Women must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good
Published on : Monday 01-03-2021
Resmi Nair, Senior Deputy General Manager, BHEL.
It is said if you educate a man you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman you educate a family, generation (nation). Your views?
Absolutely true. An educated woman will not only ensure the education of her children and future generation but her financial and social empowerment will benefit her immediate family and in turn the society. More educated, empowered women will bring in a more feminine, balanced, gentler approach to address the political, economic situations the world faces now. Even Charles Darwin had pronounced that women have greater tenderness and less selfishness and later it has been proven by various researches. The world will benefit in the education and upliftment of women.
What prompted you to pursue a career in engineering?
During the early Nineties when I made this career choice, engineering and medicine were the most common career choices for the academically inclined students in the country. Since I had a great liking for mathematics, this seemed to be the right choice to my young mind. The technology leap that we saw during the Nineties encouraged me further to stay in the field. In hindsight, I still feel engineering is definitely the right choice for an individual with critical thinking, problem solving and analytical capabilities.
Having obtained the qualification, what was the experience in getting a job?
Since I had passed out from NIT Calicut, I was fortunate to get a campus placement in an MNC. It was not difficult to get job offers then, considering sufficient opportunities in the country due to liberalisation of the economy.
Is a career in engineering more demanding vis-à-vis other options?
Engineering is a demanding career but there are many careers, which are equally or more demanding such as lawyers, doctors, nurses, entrepreneurs, journalists, etc. It really depends on how much an individual puts into the job.
Often projects demand stay away from home. How is that experience?
This is definitely more difficult for a woman with family responsibilities especially young children or old dependant parents. Ironically, the Covid pandemic proved to be the proverbial silver lining, bringing in remote working. What Covid brought in is the increased reliance on video conferencing, work-at-home. In these days when even remote commissioning of projects is very much possible, the demand to travel unnecessarily will come down. This change is definitely going to benefit women greatly and will bring about a level playing field for future generations of women workers – the actual output and performance of a person will become evident.
Have you ever missed a career opportunity or promotion due to gender?
No. But I do believe the quote, ‘Whatever women do, they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good’, is very true
Are workplaces today more sensitive to gender issues than a generation earlier?
Very much so. There is a lot of awareness these days on gender equality. The Indian government also is doing its part to spread awareness and ensure more women enter the workplace as it will only benefit our economy. You don't hear casual sexist remarks being thrown around so frequently now-a-days.
Is there a glass ceiling when it comes to leadership roles in engineering?
These days it really depends only on the Company's culture and within a few more years all such barriers are likely to be broken in India. There are a number of tech companies headed by women globally. Today, a core sector organisation such as SAIL is headed by a woman. To progress the women's cause, it is very essential that women who reach these top positions are self-made women of high calibre. Only then can they inspire like-minded women to aspire for top jobs.
What has been the experience with seniors at works and the management?
This depends on the person. Majority of my seniors have been supporting, approachable and work-oriented, but I did come across a few difficult people. I have been able to handle those situations; such experiences help you to learn and make you even stronger. One should be prepared to expect different kinds of people in any workplace.
How did the Covid pandemic affect your working routine and what are the learnings?
The pandemic brought in big changes in the way we work. Remote working, social distancing and safety concerns pushed us to optimise the way we work. We learned to effectively harness technology to connect with customers, teams, sites and business partners. These learning can be surely used to bring in large-scale, far reaching changes in the way we conduct our business, manage time and resources.
What would be your message to those seeking career guidance?
Introspect, figure out what you really like doing best, and plan a career around that. Don't worry if you have to change your career mid-way – it is the journey that counts and not the destination. Keep your curiosity and love for learning alive always. Remember it is not the days in your life, but the life in your days that counts.
What are the three words that best capture the essential you?
Effective. Self-Driven. Empathetic.
Resmi Nair, a B.Tech in Electronics and Communication from NIT – Calicut, is an Engineer with over 25 years of experience in Engineering, Project Management and Quality Assurance functions. She has successfully completed many industrial automation and engineering projects in the power, steel, water and oil sectors. Resmi is married, and has one daughter.
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