32 Must-read books for Young Women

Through video and email interviews with Sneha Agrawal, 21 women leaders from the BFSI sector have recommended 32 specific books that they have read, that have enhanced their personal and professional lives, and that they recommend for younger women to read:

Many years ago, British author Ian McEwan did a very elementary study of the reading habits of men and women. He and his son went to a London park and started distributing free books, including some 30 novels and surprisingly almost all the takers were women. In the words of McEwan, they were ‘eager and grateful’ for the freebies. And adding to his surprise was the attitude of men who stopped by to have a look at what is happening. They were ‘frowned in suspicion, or distaste’, says McEwan, who later wrote in The Guardian: “When women stop reading, the novel will be dead.”

While this is a rudimentary finding, there are scientific studies that have established that women read more books than men, especially fiction. Biological differences between the male and female brains and the way that boys and girls are introduced to reading at a young age are quoted as reasons for this.

A study by news agency AP some time ago found that a typical woman read 9 books in a year, compared with just 5 by men. It also found that women read more than men in all categories except history and biography.

Cognitive studies too have found that women are more empathetic than men, and possess a greater emotional range - traits that make fiction more appealing to them. Girls for example, can sit still for much longer periods of time than boys.

While such a ‘gender inequality’ exists or not, women professionals in India do not at least lag behind men in reading. Among interviews with women leaders in the BFSI sector for International Women’s Day, several books were recommended which are featured here. These professional women read books by authors as varying as Swami Vivekananda to Jawaharlal Nehru to Charlotte Bronte to Pearl S. Buck to Dr Varghese Kurien to Satya Nadella to Michelle Obama.

Lincy Therattil says any book or training program that teaches one to master the ‘inner game’ is highly recommended. “Constantly talk to yourself - after all,

you know yourself the best! I would also recommend Satya Nadella’s Hit Refresh. It is very important to make changes in one’s lives, take bold steps, learn new things, and constantly upskill yourself. Else, the monotonous, cushy life will ultimately get to you,” says she.

She also recommends Malcom Gladwell’s Blink as he talks about how one can train their minds to be conscious of instincts, behaviors and patterns to aid quick decision-making. “I try to follow this principle through the art of observation,” she says.

She also believes that while reading books are important, one can learn the most by reading viewpoints and keeping tab on what experts in specific fields have to say like what is the most trending topic and what are the diverse views on that topic. It is also important to know what experts have to say about a new offering or technology and their views on skills that will be important to be future ready.

“Similarly, observe others – what new skills are others learning, what career moves are people making,” she adds.

Rupa Balsekar says there are 2 books that she holds in high esteem about women empowerment. Says she: “The book Becoming by Michelle Obama about her personal experiences, finding her voice, being a mother; being a powerful advocate on women leadership and fulfilling her ambitions is a good read. Similarly, The White Revolution – The Story of Amul by Dr Verghese Kurien talks about bringing opportunities to marginal farmers especially women in rural India and leading to women empowerment.”

For Ashima Bhat too Becoming is a must read by all women. “She talks about her struggle through life,” says Ashima, adding Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In, Indira Nooyi’s articles about women’s struggles in their careers too are good reads, “though they are not role models”.

Jasmin Ignatius recommends 2 books to young women - The Black Swan by Nassim Taleb and Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. “Both books help to widen perspectives and evolve thinking,” she says.

Shikha Bagai has a different approach.

She says she does not believe too much on external opinion and external influence on matters of internal growth. “For me meditation is a first-hand experience. If I rely on somebody else’s experiences then it is always second hand. But if somebody is looking for guidance on direction then there are people like Daniel Goleman, Sadhguru and Swami Vivekanand,” she avers.

Pratima Thomas considers the Bible as her spiritual source and she gets a lot of day-to-day learnings from the Bible. “For every woman, whichever religion you follow, every religious script has so much content which is much beyond what has been generally interpreted. Every young woman should go back to the roots where she has started off. Every religious book is full of rich content,” she advocates.

The second book which has always motivated Pratima to find newer horizons to take risk is Jonathan Livingstone Segull by Richard Bach. “I find this book to be very inspiring. It is a very simple read and a very small book, but the kind of push and motivation that it gives you will take you beyond the horizon to take that risk and that journey. You can read it multiple times and still find something new in it,” says she.

For Loveena Khatwani, Daniel Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence is a great read. “It talks about self-awareness and self-engagement and social awareness all leading to better relationship management. It also details a lot of real-life examples helping one to understand how to deal with different situations in the right manner,” she says.

Babitha B.P. f eel s that reading anything under the Sun is good, because the knowledge we gain from reading will never go waste. “There will be definitely some occasions in our life where we can use it,” she says.

Among other women leaders, L. Chiranthi Cooray has found The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck, Roots by Alex Haley, Mother by Maxim Gorky, Dona Louisa Sadanige Kathawen Kotasaki by Bhadraji Mahinda Jayatilaka and Letters from a Father to his Daughter by Jawaharlal Nehru quite fascinating.

Rishika Dasgupta recommends No One Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July, Lady, You’re the Boss by Apurva Purohit and She Walks She Leads by Gunjan Jain as good reads.

Lalitha Bhatia vouches for The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg and books by Steven Covey.

Shoma Narayanan is a voracious reader and her favorites are The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Atomic Habits by James Clear, Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg and Nir Eyal’s Indistractable.

Namrata Sehgal has read 30 Women In Power by Naina Lal Kidwai and recommends it to every young women.

For Mabel Chacko the favorites are The Power of Your Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy and Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In. Nilufer Mullanfiroze too recommends Lean In by Sherly Sandberg.

Mauli Bodiwala is captivated by Family Wisdom by Robin Sharma and Corporate Chanakya by Radhakrishnan Pillai.

Monu Jain suggests Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari as a must read. “It is one book that has had immense impact on my life. It’s a very thought-provoking book. It makes you think and it has a unique perspective,” she avers.

For Nitu Samra Not Perfect by Reshma Saujani and Work Smarter Not Harder by Jack Collins are must reads.

Vandana Trivedi recommends Against the Gods - The Remarkable Story of Risk by Peter Bernstein.

Ruchi Bubber recommends Marc Benioff ’s Trail Blazer as one book every woman manager should read.

Rajashree Nambiar prefers books on history, travel and biographies.

For Sumanlatha Sanghi, more than books, there is a lot of information available on the net - whether its Harvard Business Reviews or LinkedIn, the articles help a lot in terms of knowing what happening in the bigger world and various analysis and reviews being done.

Among these 32 books, Lean In by Sherly Sandberg got the maximum number of recommendations (5), followed by Michelle Obama’s Becoming (2).

Many thanks to all the women for coming forward to encourage and empower the younger generation.