In an interaction with Financial Express Online, Latha Chembrakalam, Head of Technical Centre India, Continental Automotive India, shares her thoughts on women engineers in the R&D space, how Continental is promoting diversity, and why perseverance is a key to be a successful engineer.
How do you see the participation of women engineers in the automotive and R&D space?
In the last few years, there has been a momentous perception change when it comes to women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). Today, the number of junior women engineers joining is almost equivalent to the number of male engineers in the same profile in most of the companies. Even at the senior and mid-levels, the number of women professionals are progressively on the rise. Although the automobile and the R&D industry is mostly dominated by males but today, many women engineers have started entering this field.
With automotive companies marching towards becoming more gender diverse, women have started invading territories that were earlier dominated by men in this field.
Over the years, diversity and inclusion in the automotive industry has become increasingly important and companies are working towards building an equitable workplace. Companies are now pushing women employees to hold leadership roles in the organisations. The increased use of software in the automotive industry is further attracting more women engineers in this field.
However, there is certainly a need for more participation by women to drive equity, especially since the percentage of women engaging in automotive R&D is roughly 18% at the middle-management level, even though it is 30% at the base level.
What according to you can be done to improve and make the engineering stream to further participation of women?
The whole change must start from the mindset of the society where we need to encourage women to get educated in the STEM fields and provide an ecosystem where they can perform.
Therefore, the government needs to introduce various schemes to encourage young girls to opt for engineering. With the introduction of STEM subjects at school, developing spatial intelligence early and mentorship programs for young girls who are interested in engineering can help beat the societal and gender biases in this industry.
To motivate more women to participate, companies should be a little more flexible and introduce recruitment campaigns targeting women on a longer career break. They can further help them by giving them opportunities to upskill, especially when they are back from short breaks.
The self-limiting beliefs further act as a big obstruction in the career path for many women. Having good role models as well as women mentors can help overcome this issue.
What steps are you taking to promote cultural and gender diversity in your organisation?
We believe in the power of diversity to ensure a healthy work environment and diversity of thought is a big element in our success. Continental aims to inspire and nurture women and girls to better understand the industry and consider engineering as a career path. We are also committed to enhance the vocational skills of women in the organisation and help them grow faster, while also reducing gender disparity. In the last two years, we have introduced several initiatives like Launch–Pad, We-Lead, Unnati and Women for Manufacturing to empower women across various levels and encourage their growth and participation in the R&D as well as manufacturing sectors.
Through our Launch-Pad initiative, we aim to bring back women who went on a career break due to maternity leaves and post marriage transfers among others.
The We-Lead initiative aims to groom the women leaders in the organisation. This program aims to develop women leaders across India by instilling confidence in them to pursue their professional and personal aspirations.
Through our Women for Manufacturing initiative, we try to inspire, educate, and employ women from challenging socio-economic backgrounds and help them secure jobs on the shop floor across manufacturing plants.
Unnati is a program in the R&D space to groom our young leaders through group coaching and equipping them with different leadership and other skills required for the career journey.
These initiatives are in line with Continental’s aim to increase the percentage of women in the first two management levels worldwide to 25 percent by 2025.
What according to you is the reason that India produces one of the highest number of engineers?
One of the main reasons is the strong emphasis on education in the Indian culture. Engineering has been one of the most preferred courses as it is also considered vital for economic growth.
If you dig deeper into the past, back when India gained independence, there was a huge requirement of Engineers for constructing dams, bridges, roads, power stations etc which aroused people’s interest in this field. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was the chief architect behind the 7 IIT’s to bridge the gap between demand and supply. The IIT success stories further motivated the Indian youth to opt for engineering stream.
India is a developing economy with a relatively younger population. The country is also a hub for some of the renowned and prestigious institutions and has the largest number of engineering institutes in the world. Data from 2021 shows that India produces about fifteen lakh engineering graduates yearly. Interestingly, compared to the rest of the world, in India, nearly 43% of the total graduates in STEM are women.
Additionally, there a large number of engineering colleges and universities in India that gives students good opportunity to pursue their interests. Furthermore, the demand for engineers in India is high due to the country’s rapidly growing economy and infrastructure development. This shift towards engineering was further fuelled by the IT wave in India.
Some industry leaders say that most engineering students need to be upskilled or trained before they are able to understand practical application of their learnings?
Many studies says that only less than 10% of the fresh graduates are industry ready. As technology evolves rapidly, staying relevant in the current engineering job environment requires upskilling. Today, production methods and operating models are constantly changing, with automation leading to decentralisation of production and operations. To enhance employability, it is essential to have knowledge of different technologies and skills. Many of our academic curriculums are outdated and the quality of teaching staff also suffered due to the high rise of academic institutions. In many institutions the student faculty ratio is also very poor.
Advanced technologies such as AI, ML, Augmented Reality, and Blockchain are being incorporated across sectors. Consequently, there is a high demand for engineers skilled in these latest technologies. Therefore, it is crucial to provide practical training to students, equipping them with hands-on knowledge.
To bridge the skill gap and prepare students with practical knowledge, companies can actively collaborate with academic institutions.
Lastly, can you share a message for young students who plan to take up engineering stream and any suggestions on what streams they should focus on?
If you are considering a career in engineering, I would encourage you to persevere! There are no shortcuts when it comes to hard work. Success in this field requires dedication and determination. It is important not to limit yourself, especially as women have been breaking barriers and shattering glass ceilings.
If you decide to pursue engineering, give it your all and believe me, your efforts will pay off. Engineering provides a strong educational foundation unlike any other course and opens up numerous career opportunities. Moreover, engineers can shape a world that has never been seen before.
Currently, the top branches of engineering in terms of the number of undergraduates are IT, Electronics and Communication, Computer Science, Mechanical, and Civil engineering. Additionally, emerging fields such as Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, Robotics Engineering, Solar Engineering, Wind Energy Engineering, Nanotechnology, and Biochemical Engineering are gaining popularity.
However, the choice of engineering stream should primarily depend on your personal interest and passion. It is important to consider all the available options before taking a decision. It is also important to focus on continuous learning and also keep the breadth and depth of knowledge.
