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Men vs Women: Who are better administrators?

While our politicians make observations in passing without thinking twice about what they are saying, we leave it to YOU to set the record straight!

Has gender got anything to do with one's administrative abilities? Our politicians, sometimes, think so.

Recently, Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa chided Modi by saying, "The lady in Tamil Nadu is better than Modi in Gujarat in governance."

It would seem that Jayalalithaa was saying she had better administrative capabilities than the Gujarat chief minister.

She did not mention that she was a better administrator because of her gender but was rather stating facts.

In the gross domestic product ranking, Jayalalithaa's Tamil Nadu ranks third while Modi's Gujarat ranks fifth.

In 2012-13 Gujarat received Rs 2,676 crore in foreign direct investment as against Tamil Nadu that received... and you might have to sit down for this... Rs 15,252 crore.

So when Jayalalithaa pointed out that her performance in Tamil Nadu was better than Modi's performance in Gujarat, there was some truth to it after all.

However, not the one to take such remarks lying down, the BJP hit back.

The party's senior leader Venkaiah Naidu said that the lady was better suited to ruling the state while Modi was better suited for administering the country.

Naidu, who may have just been trying to defend his prime ministerial candidate, did touch a raw nerve there.

The fact is that in more than six decades of India's independence, we have had just one female prime minister.

Does the job of handling a nation as diverse as ours better suited to a man?

Or are our politicians just plain chauvinistic?

Do men, in general, make better administrators than women?

Tell us, dear readers, what you think!

Who do you think makes for better administrators?

Take the poll below! We are dying to know what you think!

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com