Industrial Automation celebrates the achievements of women in the tech industry creating a more inclusive and diverse environment.

The involvement of women in technology has been steadily increasing over the years, challenging traditional gender norms and breaking into what were once predominantly male-dominated fields. This shift is not just limited to storming male bastions but is also about creating more inclusive and diverse environments in the tech industry.

This year, 17 women from diverse fields within the STEM ecosystem were shortlisted for this feature in the Q&A format. While the full interviews are featured in this book, the following paragraphs give an idea of the range of issues discussed by these women.

Each lady had a different inspiration or motivation for joining a particular stream, and a few preferred academics. “My grandparents and parents retired as academics and I had a front row seat observing the pros and cons of the teaching profession. While at that age I never understood what drove them, I also saw the admiration and respect they received from countless students across generations. However, as all rebel children at that age, I had decided I would never get into academics and aspired to make my career in the industry. But then as destiny would have it, I was drawn into academics partly by circumstances, majorly due to my genetic makeup and possibly due to my subconscious desire to excel and prove myself in the profession loved by my parents,” says Dr Alka Mahajan, Dean, Mukesh Patel School of Technology Management & Engineering (MPSTME).

Dr Jayalekshmi Madhu Nair, Principal, Vivekanand Education Society's Institute of Technology, however, had a different motivation to join academics. “During my childhood, I used to teach my younger sister, who was four years younger to me, since my working mother could not devote time to helping her in studies. I used to love to teach her and felt proud, since I felt I was able to do what my teachers were doing in my school. Perhaps with that childhood experience, I developed a liking for teaching. During my PG student days, the appreciation I got from my teachers and classmates during my seminar presentations boosted my confidence and cemented my liking. This led me to search for only teaching jobs when I relocated to Mumbai after my PG studies, she says.

“As educators, we serve as facilitators of learning. Success in this role hinges upon our ability to collaborate effectively with colleagues, fostering an environment of idea exchange and mutual support. Our primary objective is to inspire students and establish a structured, safe space for learning. Here, students are encouraged to experiment, make mistakes, and continually improve without fear of judgment. By prioritising collaboration and creating a supportive learning environment, we empower students to thrive and reach their full potential,” says Ana Stefanova, Education & Research Division Director, ISA USA.

Not just academics

But a few others took a more adventurous route by venturing out of their comfort zone. “My career began as a Management Trainee at Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Limited’s (IPCL) gas cracker complex at Nagothane in Maharashtra in May 1988, where I joined knowing only English and Tamil. I was the only lady engineer amongst the 71 management trainees! It was a Greenfield petrochemical project. I was involved in establishing the repair shop for instrumentation, installation and commissioning of analysers, etc. Gradually, along with the progression in my professional career, I also learned Hindi and Marathi to effectively communicate with the workforce. In 1996, I was given the opportunity to lead the Instruments Maintenance Team of the MEG plant of IPCL and with dedicated approach improved the reliability and addressed obsolescence issues,” says PV Rukmani, Sr General Manager, IPCL & Reliance Industries Limited.

The adventure was not just in the choice of career. How do women in technology – a male dominated field – ensure their voice is heard and valued in decision-making processes? “In the mid-1990s when I joined as a fresher in the process industry, the ratio of female to male was weighed heavily in favour of men, and working in that environment was a challenge. I had to overcome this challenge through my knowledge, hard work, extra efforts and support from the management,” says Ritu Agarwal, Deputy General Manager Project Management, Projects and Development India Limited.

“Being in a profession relatively dominated by males is not always easy,” says

Priyanka Kaul, Senior Instrumentation Engineer, Technip Energies. “But with ambition, mutual respect, hard work, and empowering collaborations, we are all contributing to a brighter future for women in engineering. What is important is that we make the voices of women heard and valued in decision-making and listen to the great ideas that our female colleagues have to offer. There might be instances where you have to ensure your voice is heard. The only way to achieve that is through continuous learning and by believing in your abilities. In my opinion, there shouldn’t be differentiation between women and men in engineering. To be a successful engineer, you should possess the same skills: technical, analytical, interpersonal, and organisational,” she emphasises.

