My rendezvous with The New Indian Express
Link to article: http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/c/1759860
Link to The New Indian Express full epaper: http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/171072/Indulge-Bangalore/11-October-2013#dual/12/2
Give us a little brief about yourself both professional and personal.
“From this
simplest necessity to the highest religious abstraction, from the wheel to the
skyscraper, everything we are and we have comes from a single attribute of man
-the function of his reasoning mind.”
Link to article: http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/c/1759860
Link to The New Indian Express full epaper: http://epaper.newindianexpress.com/171072/Indulge-Bangalore/11-October-2013#dual/12/2
Give us a little brief about yourself both professional and personal.
I go by Archana Sundareshan…
Professionally I am an engineer in the Senior
Management leading Research and Development of Mobile Technology.
Personally it has been intrinsic in me to look at life
aesthetically and my reasoning mind embarking on a philosophical inquiry that augments
my thought process, seeks purpose to life. Mine is a journey leading towards
self-discovery and my relationship with the world around me.
My personal and professional sides can be perceptively
seen as various roles I play that enable me to learn and grow. My personal life
and professional life also are my informed choices of profound relationships I
engage in with fellow travellers/ teachers/ companions/ inspirations/ support
systems/ like-minded or complimenting people who facilitate my progression.
I take pride in the various roles I play as a citizen
of India, a daughter, a wife, a mother, a daughter-in-law, a friend, an
engineer, a student and the list goes on…In role playing, living the moral
values exhibiting strength of character is primordial for me as it unobstructs
intellect expanding the capacity of our senses being more open to the flow of
life thereby truly empowering us.
- What got you interested in engineering?
My need to stay connected to people and information
anytime and anywhere sowed the seeds of a career in engineering during my
teenage.
Engineering to me is not only about solving worldly
connectivity problems but I do believe in “Inner engineering” which is about
progressive transformation towards a better self through studies, introspection
and retrospection. At crossroads of life and through the abyss of probability
of chance, when we are hit with perennial questions, applying gained wisdom --
aka-- ENGINEERING is what makes us proud owners of the real estate viz
"Inhabited Heaven" that can be bought only through the currency
"Intellect".
As an engineer, I get my grey cells every day in the
act of shrinking this blue planet with power of communications by bringing
products of desire produced working with a team of visionaries and strong
reasoning minds, that enables everyone around the globe to connect to anyone or
anything that matter to them the most from anywhere.
I wake up every morning; get myself to work in order
to bring designs to life what people call today Mobile Technology. At the end
of a working day, I return home with a sense of achievement empowering people.
- Did you feel outnumbered as a woman when you attended college?
- The issue of sexism, in the field and in the world at large, is
a huge ball of worms. Why are there relatively few women in technology, at
least the forefront?
- Do you think there is a slow rise in women being part of both
technical and non-technical aspects of work?
Note: I have combined above two questions because my
answer to both these is linked.
Outnumbered by guys in an Information Technology
discipline at Engineering college or the fact that there are fewer women in
technology than men in the forefront itself is not a problem in my view. We
need to ask if women have equal opportunities as men to pursue engineering if
they want to or see no fair recognition when they work their way duly towards
getting to the forefront in the technological domain. To put it in simplistic
terms, we need to ask if women are empowered to live their choices be it in the
field of engineering or arts or commerce or as a home maker etc. What are the
blockers or issues we have today that don’t let a woman live their informed
choices?
It is worth mentioning that there is a rise in women
empowerment across the spectrum of fields, that is appreciable and a pride but
we still have work to do in this area. Women empowerment needs inclusive growth
in
·
Provisioning education opportunities to every child both in
scholastic and co-scholastic subjects. This opportunity should not just be “a fair
chance” but a promise we citizens need to make towards the future citizens of
our country. This would even require a “Educational revolution” focusing on the
mission to completion.
·
Provisioning equal opportunities for career in any named field
·
Work towards a healthy society that measures/values the success of
an individual using the barometer of happiness/peace of mind achieved through
universally moral virtues than that measured through the money mechanics.
·
Also build an environment
that is not laying for us one race after another but encouraging and
appreciating organic progression of a hardworking individual.
- You say that intellect has no gender. Yet women are constantly
undermined in fields like science, technology and engineering. You
comments on that.>
Having said this, it is also worth mentioning that there
is no place for laziness or parasites. We cannot blame someone else for our own
lack of conviction to work our way through fields of science or technology or
any other which is male dominated today numerically. Woman or Man, one need to
be strong willed, work hard and wholeheartedly through rational engagement. Intellect
has no gender. It just seeks expression that evokes a sense of achievement. I'd
encourage everyone irrespective of the gender to walk down the road to
enlightenment and at heart be an ENGINEER to make your own vehicle that takes
you to places you want to go...Pursuit of excellence is key and yet it is
important to stay detached towards results for mental equilibrium. One need to
take full responsibility for one’s choices and where one reaches in the journey
of life for we are a reflection of our work.
To summarize, yes we have come a long way with respect
to women empowerment and we still have a long way to go, but I am positive we
will.
- Elaborate on what it is like to a female leader in this mostly
male-dominated field.
