Its celebration time. Twice over, actually!
Not only are we celebrating 62 fabulous years of documenting game-changing trends in the automotive sector but we are rejoicing the first birthday of our Women of Mettle section.
Women of Mettle is a unique take on how women executives in this field have made it big – not just in their own careers – but have brought a perceptible difference to a traditionally male dominated industry.
In this issue, we present 12 remarkable lady personalities whom we have featured in the last one year.
Each story is a testament to how success is achieved despite odds, often wading through deep-rooted societal conditions. These are stars of the industry who have struggled and gained valuable insights pertaining to their lives and careers. They have learnt the hard way on how to strike work-home balance to ultimately rise above the challenges of gender discrimination – whether at work, home or when dealing with the society.
It is rare for any of them to have sailed through their careers without any hiccups. They have time and again been challenged by the existing mindsets and in turn, they too have challenged them and proved their worth by touching the zenith purely of their own accord.
And that’s why, their stories are inspiration to others.
Being one who is always under scrutiny for her every word or action can be daunting, even if she is the head of the organization. Withstanding such invisible pressure and delivering results requires one to develop a spine of steel. Dr. Ekroop Caur, former MD, BMTC, in June 2017, became the first woman to head such an organization in Karnataka. She relished her time there especially when it involved instances where the ideas initiated by her were sometimes vociferously voted down by many in the team. Yet she came up trumps time and again and proved her winning strategy. She knows that success is despite gender and yet: “Gender matters because you have to constantly do better than others for them to take you seriously, and it is so at all levels of administration… for instance, in the first couple of months of joining, I decided that we will procure diesel following a tender process which had not been the case traditionally. The decision resulted in saving more than Rs. 200 crores per annum for us. Following us, STUs in Maharashtra and Rajasthan too started the tendering process.” Her wholesome 360° perspective to issues proved to be an inspiration to the women employees at BMTC.
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Yet, the life of this certified lawyer turned truck driver at her own Rajhans Transport Company, Ms. Yogita Raghuvanshi is one long fight against societal stereotypes. She wears her battle scars proudly and is gutsy to question the adversities: “Nobody believes that I drive trucks. People see me and assume that I am the driver’s woman. Men at dhabas and elsewhere leer at me. Mechanics on the highway look for a scooty or a car to fix a punctured tyre. But I show them my 10-wheeler,” says she and laughs out loud. Despite her positive and no-nonsense attitude, Ms. Yogita fights for her dignity when factory outlets where she delivers loads do not allow her to use toilets on their premises – one major reason why she has discouraged her daughter from opting for trucking as a career. But she is proud of the highpoint in her trucking career when she undertook the longest haul till date – Bhopal-Kerala-Jammu-Jalandhar-Indore-Bhopal – in less than 10 days. Recognition of her steely strength and determination came in the form of Mahindra Transport Excellence Award in 2013 and a Mahindra truck.
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Being coded as one not ‘fit’ to be talked to because of her gender was a bitter pill that Director – Neha Fleet Solutions, Ms. Poornima Vijay Patil, had to digest: “When our cargo worth Rs. 10 lakhs was stolen, the police inspector refused to register an FIR.” That was when she felt for the first time in her career that she was dealt a gender ‘hand’ and not as a transport professional with brains. Undeterred, she continued to prove herself a tough professional. When a driver revolt started brewing in their organization, she nipped it in the bud and sent a strong message to the drivers that underhanded methods will attract severe repercussions. Simultaneously, she believes that nurturing even hardcore drivers transforms them to become responsible professionals.
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If nurturing is seen as a ‘soft’ skill in the automotive sector, Ms. Rashmi Urdhwareshe, Director, ARAI, went one step ahead and combined it with being a strict leader. As a natural risk taker, she is tough to be convinced: “We were designing a circuit which was going on the laser range finders for military applications. We were racing against time to deliver yet it still needed improvements. My team felt that we should supply it as it is and improve it in the next iteration. But I didn’t want our army to use it and miss a target. So, I took the risk of even losing the project but asked for more time. And later, it resulted in repeat orders from the same client.” Her resilience came through when in 1986, Mrs. Rashmi had to leave her 14-month-old baby at home to go on a UNDP fellowship to Germany for training. It was possible only with the support of her husband and family. And the decision proved to be a game-changer for her, career-wise.
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Marrying into and then joining the family business and learning the business from the scratch, Ms. Pilloo Cyrus Aga, Director, Gold Seal Group, realised and continues to believe that women professionals do not need to fight for equality. She feels women are natural equals and her career is a living proof of it. She is the recipient of Lifetime Achievement Award 2017 from the All India Rubber Industries Association (AIRIA) for her 35-year contribution to the rubber and automotive industries. She says: “Roughly half our workforce is women.” She actively encourages women to believe in their own worth and talent to be able to multi-task and successfully balance home-work lives. She believes, from her own life experience, in being the wind beneath one’s spouse’s wings.
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Establishing Nambirajan Foundation Automobile Academy was her way of paying tribute to her father’s vision. Her training institute coaches under-privileged youth and women in automotive repairing and servicing besides facilitating placements for them in authorized dealership garages locally and abroad. Ms. Vidya Nambirajan, CEO, Paramount Auto Bay Services, believes: “Women technicians perform better, and are more process-oriented. Yet the industry is not that inclusive to adopt them.” Ms. Vidya, a management graduate, learnt the automotive business by assisting technicians in her garage but later: “My existing technicians started quitting as they disliked reporting to a woman, while my customers were doubly suspicious. They were not sure whether I was right doing repairs to their cars.” She says women are scrutinized way more than men but women professionals deliver way above expectations.
