candidates” need not apply. An enraged Sudha Murty wrote a letter to JRD Tata pointing out the sexist nature of the advertisement. This act of protest landed her a job interview and she became the first female engineer at Tata Engineering and Locomotive Co.