More power to them: Women who break the glass ceiling in the world of oil

According to a report by the BCG, women participation in senior leadership globally in the oil and gas sector is 17 per cent but the share in India is just 5 per cent

At more than 11,800 feet from sea level in Phey Village of Ladakh, Padma Angmo and 10 other women work at the world’s highest LPG bottling plant. Run by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the country’s largest fuel retailer, the plant ensures cooking gas access to far-flung areas of Ladakh and Kargil, besides serving the security forces.

“I feel proud to serve the people of region,” says Padma, a local who has been employed here since its commissioning in 2001-02. At the site, where temperature can fall to minus 30 degrees, women make up more than half the staff of 20.