Living in a patriarchal society comes with its own challenges
Published on : Tuesday 08-03-2022
Akanksha Sharma, Project Manager (MES solutions), Tata Consultancy Services.
What was the inspiration that prompted you to pursue this career path?
As I completed my engineering in electronics and communication, I always wanted to continue my career in the same field. Fortunately, I had an opportunity to work in controller programming and visualisation.
I always had a keen interest in processes and automation. I had defined a career path since the beginning and hence I decided to join the institute where I could learn more about controller programming and visualisation.
After learning a lot about the process industries in this field, it attracted me to explore more every day. My overall curiosity to know more about end to end solutions has made me grow in this career path. I am still keen to learn about new processes and will never get tired of it.
Can you recall your early days – say the first few days at work – and anything you would like to mention about that?
The early days of my work were quite exciting and lively. We were a great team. Although women in the automation industry were still a big taboo. Most girls who had worked in my department left the position due to some reason or other. One of my seniors mentioned this point as well. I remember vividly, my senior said, “Girls in this sector do not last for more than three months”. But I have taken all the feedback positively. My mentor always told me that to tackle any issue at the workplace one should adhere to 3 key points:
Ask for clarification if you are confused, do not pass the blame, and keep learning.
I improved myself by implementing their feedback. I sustained myself in that company for one good year and still have a great bond with my team.
For a woman, it is a matter of finding the right balance between the jobs and managing the home – how do you manage this?
The generation we are living in does not just want a steady salary, and secure home but we want a fulfilling life too. Living in a patriarchal society comes with its own challenges irrespective of whether you are a working woman or a housewife.
Yes! Working women deal with a lot of challenges and have ultimate struggles for work-life balance. However, we need to value growth, opportunities, adventures, and a great lifestyle.
Achievement is if you are able to pull this off without failing your professional commitments. Working women in corporations have always been steps ahead in every sphere. It is to be noted that a pay check gets a woman all of the above, but being a good mother, good wife and daughter takes even more. But the biggest achievement is self-worth. Women are capable of being great mothers and exceptional leaders. Realising our potential is the most critical thing we all can work on.
What challenges (or privileges) do women stereotypically face, based on their gender?
I never faced any challenges professionally at any organisation. I was lucky enough to have a couple of excellent male mentors. All the managers were quite supportive and encouraging. But the STEM sector is still reluctant to have women in leadership positions except for a few organisations.
In corporate offices or even at factories, women are less likely to be asked for opinions on technical issues.
Furthermore, social conditioning and expectation have their own impacts. If you are married then the bar is set high by societal norms. As a woman, you need to constantly prove your intelligence as well as femininity when it comes to personal life.
Have you ever missed a career opportunity or promotion due to gender?
Fortunately, not many. I have been blessed with some amazing mentors throughout my professional life. But as we all know during the pandemic our family was the first priority, I had to come back from the USA to take care of my family members.
I think Indian society still puts a lot of pressure when it comes to taking care of family. It is by default a woman’s job and you cannot be an ‘Ideal Woman’ if you do not put your family first.
The composition of our society imposes unreal expectations on women. From proving their mettle to justify their virtue, everything comes down to obeying principles governed by society rather than navigating our career and taking decisions.
Our workplaces today are more sensitive to gender issues than say, a decade ago?
Indeed. The workplace has changed for the better, and companies take gender issues quite seriously. Women are encouraged to move up the corporate ladder. Businesses are coming up with innovative policies like flexible working hours, extended maternity leave, in-house childcare, etc., that cater to moms-to-be and women resuming work after pregnancy.
Women are well-represented in sectors that are most heavily hit by the pandemic, such as hospitality and food services, further exacerbating the gender gap.
Economic downturns not only disproportionately affect women but also push gender equality topics to new levels. I think the revolutionary wave through social media has reflected well for the betterment of womanhood.
