Gender does not matter, only hard work and dedication does
Published on : Monday 01-03-2021
Swati Tiwari, Managing Director, Arcturus Business Solutions Pvt Ltd.
What prompted you to pursue a career in engineering?
My father was a Power plant engineer. I used to visit power plants very frequently with him, hence my keenness towards Engineering was there from childhood. Initially my focus was more towards sports as I used to play at the State and National level in table tennis at school, but opted to do Engineering in Electronics when it was time to think of getting a career.
Having obtained the qualification, what was the experience in getting a job?
After getting the Engineering degree in 1990, there was a struggle for nearly a year to get the right job. In between, I worked with a couple of engineering design firms without salary just to gain some insights about practical engineering. My first job was at BSES Ltd (now Reliance Infrastructure), Mumbai as an Instrumentation Engineer for the Dahanu Thermal Power Project, which was at the construction stage. I was the first women engineer hired by BSES Ltd.
Is a career in engineering more demanding vis-à-vis other options?
Career in engineering is very exciting and a great learning. It is demanding because there is lot to learn and do. There are lots of possibilities for innovation and varied fields for growth.
Other options may also have their own challenges and difficulties, but engineering is work plus fun together!
Often projects demand stay away from home. How is that experience?
Being in engineering field, the outstation domestic and international tours were very frequent including extended stays. Women are known to be multi-tasking by nature and we learn to balance home and work front very efficiently.
Have you ever missed a career opportunity or promotion due to gender?
Never. I always worked with full dedication and gave my best to the company. I was never ever judged by my employer on the basis of gender.
Are workplaces today more sensitive to gender issues than a generation earlier?
Now the workplaces are more gender sensitive compared to earlier and most of the companies also have policies in place for gender parity.
Is there a glass ceiling when it comes to leadership roles in engineering?
In leadership roles in engineering firms, you may feel the glass ceiling based on the employer’s attitude. Now companies have started appreciating the multi-tasking and decision making skills and dedication of women employees. We find more women working in the software sector compared to the manufacturing, power and energy sector. However I am very hopeful that women will soon be in senior leadership positions even in core sector engineering firms.
What has been the experience with seniors at work and the management?
I have in general received very good opportunities and support from seniors and the management.
How did the Covid pandemic affect your working routine and what are the learnings?
Covid has affected the business but not the morale of employees. In fact the employees worked with more dedication to create new products for the market.
What would be your message to those seeking career guidance?
Gender doesn’t matter, only hard work and dedication matters for success.
Would you like to share information about your other achievements?
I have worked for 25 years with Power Sector companies in different leadership roles. At the peak of my career, I left my job and set up a startup firm in Artificial Intelligence and computer vision based Analytical Solutions. Now we offer different innovative solutions to the leading Manufacturing, Energy and Infrastructure companies in India.
What are the three words that best capture the essential you?
Hard Worker, Dedicated and Learner.
Swati Tiwari is an Electronics Engineer with Masters in International Business. She has rich corporate experience of 25 years in Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution verticals. Swati has worked for corporates like Sterlite Power, Lanco Infratech, Emerson and Reliance Infrastructure in different leadership roles.
After a prolonged stint in the corporate world, Swati founded Arcturus Business Solutions, a company working on artificial intelligence and deep learning solutions. They work on providing real time monitoring and analytics on images and videos for the workmen safety and industrial asset’s security in companies working in Energy, Infrastructure and Manufacturing sectors where the critical areas are required to be monitored 24x7.
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