Venturing into manufacturing

Then there are also those who went on to launch their own enterprise and stepped into the manufacturing world. “I did Instrumentation and Control engineering from College of Engineering, Pune. I was fascinated by software as well as automation and control. Combining the two, I decided to pursue a career in industrial automation software. I worked for Alfa Laval and KPIT before starting Ascent Informatics in 2000. The experience has been very interesting, but there were a lot of challenges too. Ascent Informatics was started as a captive unit of a German company to fulfill their requirements of industrial automation software. This is not an easy field as one has to integrate with various types of hardware, the software is expected to be very reliable, robust and with high performance. Thus, one has to deal with many technological challenges on a daily basis. But I got good exposure to advanced systems in Europe and USA and that broadened my outlook,” says Sujata Tilak, Founder & Managing Director, Ascent Intellimation.

“I have spent more than two decades in industrial automation on the OT side and worked on various verticals in the Manufacturing industry and in different roles enabling digitisation on the OT side. I was always fascinated about the IT side of the industry and was very intrigued in exploring the IT world, but from a domain perspective. I wanted to see how the experience I have gained in the OT world will help the IT side of the industry. Manufacturing and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is an area where the OT and IT world will merge more and more each day and is currently undergoing major transformation,” says Rajalakshmi Hegde, Sr Director – Product Engineering: Manufacturing, LTIMindtree. “My present role at LTIMindtree as a Sr Director – Product Engineering: Manufacturing is to focus on aspects of Manufacturing and IIoT from IT, and add my expertise and experience from OT to offer the right solution to the client,” she adds.

Globe trotting and serious off-roading

Many women, when it comes to work, prefer the comforts of a job that is close to their home, sacrificing opportunities for growth. But not everyone – some like to explore the world. “I have been involved in national and international projects of significant importance and have been travelling across the world exploring my professional potential whether it is Tehran or Muscat or South Korea in addition to a multitude of local travels. I had the privilege to climb atop a completely assembled Offshore Well Platform during my training days. I was once involved in data collection and review of revamping and reengineering Skids in the scorching hot sun at a site in the Middle East. I was also involved in data integration of the massive existing refinery control system and newly commissioned power plant control system wherein the existing control system was supplemented with required hardware and software to have an integrated control system for the entire plant operation. We also have implemented Fieldbus in one of our plants and have harnessed wireless technology for data transfer from remote intake systems,” says Latha D S, General Manager, Tata Consulting Engineers Limited.

In rare instances, you venture into a domain that is exclusively a male preserve – off-road equipment and heavy machinery, where not many women would venture. But then, there are exceptions, as always. Have you faced any specific challenges as a woman in your industry, and how did you navigate them? “Oh, yes. There were multiple instances; one such instance was the introduction of next gen technology in the off-highway industry. This required a lot of background work which involved competitive study, acceptance by customers, benchmarking the features, redesigning of the mechanical electronic architecture of the vehicle, etc. But the challenge was to get conviction and acceptance from internal stakeholders, which was difficult to adapt in a mechanical vehicle,” says Banoo Jakkirriaah, Engineering Manager, Caterpillar India Private Ltd. “Sometimes even I used to think that no one believed in my capability, but I paused and reflected and understood that it was due to lack of knowledge. The same was overcome by sharing knowledge through audio visuals, data and facts, and making every one understand the value proposition and disruption it can bring in the off-highway industry, which later had a buy-in across the organisation,” she reminisces.

Exploring space and beyond

Every job comes with its share of risks and responsibilities along with the fun moments. But imagine when your job has a dimension that gets an entire nation’s attention and causes anxious moments? This is true in case of Dr S Geetha, Outstanding Scientist, Former Programme Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre. “Space exploration and launching of satellites for various purposes are costly exercises. Hence, redundancy management and zero defect policy are implemented in all domains. Except for high thrust propulsion systems, wherein redundancy management is not possible, either dual or triple modular redundancy is deployed – coupled with failsafe algorithms. In proposed missions with humans, quadruple redundancy will be used. Another area where we concentrate is the adherence of quality control in each phase of the project. All sub-systems undergo the policy of ‘test as you fly, fly as you test and demonstrate margins’. The mission critical components and computers are MIL certified devices. ‘Failure Modes, Effects, and Criticality Analysis’ (FMECA) is introduced in the project life cycle. Thorough reviews and risk analysis is crucial and over the years ISRO has developed protocols and ‘best practices’ for failsafe missions are sacrosanct, followed scrupulously,” explains Dr Geeta.

