Gendered services

FIRST EDIT

A striking feature of the results of 2008 all India civil services examination is the extremely good performance of women candidates. The trend of increasingly better performance by women has been seen for some time. This is in line with the performance of women in all other examinations, including those in schools and colleges and in other competitive tests. But this year’s civil services exam results were pleasantly still better because they saw all the three top positions being taken by women. It marks a strong assertion of their abilities, ambition and role in society. The overall position in the list is also very good. There are 10 women in the top 25 and 166 in a total of 791. The representation is much less than what is their due, going by their number in the population. But considering the traditional disadvantages that women have suffered from, in education and employment, it is a creditable achievement.

This year’s results have shown some other salutary trends also. The candidate in the fourth position and the topper among men is differently-abled and is from a village. He is afflicted by polio but fought all adversities arising from his physical disadvantage and rural background and proved that he is no less than others. There are several winning candidates from rural areas, and success stories of candidates taking the examination in languages other than English have emerged. The topper among men took his examination in Punjabi and the woman candidate who stood third in the overall list took her examination in Hindi. There are also remarkable cases of many candidates who fought poverty and distinguished themselves by finding a place in the winners’ list. The winners have come from very diverse disciplines. All these are salutary trends which can change the face of civil services in future. There is a wider range of backgrounds from where the winners come and this can help the services to become more representative of society and provide inspiration to future aspirants.

But geographical representation needs to improve. While a small state like Manipur had four winners, a much bigger one like Karnataka, which has a better educational infrastructure, can  secure more than the 12 slots that it got. This may be partly because states which are considered backward have an advantage. But greater awareness, increased coaching facilities can see more candidates from the state also finding their place in the ranks of the country’s highest civil bureaucracy.