‘As a country we have made a lot of progress towards empowering women’
Published on : Monday 30-11--0001
Seema Chopra, Global Technical Leader
Data Analytics & Artificial Intelligence at Boeing Research and Technology, India. This interview is part of a series conducted by Industrial Automation on the occasion of the International Women’s Day 2019, to celebrate the success of women entrepreneurs and achievers in the industrial automation domain.
Do workplaces of today provide equal opportunity in the true sense gender wise?
Opportunities are equal and improving with increased awareness and higher levels of management commitment now than ever before, and this is the reason we see many women at entry level. But there are areas where Industry has a lot to cover – sensitisation, awareness and removing unconscious bias at all levels. Our policies and work environment are skewed and male-centric, the key reason being there are very few women at the top to make or reform these polices and decisions.
Do women in general expect to be treated differently or are they ready for any challenge?
Women do not want to be treated differently because they perform at par, if not better, than men at the workplace. There need to be sensitisation of their circumstances, work-life balance and safety requirements, which should be addressed accordingly to provide a gender agnostic and effective workplace. This is not just beneficial to the women, but for the organisation as well.
For a woman, is a career in engineering more demanding than other streams?
Not really – actually it is easier than a job that requires physical labour, strict timings like in the manufacturing sector or no flexi hours like banking sector and even teaching jobs. With the right infrastructure and work environment, women can reach the greatest heights in a STEM career.
Many successful career women have on record stated that often they have shied away from challenges and regretted later. What is your experience?
As senior women take on the challenges and succeed, they are known as crisis experts. Seema is one of those rare women who not only landed large corporate jobs in companies like GE and Boeing, but became a strong technical person in the field of Artificial Intelligence. She also got recognised as a part of Boeing Technical Fellowship and became the first ‘Associate Technical Fellow’ (ATF) for Artificial Intelligence.
I think it is alright and natural to step back or go slow with the career when the family or biological priorities need to be attended to, so refusing challenges to accommodate something more important is not a thing one should regret. But bouncing back, focusing and pacing the trajectory is key to success after the conscious slowdown rather than shying away from challenges.
How does India compare, in your view, with other developed countries in this respect?
There is incredible women talent in India especially for those pursuing and/or interested in STEM career. As a country we have made a lot of progress towards empowering women and sectorial quotas, but are still behind in addressing safety, assurance and policies conducive for a women to catapult herself to the top.
What would be your message to young women entering the corporate world?
Dream big and believe in yourself. You are never too young or too old to dream big. Take calculated risks and you’ll be surprised where you end up. Aim for the mountains, enjoy the journey thoroughly well and then getting to the finish line is only a feather in the cap. Every time, I took a career risk, it not only resulted in career advancement, but it helped me discover new things about myself.
Would you like to share anything which is close to your heart?
The ATF experience, the many innovations/patents and awards in my area of expertise at the President and CEO level; University collaborations to enable next gen STEM aspirants; SWE, GHCI and other forum representations to motivate and enable other aspiring women are some of the things I cherish a lot.
I am a mother of two kids, the big achievement as a mother for me is when my son Tanush got selected for National level Spell Bee and my elder son, Aniket nominated as Junior Scientist in his school. These are close to my heart and give me immense satisfaction that my kids are following me and I want them to grow much above me.
(Seema Chopra is working as Global Technical Leader – Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence at Boeing Research and Technology, India. She is responsible for developing next generation Airplane Health Management technologies using real time streaming airline data & big data platforms. Prior to this role, she was with GE as a PHM (Prognostic Health Management) Technical Leader and was involved in design and developing prognostic health management technologies to enable strategic growth for Condition Based Maintenance for Gas turbines. Seema earned her doctorate degree in Control Engineering from IIT Roorkee, India. Seema is certified Black Belt – DFSS Lean Six Sigma and has 30+ publications in various International/National journals & conferences, 8 Technical Reports and 8 filed patents and received several awards for leadership and technical expertise including PHM Expertise Award from President & CEO, GE Power Gen Services and GE Impact award 2012 from CEO of GE, for volunteering on Mid-Day meal.)