In a first, an Indian-American woman has been elected the new mayor of Californian city Cupertino, globally known for its Apple headquarters.
Ms. Savita Vaidhyanathan is the first Indian-American Mayor of Cupertino, which according to Forbes is one of the most educated small towns in the country with local public schools ranking highly. “This is definitely a very momentous moment in my life,” Vaidhyanathan told a packed house at community hall in Cupertino.
She has been a Cupertino resident for around 20 years and has been deeply involved in several community activities in the city. She was sworn in recently in a ceremony attended by her mother who flew in from India.
Ms. Vaidhyanathan said that she takes a lot of pride and prestige in the fact that she is the first woman Mayor of Indian-origin. She thanked the residents of Cupertino that voted her in, and said perhaps they did break the silicon ceiling and put a few more cracks in the glass ceiling. “I’ve had several congratulatory messages saying that I’m the first woman mayor of Indian-origin… Yes, I do take a lot of pride and prestige in that, but I do want to thank the residents of the city of Cupertino that voted me in not looking at ethnicity at all. Thank you for your trust in me, and maybe we did break that silicon ceiling and put a few more cracks in that glass ceiling”, said Savita.
Ms. Vaidhyanathan is an MBA and working as a high school Maths teacher and an officer in a commercial bank as well as in non-profit management.