Indian-Origin Trade Unionist On BBC’s Powerful Women List

A compilation of powerful women sounds interesting and moreover, as it has Indian-origin, Jayaben Desai as one of the powerful women in BBC Woman Hour Power List 2016.



The Asian trade unionist whose bold leadership in the Grunwick dispute produced a landmark in industrial relations.

One would presume since BBC Radio 4, public service broadcasting giant, British Broadcasting Corporation's radio station for the Britons, will feature Queen as one of the powerful women.

Queen Elizabeth is not on the list, despite her long years of service and outreaching popularity.

The list does boast names like Margaret Thatcher, Jayaben Desai, Beyonce Knowles and others.

MARGARET THATCHER

The ‘Iron Lady’ has topped the list. Former British Prime Minister ( 1979-1990) and leader of the Conservative Party (1975-1990) was the first woman to have held the office.



British journalist and broadcaster Emma Barnett says: “Love or loathe her, it is hard to think of another woman who has had more of an impact on British women than Baroness Margaret Thatcher within the last seven decades. Anyone born in the 80s, and thereafter, grew up thinking it was normal for a woman to run the country; anyone over the age of 18 while she was in charge was shaped by her leadership style and uncompromising policies. In fact a whole generation of women’s feminism was formed in direct retaliation to her.”



In 1976 her "Britain Awake" foreign policy speech lambasted the Soviet Union, consequently earning her the "Iron Lady" nickname. Thatcher's moniker has since become a generic descriptor for strong-willed female politicians.



After a series of small strokes in 2002, she was advised to withdraw from public speaking. She died of another stroke in London at the age of 87.



JAYABEN DESAI

Jayaben Desai is best remembered for her unwavering contribution for fighting for the rights of low paid labour. She highlighted the plight of immigrant workers, blatant racism, and the importance of trade union recognition. She clawed her way for low paid women labour’s dignity, humanity and basic human rights.

Desai led the strikers in the epic two-year demonstrations of the Grunwick dispute, from 1976 to 1978. Her parting shot to the boss when she led the walkout gives us a glimpse of this daredevil:


"What you are running here is not a factory, it is a zoo. But in a zoo there are many types of animals. Some are monkeys who dance on your fingertips, others are lions who can bite your head off. We are the lions, Mr. Manager."

BRIDGET JONES

This is a surprise entry. A fictional character, which found resonance among common women. British writer Helen Fielding started her Bridget Jones's Diary column in The Independent in 1995, while chronicling the life of Jones as a thirty something single woman in London as she tries to make sense of life and love with the help of a surrogate "urban family" of friends in the 1990s.



The columns were novelized and further adapted on the celluloid. Bridget Jones’ Diary starring Renee Zellweger, in the titular role of Bridget, Colin Firth and Hugh Grant in the other lead roles, was a commercial success.

The life of Bridget Jones is a satirical take on the various social trends in Britain at that time.  It also opened the conversation on the expectations pinned on a 30 yr old woman, who hasn’t settled yet and, how she is grappling with the work-love-life issues.




BEYONCE KNOWLES

Beyonce the dream singer, songwriter cum actress has rightfully been positioned in the list.

Throughout a career spanning 19 years, she has sold over 100 million records as a solo artist, and a further 60 million with Destiny's Child, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time.



She has won 20 Grammy Awards and is the most nominated woman in the history of Grammys.


She is the most awarded artist at the MTV Video Music Awards, with 24 wins.


The Recording Industry Association of America recognized her as the Top Certified Artist in America during the 2000s (decade). In 2009, Billboard named her the Top Radio Songs Artist of the Decade,  the Top Female Artist of the 2000s (decade) and handed their Millennium Award in 2011.



Time listed her among the 100 most influential people in the world in 2013 and 2014, and in 2016 she occupied the sixth place for Person of the Year. Forbes also listed her as the most powerful female in entertainment of 2015.

Check out which other women have made it to the BBC Woman's Hour Power List 2016.