Bringing It Home: Poverty, Education and Women's Empowerment in India

• In Event: 1265 - Puzzles and Tensions in Women's Education and Employment

Abstract

Shanti Bhavan is an English-language boarding school for poor lower-caste children ages three to seventeen, located in rural Tamil Nadu, India, approximately two hours outside of Bangalore. Founded in 1997 by Dr. Abraham George, a former Wall Street executive, the school has been recognized as one of the most successful NGOs in the space of poverty alleviation and education in India. The organization stands out for the role it plays in cultivating strong, independent, successful women from poor, mostly rural backgrounds, an achievement which has been recognized by the likes of Glamour Magazine and organizations like She’s the First. Even as these women launch successful careers at multinational companies, earning middle- to upper-middle class incomes, and charting a course for advanced degrees, challenges remain, especially with regards to the carry-over effects impacting their families. The modern social and cultural values learned at Shanti Bhavan, in college, and in their professional workplaces often clash with traditionally conservative home and community environments. Such differences, combined with lucrative salaries with no parallel in their families, throw up barriers that can potentially sidetrack their personal ambitions and ultimately limit their efforts to support parents and siblings both financially and socially. Drawing on interviews with women graduates from 2014 through 2018, we highlight the possibilities and limitations of emphasizing academic and professional success of poor young as the primary tool for lifting entire families out of poverty.

Authors

• Patrick Inglis, Grinnell College

• Karin Yndestad, Grinnell College