Unwavering faith in oneself guarantees success

Q. Tell us about your role and job profile at the current company.

I have been associated with Schmersal India Pvt Ltd., for the past six years. I joined in the year 2014, as a Sales-support Engineer and was offered a role in Marketing in the year 2015. Since then, I have been handling marketing-related activities single-handedly, which involves planning, advertising, public relations, event organization, participation in exhibitions, liaising with vendors, website management, lead generation, content writing, managing marketing budget, etc.

To be successful, women must have goals, be clear about what they want from life, and about how far they want to take their professional career. Then, they need to be determined and focused to accomplish their vision.

Q. What made you choose a career in the safety/automation industry?

I was really excited to be a part of this industry since the very beginning. I found the safety/automation industry to be very rewarding. Automation in itself is very revolutionary, it has replaced life risking jobs with robots, brought the world closer. Today, we are in an era of Industry 4.0 and IIoT. And nothing can beat the satisfaction of creating a safe working environment—enabling employees to focus on work without any concerns about safety, while ensuring peace of mind for families back at home.

Q. Did you face any difficulty in coping in the industry (due to lesser women employees)? If yes, then please share anecdotes and your experiences.

No, as such I did not face any issue. Having studied in convent school and with the kind of upbringing I had, it did not matter really. However, in my previous jobs I was the only female employee, which would feel a bit overwhelming and empowering at the same time. Also, I had complete belief in my abilities, commitment and hard work.

One fact that I would like to mention is, in Schmersal German, 34% of the employees are women, which is still a decent ratio as compared to the market and I am very proud of it. Schmersal India too, is following the footsteps of Schmersal Germany and taking conscious efforts to catch up with them in terms of increased women employee percentage.

Q. In your opinion, why only few women manage to climb the seniority ladder? What are the key barriers affecting career progression of women?

Indeed, it is a bitter truth that only few women manage to climb the seniority ladder. In my opinion, particularly in India, key barriers affecting career progression of women are manifold: societal conditioning, limited access to rights or enough opportunities at the workplace, marriage and relocation to a new place, dearth of family support, and even self-doubt. With the societal conditioning, with time, many women in India, choose family over their professional career, maybe because they are wired like that by their families and society, since their childhood.

Q. What initiatives can we take to encourage more women to join the industry.

• Organize awareness campaigns, strong mentorship programs, about the industry at the education level.
• Create and adopt a flexible and an inclusive culture for women
• Support and promote women employees and create role models in the organization, and ‘Lead by an example.’
• Design mechanisms to make the women aware of their hidden potential and strength and help them unleash it.

Q. What advice would you give to women to be successful in the industry?

Have an unwavering faith in yourself, believe that you are meant for greater things in life, and seek advice /support from anybody that you can confide in – your mentor, your guide or any experienced professional and espouse a strong will to success.

Break the barriers of self-doubt and traditional conditioning. Have goals, be highly clear about what you want from life, about how far you want to take your professional career, and be determined and focused to accomplish it. At the same time, strike a right work-life balance, seek support from your family, which plays a very vital role, the credit of the success of any woman goes to her own strong will and strong family support.

Change – Rise – Conquer!