As we have witnessed women are raising their voice against discrimination based on their race, ethnicity, religion, class, ability, sexual orientation, and other characteristic identifiers. There has been considerable focus on the number of women on boards and, to a lesser extent, in executive positions. We are moving towards a better world and better choices.
Which women's 'cause' needs to be challenged and changed, first?
Gender inequality in India is a harsh reality that is solely caused by social norms. This causes an impact on the sex ratio, women's choices, their educational attainment, and even the economic conditions too. Working women should be given equal opportunities not only by corporations but also by their family members.
I feel somewhere the social attitude, customs and poor beliefs have an equal impact that reflects into the indirect imposition of responsibilities. These responsibilities such as taking care of children, cooking, making a grocery list, etc., need to be shared by the couple and should not be considered as a sole duty of a woman. I had to struggle a bit to navigate my career while meeting my in-law's expectations.
I feel the results of equality will be seen only when the practices are implemented. Family members should encourage their daughters, wives, sisters, and even daughters-in-law to make their individual decisions about their careers without being conditional.
Are there areas at work that still restrict women when it comes to leadership roles?
Although women are conquering most sectors, I still feel STEM fields are dominated by men in India. It is a general stereotype that women are not good at math. They might face casual sexism while working in that particular sector.
Thankfully there are also a few countries in the world where women aren’t underrepresented in STEM fields anymore.
I also feel that politics and our cabinet need more women representatives. We have witnessed the way Jacinda Ardern, the Prime Minister of New Zealand handled the pandemic cases and made the headlines during the lockdown.
The more freedom you give people to choose to do what they want, and the less restricted they are by societal norms, the more fruitful are the results.
What women-related myths or taboos need to be broken?
I feel girls' self-esteem, ambition and expectations are the first victims of gender stereotypes.
We need to eradicate clichés and their associated behaviours. Equal treatment should be a priority for any society and should begin in schools. Educators need to take initiatives advocating introducing female entrepreneurs and role models into the classroom as a first step.
A gender stereotype is always harmful since it limits the capacity of women to develop their personal attributes or professional skills and to make decisions about their lives and plans. Gender stereotypes affect girls around the world and are encouraged by society at large, from parents to teachers.
I strongly believe the seed of stereotypes is sown in education, and education is where our solution lies. Gender-neutral education should be given by teachers as well as parents.
Do you have a mentor or a role model? If yes, you may state briefly how it inspired you.
There are many but I am truly inspired by Ratan Tata. He is one of the most enigmatic business tycoons in India. Shri Ratan Tata has contributed so much for human welfare not only in India but across the globe. His hard work and politeness at this age is simply mesmerising. I mean which billionaire acts like this too often?
We cannot compare Ratan Sir to any other billionaire, as he is ludicrously rarer and far more valuable to humanity and it's my honour working with Tata group.
What would be your message to the youth who are just starting their career?
There is no doubt that it's a tough world, and it's getting tougher. Probably the biggest impact you can have on your happiness and success in life depends on how you spend your time learning. Make learning your top priority. Your life depends on the choices you make now in your youth and the results will be shown in the future. What you do today will have an impact for a lifetime.
You cannot have overnight success. You need to be patient and put your 100% into any kind of work that you choose to do in life. Hard work always pays off. Do not hesitate to work more when you are young because it leaves you with life experiences.
Describe yourself or your aspirations, dreams in 3 words.
Straightforward, Focused and Ambitious.
Akanksha Sharma is an accomplished Assistant Consultant (MES) with Tata Consultancy Services, Noida. She manages and leads MES projects and learns new things every day. After completing her engineering degree in Electronics and Communication from Uttar Pradesh Technical University, Lucknow, Akanksha began her career as a SCADA developer with Industrial Automation. As a keen learner and curious to explore, she turned her passion for learning into an obsession and started exploring various domains of SCADA development and PLC programming, including healthcare, packaging, chemical industry, and others for a few years. In continuation of learning Akanksha enrolled for M.Tech in Data Science from BITS, Pilani to add analytics flavour to her career.