The Pankajakasthuri Herbal Research Foundation (PKHRF) from the house of the eponymous ayurveda brand has unveiled a digital film titled ‘Celebrating Gender Imbalance ’on Women’s Day. PKHRF has sought to pay tributes to women in modern ayurveda who break barriers and dominate the field, a company said here on Tuesday.
The film was inspired by the increasing number of women in the Pankajakasthuri workforce and the rising female students’ enrollment at its ayurvedic medical college. Since inception, the organisation has had a women-centric workforce, comprising up to 79 per cent among doctors and 90 per cent among the healthcare staff, the spokesperson added.
Aiswarya Nair, Director, Strategy, at PKHRF, said since its inception in 2002, it has seen a rising interest from women to work in ayurveda, either as doctors/scientists or in other areas of science.
Reversing the concept
“We are proud to have an organisation where women are forging ahead. In this film, we decided to reverse the concept of inequality and celebrate it by showcasing the ‘bias towards women’ at PKHRF. It’s about time we welcome this change and encourage young girls to break the bias,” she added.
The film emphasises the theme #BreakTheBias, and showcases how women are leading the field of modern ayurveda and changing the perception of the ancient science hitherto mostly associated with a male image, the spokesperson said. It uses reverse psychology by celebrating their #GenderImbalance to portray how they have ‘a positive gender bias’ at PKHRF.
As much as 86 per cent of medical college students are girls while 66 per cent of the faculty are women. Apart from Aiswarya Nair, the PKHRF is led by three other women directors - Lekshmi Nair, Director, Medicals; Kasthuri Nair, Director-Academics; and Kaveri Nair, Director, Operations.