Women leaders are more transformational and inspirational
Published on : Tuesday 08-03-2022
Anu Acharya, General Manager (Instrumentation Dept), Engineers India Limited.
What was the inspiration that prompted you to pursue this career path?
I belong to a family wherein several of my relatives including my father worked in SAIL. So being brought up in the environment of Engineers I was mesmerised from childhood by the term ‘Engineer’. Though in the 1980s Medicine was considered to be more ideal for women, I was more bent towards Mathematics & Physics, so I pursued Engineering. Moreover with the encouragement of my parents I could pursue a career in a premier consultancy organisation like EIL wherein I am enjoying every bit of my work and have got excellent exposure in varied fields.
Can you recall your early days – say the first few days at work – and anything you would like to mention about that?
For me coming to Delhi from Rourkela (Odisha) was by itself a major change. I was awestruck by the main reception lobby on the first day of joining EIL and that day I decided to inculcate strength to wade through all the new situations and make a place in the organisation.
I particularly remember the induction and orientation programs, which were very interesting and engrossing. Major salient features of the company not only gave a familiarisation but also informed us about our rights and responsibilities. Shared/guesthouse accommodation, meeting new colleagues, sharing a friendship bond among new joinees even after office timings, visiting new places, going to sites and vendor shops for training were a very good change for us.
“With a new day comes new strength and new thoughts. Every day is a new day, move on and find happiness”.
For a woman, it is a matter of finding the right balance between the jobs and managing the home – how do you manage this?
My understanding of work-life balance is, an aspect of well-being related to ability to manage both personal and professional responsibilities with adequate time for rest and leisure. For women especially, this is a key feature for a basic healthy life. In order to maintain a stress free ambience at home and workplace, it is pertinent that proper time management and people management is done. We should begin with setting priorities and delegate tasks so that workload is balanced and alleviated. This results in good mental health also. Moreover when we do proper planning and set goals then the office team also leads a good life and productivity is better. Eventually our outcome at home also becomes positive wherein we have limited hours to attend to multiple chores.
What challenges (or privileges) do women stereotypically face, based on their gender?
Some typical challenges faced by today’s women are work-life balance; discrimination/gender inequality; lack of flexible working hours; safe environment and lack of adequate family support. Broadmindedness amongst peers and seniors in workplace and proper support and infrastructure at home would bring positive vibes in women to move forward.
Have you ever missed a career opportunity or promotion due to the gender?
In EIL there was never a concern of gender bias. The work environment is very safe and cordial for women. The working culture is excellent and EIL provides a very healthy ambience for the growth of women. All promotions are rendered on merit basis.
During the course of my career, EIL gave a broader outlook and a positive approach in shaping my personality by giving exposure to foreign clients in Oil sector. I had an overseas posting in Abu Dhabi office for 6 months wherein I interacted with M/s ADCO, M/s Gasco, M/s Takeer, M/s Adma Opco (presently ADNOC group), etc. Also I got an opportunity to work with M/s Tecnimont for 5 months at Milan, Italy. Moreover there was always encouragement given by our seniors to go on site tours, licensor interaction tours, vendor shop tours, etc.
There was always a chance given for interactions with major Instrumentation vendors such as Emerson, Schneider, Masoneilan, Yokogawa, etc., in seminars for varied technical discussions.
Apart from the Project related activities I am also the co-ordinator of various software (international and in-house) which are related to Instrumentation department.
I am a member of ISA (Delhi Section) committee which is an esteemed international organisation. We have an opportunity to have interactions, meetings and seminars with clients, technology companies and important vendors in instrumentation field.
I got recognition in the form of an appreciation letter from Institute of Public Enterprises, Hyderabad. Long service awards (25 years in 2020, 20 years in 2015 and 15 years in 2010) is also received within company.
Are workplaces today more sensitive to gender issues than say, a decade ago?
Yes, it is true that workplace these days promote gender equality. Women’s empowerment is a critical aspect of achieving gender equality. Giving equal opportunities to women, gives them extra recognition and consequently they are nowadays achieving leadership positions. Equal footing is provided to women for being upfront in trainings, seminars and tours.
Which women's 'cause' needs to be challenged and changed, first?
Gender equality should be implemented in workplaces, though now existing in many places, still this is an important feature and a stepping stone to success. Once this issue is in place, then women will feel safer and can perform with confidence.
Are there areas at work that still restrict women when it comes to leadership role?
There are no restrictions in matters of engineering and technical excellence. Women leaders are more transformational and inspirational for their team and spend a lot of time coaching their team. They emphasize on teamwork and authentic communication as a key to success. Proper guidance is given by them for goal setting and accomplish achievements.
What women-related myths or taboos need to be broken?
A common myth is that women are not ideal for leadership roles as they are too emotional. This is not true as in the present scenarios women are highly professional and they can clearly draw lines from their emotions.
Another myth is that women do not opt for tours, especially foreign assignments as they cannot manage their personal fronts simultaneously. In the changing times, however we see spouses and other family members rendering adequate support at home front so that women can excel in their respective fields.
“Women catch up with men in business with all equal stakes.”
Do you have a mentor or a role model? If yes, you may state briefly how it inspired you.
We all need mentors or role models in life even if we do not have a formal mentor. I believe in learning from people by observing them and grasping all good qualities. This is a circle of positive influence created by all the personnel and seniors we interact with. At this juncture I would like to specifically mention about my parents who have also been my role models. I have inculcated certain qualities such as patience, hard work and perseverance from them and they always imbibed confidence in me to move forward in life.
What would be your message to the youth who are just starting their career?
They should begin with choosing the right career. When you begin, the journey may not be smooth, however be responsible and honest to your commitments. Remember the 3 Ds, i.e., Discipline/Dedication/Determination which will take you to heights. One should interact with their seniors, go to depth for acquiring technical knowledge so that the learning is maximised.
Describe yourself or your aspirations, dreams in 3 words.
Hardworking, Honesty. Integrity.
Anu Acharya joined EIL, a premier Engineering design consultancy, primarily in the field of Oil and Gas, in 1993 as a Management Trainee, and is working as an Instrumentation Engineer for almost 27 years in various Refineries, Petrochemicals and Gas processing Projects with clients of national importance such as IOCL, BPCL, GAIL, etc. Anu was involved in designing and engineering field instrumentation and Distributed Control systems (DCS) for mega projects such as CPCL Chennai, PNCP IOCL, Integrated Refinery Expansion Project at BPCL Kochi, Propylene derivatives Plant, Kochi, etc. She has also undertaken overseas posting at Abu Dhabi and Milan, Italy; and interacted with Middle East clients and Tecnimont, Italy. In EIL Anu was associated with ADCO, Qusahwira Project and worked with M/s NPCC, Abu Dhabi.
From 1993 onwards, Anu has witnessed the evolution of new technologies, i.e., the phase from mini computers, DOS based systems to individual desktops and Windows software based technologies. Then there was evolution of software workflows and she was part of the software development teams that developed in house software for the department. Anu was exposed to International software INTOOLS (presently known as Smart Plant Instrumentation) about 15 years back when she was interacting with Tecnimont, Italy. Today EIL uses SPI for most of the projects and customisation improvisations have also been developed. Similarly in the Instrumentation side she has seen the evolution of technology from Analog to Smart to Foundation Fieldbus type of Instrumentation and Control systems in a span of my career of more than 25 years.
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