Rising up the career ladder

In an era characterised by job hopping, many have stayed in the company they joined after graduation and risen to the top. So how does that feel? “I started off my career post college with a company in the valve industry and then there was no looking back. I enjoyed the journey where I started off as an application engineer and now, handling Europe region – Projects,” says Sonal Singh, Asst Manager Europe – Projects, Valmet India Pvt Ltd. “Its learning curve which shaped me from an introvert into a confident lady with the knowledge I gained from my mentor and challenges I faced while winning orders for my company. It's an exciting role and we have new challenges with more demanding roles,” she states.

Work-life balance

For a working woman, the elephant in the room is the work-life balance. How do these women balance professional responsibilities with personal life? “I think maintaining a balance between professional duties and personal life is really important for overall well-being and success. My organisation Burns & McDonnell India has been a great contributor to help work life balance though flexi work policies. Also, I prioritise tasks based on their urgency and importance, allowing me to complete my professional responsibilities efficiently and make time for personal commitments. Communication with colleagues about my availability and personal commitments is vital, as is prioritising self-care through discipline, exercise, and adequate rest,” says Khanjari D Kumbhar, General Manager, Burns & McDonnell Engineering India Private Limited. “This approach ensures I can excel in both spheres with mindfulness and self-awareness.I will want to mention here the unwavering support I receive from my husband, Deepakkumar Kumbhar which contributes to a great extent to help me balance these responsibilities,” she adds.

“Professional and personal skills are not mutually exclusive in many areas. Multitasking and people management are natural requirements on both fronts and interestingly, this helps in balancing both our lives. Effective time management and prioritising key activities help us to strike a balance,” says Mahalakshmi Ramesh Kumar, Additional General Manager & Deputy Head – Customer Service Division, Yokogawa India Limited. “I like keeping my personal and professional life separate and make conscious efforts to prevent workplace stress from trickling over. I believe that a healthy personal life aids in professional success and vice versa. I enjoy spending time on my interests like reading, cooking, and spending time with loved ones, and I bring along the same commitment and passion to my work. My sense of purpose and a strong support system gives me the confidence to balance both worlds with ease,” she asserts.

“Whenever there is a requirement to give priority to office responsibilities, I explain those to my close family members well so that they can understand my position and they could support and help me by taking care of them in my absence. At the same time, I was performing my professional duties very well with a sense of responsibility, ownership and with a sense of belonging towards the organisation. On the other hand, the management also considered my need when the priority was required to be given toward my family responsibilities. So I am always thankful to all my supporters in the profession as well as in the family,” says Sonal Bhatawadekar, Director, STPI-Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

A word of advice

What do the women featured here have to say to those aspiring to leadership positions or entrepreneurship? What would be their advice? “My advice to aspiring women leaders is to embrace their unique strengths, cultivate a strong support network, and never underestimate the value of continuous learning. Confidence, resilience, and a commitment to lifelong learning are essential elements that can empower women to thrive in leadership positions and entrepreneurship,” says Manisha Jain, Senior Manager (Instrumentation & Control Engineering), Linde Engineering India Private Limited. “In conclusion, my 28-year journey in engineering has been marked by a passion for new learnings, a commitment to teamwork, and a dedication to continuous improvement. As I look forward to the future, I am excited about the opportunities to contribute further to the evolution of industrial automation and inspire the next generation of engineering leaders,” explains Manisha.

“Based on my experience and journey, I would suggest a few points for my women colleagues to practice and follow for achieving leadership roles,” says Shalini Verma, CGM & HOD- Project Engineering Management, Engineers India Limited. These include:

1. Believe in yourself: Have confidence in your abilities and don’t be afraid to take risks.

2. Find a mentor: Look for someone who can guide you and provide you with valuable insights and advice.

3. Network: Build relationships with other professionals in your industry and attend networking events to expand your reach.

4. Stay informed: Stay up‐to‐date with the latest trends and developments in your industry to stay ahead of the curve.

5. Be resilient: Don’t let setbacks discourage you. Learn from your mistakes and keep pushing forward.

6. Be authentic: Be true to yourself and your values. Authenticity is key to building trust and credibility with others.