Like I shared before, Intellect has no gender and this
has been my personal experience too. If we are good at what we do, irrespective
of gender we rise. Good work gets its due recognition. But let me tell you that
being “Good” at work is a lot of hard work.
For example in my role as a leader, I have seen with
my experience it is necessary to have a vision, communicate effectively that
vision to the team in such a way that it is credible and believable to the team
thereby engaging them rationally. It is also highly important to “Walk the
talk”, role modelling and working with them not with a patriarchal perspective
but as one team at ground zero building the products of desire run by
state-of-the-art technology we create. Last but not the least, not a moment we
forget that we are at the end of day humans and the relationships we have at
workplace is laid on the foundation of trust, respect and empathy. I strive my
best in my role not to fall short…
Yes there are lot less women peers I have than men in
leadership roles and it might seem like a man’s world to a person seeing
through the glasses to filter gender. But seeing through my eyes, I see visionaries,
inspirational leaders, stellar engineers and a world class team that knows how
to make it happen! Gender is transparent here.
Having said this, there is lot of hard work,
conviction and uncompromising grit to get there. We needed to be first
engineered internally and need to have built a platform to prepare us for role
at workplace and give us momentum fuelling us day after day -- here support
systems count…
Firstly my parents have been very encouraging towards
intellectual progression. My father G.S.Sundareshan, has nurtured and set
standards for me to rise high in altitude as a righteous, independent woman
with a strength of character and inner beauty that finds its roots in the rich
heritage of our country’s Dharma – that I work on every day. Also I have had
the need to build equations at home that is conducive and co-operative of my
career oriented choices and a big thank you there to my husband Yudhir Kataria and
my child Meghana! For ex: I am travelling a lot on business and I see it is an
accepted norm wholeheartedly at home supporting my career needs. I also realize
that it is not easy for many women to find that co-operation coming naturally.
This is what I mean when I say that choices we make in our life confining to
roles we play with the people we choose as companions have a lot to contribute
here. Growth is holistic and career growth is not linked only to our colleagues/business
partners but also family co-operation has a major role to play.
As much as “There is a woman behind every successful
man”…In my case with a token of gratitude to Yudhir I would say “There is a man
(and a child) behind (every) empowered woman”…
- Your comments on the top people in technology have almost
always been men (including Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg).
All the men you name remind me of a quote from Ayn
Rand.
“From this
simplest necessity to the highest religious abstraction, from the wheel to the
skyscraper, everything we are and we have comes from a single attribute of man
-the function of his reasoning mind.”
Steve Jobs did believe that it is only engineering
that raises the standards of this world and I resonate with that belief.
At the levels you mention here citing examples of Bill
Gates or Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg, I would say we women need to get
inspired to imbibe the kind of passion they had towards their dream giving it
form and rising each time they fall with indomitable spirit and relentless
conviction to make it happen. As an example: Mark is from Harvard and I am
reasonably sure if you ask him or any of his fellow batchmates or professors of
Harvard that if a woman would have walked down the road Mark did with all the
characteristics Mark had/has, would she have been equally successful as Mark is
today – Majority of answers would be a “YES”.
So I would see this as woman needing to have the
courage to walk the road these great leaders did…If a woman has shown courage
and yet there have been unfair treatment, it requires attention and work to
eliminate such blockers.
- Where do you think women fit into online business models,
digital marketing, e-commerce, new media, social media strategy, gadgets,
and IT infrastructure?
In all intellectual domains, I do not see an issue or
blocker for women to pursue career in named field if they are willing. But in
fields demanding primarily physical strength, whilst there are many individual
women physically stronger than an average man, but going by weighed average it
is likely that those fields might not befit women though there would be
exceptions to that rule. It is an anatomical characteristic and nothing a woman
can be blamed for. Its nature! We appreciate it!
- Give us two reasons why you believe women are equal if not
better in the technology field.
I as a person have not demanded equality with men for
I am not equal to any man or woman as I am unique and I’d like to be
recognized/known for my craft bearing my signature art – but yes, I do not
appreciate when there are no equal opportunities for women and men.
- If there is anything else you’d like to add but I’ve missed out
asking, please feel free to include that too.
I engage in philosophical
studies and it is part of my day to day life.
Now for the more casual questions
- A website you wish you’d created
I’d create it if I wished. I have a simple blog
feeding my need for expression through pen and for now keeping it that way. When
I am able to, I also engage in forums of spirituality, philosophy and science.
- Your favourite app
Well a lot of apps actually. But the ones I use most
are Whatsapp, FaceTime, Youtube and Gmail.
- Your favourite operating system and why
We are in the world of eco-systems than operating
systems. That way Android, Windows and iOS being leading/popular eco-systems
highlight that simplicity, intuitiveness, easy integration and robustness are
that appeals to users.
- Your inspiration in life
- Your professional inspiration
I do not have specifically “a person” as inspiration.
We learn from all those we cross paths with in life. The true inspiration for
me is walking down the path of righteousness progressively relying on my
rationale, working towards it for it unobstructs our intellect enhancing the
capacity of our senses energising us in the flow of life – truly empowering us.
I am fortunate for having crossed paths with great
people who have influenced me in my life starting from my parents, my husband,
my teachers in school/college, my colleagues, my spiritual friends/mentors, my
team and my child.
- Your favourite technological device
The mobile phone I built…