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Interestingly, Ms. Saritha Poovanna, GM – Manufacturing Operations & Engineering, Bosch Automotive Electronics India, believes in giving a clear message that ‘a woman professional means business’. Challenges at work can be in any form and she quotes: “People were habituated to the old ways of production. Working with leaner systems and eliminating non-value activities in manufacturing processes by practicing Pull & Leveling in the value streams was different” which according to her was natural for her team to feel apprehension about – a change that she was initiating. Ms. Saritha shares: “I was completely focused on the results and could provide reasons for the actions taken. I was firm on deadlines despite resistance, if any. I was able to improve productivity by 20 per cent in the automotive electronics division in the first six months itself with the help of my team and they realized that I knew what I was doing.” She has ensured that under her leadership processes take precedence and they are implemented well so that it is not people dependent.
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Evolving into better human beings by consciously imbibing finer nuances of life to produce awesome results in all aspects of life is something that only a few people work on constantly. For Ms. Mansi Madan Tripathy, Cluster General Manager, Shell India Markets, her belief in the power of living in the ‘Now’ and her instinct to trust her inner voice have helped her resolve many an issue in her life. And naturally, gender discrimination and stereotypes have never been obstacles for her in her career path or personal life. “When a senior male executive commented that women merely come in for short job hops and are not really in the knowhow of the subject, I questioned the stereotype playing in his head and highlighted that in a professional environment there cannot be a discussion about the gender.” Ms. Mansi deals with glass ceilings using a ‘three quadrant framework’ which is made up of individual, culture and the company: “As an individual, one needs to self-ignite to build capabilities, the company will help the individual build them while the society will take time to change.” Her message – Do not think about what but who you want to be.
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Gender bias in the automotive circles, it seems, is not restricted to an emerging market like ours but is prevalent abroad as well. And with Ms. Janet Lee, General Counsel, VP & Secretary, Ansys Inc., we reach beyond the national boundaries. In her career and her experience, Ms. Janet has found more commonalities than differences in how glass ceilings treat women across the world giving her a deep insight into human psyches: “As a professional, gender bias against you colours your choices as you move through your career. You would feel that you have to try twice as hard to gain visibility, to get the next promotion or to find your voice.” And hence she believes that: “It’s about learning how to advertise your impact on a job.” Right up there trying to nudge the glass ceiling is when a woman professional seeks the top slot in a company: “That’s when the glass ceiling is really tough. And if the decision is made in her favour then I think it is an epic moment.” She shares: “Many executives in the client’s company would be men and they would connect over sports to discuss business and build ‘trusted advisor’ sort of relationships. It surely puts women at a disadvantage. As a woman legal professional in an engineering company, where mostly it is men who are engineers, you are not seen critical to the company.” But she knows that ‘what doesn’t break you, strengthens you’. It not only holds true across geographies but owes itself to the fabulous women of mettle.
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It may be a long way before the automotive industry – both in India and globally too to some extent – learn to tone down the gender bias. In fact, it’s a collective effort – where men do not hold a ‘grudge’ against ambitious women executives and women prove their professional worth in whatever situation they find themselves in. Striding ahead even in the face of ‘subtle’ gender biasness, Ms. Kausalya Nandakumar, CEO, Smart Shift, remembers: “Many times the clients would suggest that my boss should accompany me and I would say I was the one calling the shots.” She adds laughingly, “It was as if I were some kind of an experiment at office. But I brought in changes by initiating casual get-togethers. I did many mistakes but I earned my respect from my team.” Her challenge was – whether ‘to be one of the boys and blend in or be yourself’. Gradually, she found the sweet spot and could handle being herself in all situations. And guess that’s why her team experiences the ‘maternal touch’ of this particular ‘disciplinarian’ who is a ‘creative engineer’ too.
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Experience brings with it a certain level of acceptance in life and solidifies the belief that everything happens for a reason. And in line with it is Ms. Anuradha Nijhawan, Director, Anand Trans Logistics, whose strength of personality lies in accepting things as they are and then moving on. And that strength was put to test when she took a heart-breaking personal tragedy straight on her chin. But it was her faith which made her bounce back almost immediately only to realise that her fair share of business pressures were waiting to test her resilience. She shares: “I have felt overwhelmed in handling issues pertaining to the police or the insurance company after the theft of our cargo a couple of times. And there have been times when I have wondered if I am at the right place. But these are also the times when I have realised that if I am honest and hardworking then God too helps in the form of good people.” A highly passionate professional, her dedication to her work fructified in her winning the title of Lady Transport Personality at Mahindra Transport Excellence Awards 2018. She believes it is her transparent attitude and ‘people-connect’ ability that shone through which helped the judges to select her for the award.
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And the youngest woman personality of the section learnt in the hardest possible way that being the father’s daughter in their family business is not really conducive to climb up the career ladder. Moreover, the 26-year-old Ms. Mukta Shah, Director, Shree Hatkeshwara Translines, experienced firsthand that a traditional transport company like theirs can still put up resistance to the active and professional presence of a woman. And her acid test came when, as a newbie, she was made in-charge of the receivables department in her company. The rest of the team was well aware that there were a few outstanding cases for more than a year. But she proved her worth when she brought in all the receivables and was finally ‘welcomed’ in the company fold. It is to her sole credit that her family business has expanded to the US markets. Winning the runner-up title at the Mahindra Excellence Award for Lady Transport Personality 2017 enabled Ms. Mukta to gain ultimate acceptance into the transport fraternity.
And, Women of Mettle continue to make waves.
We look forward to enthralling you with another year’s worth of women personalities in the automotive and transport sector.