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Not sure how this will be received, but it's something I have discussed with many friends in the past and more recently with my daughters.


When my girls see Ginni Rometty Indra Nooyi and other female executives, they know that having been born in Canada, with a Indian Father and Canadian Mother, they do have a shot at achieving similar heights. My nationality and their mother's nationality has nothing to do with this - rather it is the CDN/American Dream notion.


But my cousins in India and friends in Africa, Turkey, Middle East, etc., when they see these female executives, they know they will never reach those heights. Perhaps never is too strong because anything is possible. But their shot at the Canadian or American dream of if you eat your vitamins, say your prayers, and train/work hard, you can achieve whatever you what to achieve, is not going to happen.


My staff/friends in India who are app dev guys, infra admins, etc - they know they will never become the CEO of a Fortune company. The path is not there.


So having these south asian CEOs, female CEOs, etc doesn't really help them much because they know there is no path to that for them.


Perhaps we need more realistic role models? Someone closer to reach. Someone a path can lead to?


Why are some role models unrealistic and why is that a bad thing for us?


Role models are important. They inspire us, motivate us, and give us something to aspire to. However, some role models are unrealistic and this can be a bad thing for us. When we see someone who is unattainably perfect, it can make us feel hopeless and discouraged. We may start to believe that we can never measure up, no matter how hard we try. This can lead to feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem. It's important to remember that nobody is perfect. Everyone has flaws and shortcomings. What matters is not whether or not we are perfect, but whether or not we are trying to improve ourselves. When we strive to become the best that we can be, we will find that we are capable of far more than we ever thought possible. So let's focus on finding realistic role models who inspire us to be our best selves. After all, that's what truly matters in the end.

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