Generally a women has to break more barriers to achieve something
Published on : Tuesday 08-03-2022
Gunjan Tandon, Manager – PE C&I, EOC – NTPC Ltd.
What was the inspiration that prompted you to pursue this career path?
During my school, I always liked maths and physics, so choosing engineering as a career was an obvious choice for me and my family very well supported my decision. Also I always found automation very interesting, so when I got the opportunity to work in this field, I knew that I would like it. You can only give your best to your career when you enjoy what you do. Being a power sector professional contributing towards the nation's progress is very fulfilling also.
Can you recall your early days – say the first few days at work – and anything you would like to mention about that?
My initial days at work were in an industrial complex, surrounded by a huge network of pipes and big mechanical and electrical equipment. It was a new and different world. Observing and learning how actually things work, from books to real industrial world, training times, making lifelong friends, and last but not least earning our first pay check, that time was beautiful, but yes there was difference from student life in terms of accountability, discipline and responsibility, which now extends from yourself towards your organisation. Especially when dealing with process plants there is no scope of error, which taught me lifelong importance of sincerity, accuracy and safety in our works and assignments.
For a woman, it is a matter of finding the right balance between the jobs and managing the home – how do you manage this?
Managing a job and home especially with a toddler definitely becomes challenging at times, but with a supportive husband and family it becomes manageable. Success lies in creating a support system with necessary help in place. We cannot do it all ourselves, the key lies in identifying, prioritising and sharing responsibilities. At the same time it is also important to sensitise both your family and the office team, and make them understand that for you achieving balance rather than choosing one over other is the best and only option. Also I believe that the situation does not stay that tough all the time so the key lies in managing with patience and continuity.
What challenges (or privileges) do women stereotypically face, based on their gender?
In our social milieu women’s job is generally considered and treated as additional income rather than a full-fledged career. This stereotyping needs to be addressed; a woman herself also needs to be determined in her career. When you yourself are committed, others also come on board. It’s definitely not easy for anyone to achieve at both ends; however with family support, enabling work environment and due commitment, it can definitely be achieved.
Have you ever missed a career opportunity or promotion due to gender?
I agree that women often face this dilemma of prioritising between their career and primary caregiving role as mothers to young toddlers and kids, in turn missing a career opportunity or promotion. However, if you ask particularly about me, since the beginning of such a phase for me I am trying to focus on balancing both and managed to sail through without missing any career opportunity till now with the support of my family.
Are workplaces today more sensitive to gender issues than say a decade ago?
Definitely, we have made positive progress in this direction, especially in wake of Vishakha guidelines and increased awareness level of women. Organisations are also taking innovative steps; however still there is a long way to go and to make most workplaces gender equal. It’s very important that gender sensitivity is duly incorporated in the organisational culture by sensitising and creating awareness in all employees, not limited to women. Along with due safeguards in place as mandated, emphasis should be on creating an enabling work environment for women where she can flourish. Basic day to day facilities like crèche for kids, safe transport during odd hours, hybrid and flexible work model can definitely contribute in this direction.
Which women’s ‘cause’ needs to be challenged and changed, first?
Well, the whole idea of women as a weaker sex needs to be challenged. This can be addressed only when more and more women reach leadership and decision making positions in corporates as well as politics, in parity with men. Also along with targeting good education and financial independence for women, we should focus on giving essential physical training for self-defence to each girl/woman so that the concept of women as weaker can be changed.
Are there areas at work that still restrict women when it comes to leadership roles?
Since last decade we have seen many success stories of women leaders in the banking and financial sector, which earlier was considered essentially a male bastion. Successful leaders are a result of transformation that begins at base level a decade or earlier. I feel in the core engineering and industrial sector, which is still male dominated, the era of transformation has begun. In recent years we have seen women taking on leadership roles as Directors and CMDs on board of some major core sector companies, which is definitely an encouraging sign. The need is to sustain the momentum by supporting women at entry level so that sufficient critical mass is available. Identifying and developing middle level women managers is very important to support the talent pipeline for leadership roles in times to come.
What women-related myths or taboos need to be broken?
There is a general perception that women do not take risks, women are too emotional or not assertive enough and hence not suited for jobs or positions requiring tough decision making. Well I feel, these myths are based on stereotypes which society has created around the image of women with the primary role of caregiving. In fact nature has made women stronger and given her more endurance. Considering our traditional societal set up, generally a woman has to break more barriers to achieve something for herself and in the process she emerges stronger, smarter and tougher as well. This needs to be well appreciated.
Do you have a mentor or a role model? If yes, you may state briefly how it inspired you.
My mother is my role model. Though she has not been a working woman and her challenges were a bit different from mine, her never give up attitude always inspired me. She is my best friend who has always encouraged me to give my best in whatever I do. I also truly appreciate that at times when most of the women had very limited exposure, she had this vision of bringing up her daughter as an independent and confident woman.
What would be your message to the youth who are just starting their career?
Today is the era of endless opportunities, and the key lies in being ready to accept and steer through disruptive changes in technology and business domain. Youngsters will definitely see many such scenarios in their careers. My advice to them would be to be sincere, innovative and agile, and please be considerate towards the environment.
Describe yourself or your aspirations, dreams in 3 words.
Cheerful. Confident. Committed.
Gunjan Tandon, an Electronics and Communication Engineering graduate with Honours, joined NTPC as Executive Trainee in 2010 and since then has worked at Corporate Engineering Division of NTPC Ltd. Gunjan is an experienced power sector professional with deep expertise and demonstrated success in project engineering & execution and implementation of state-of-the-art technologies. A thought professional in the field of Controls – Instrumentation & Automation of power plants, she has hands-on experience of implementation of DCS, Fieldbus Systems and Digitalisation projects across NTPC. Prior to that she also has onsite experience of working in maintenance division of a large petrochemical complex with domain expertise in high pressure and nucleonic instrumentation.
Gunjan has participated in several national and international conferences and is trained and certified by Profibus International and Harvard Management Mentor program. Her passion and drive can be easily spotted when one interacts with her. She has strategic leadership quality to actualise state-of-the-art technology changes. She defines herself as ‘Cheerful, Confident, Committed’.
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