This time last year, in what is now probably known as the pre-COVID era, I was attending my interview to be a Chartered Engineer at the IMechE branch in London. All three of my interviewers had a common question, what motivated me to be an engineer or why did I become an engineer? The quick answer I gave was that I did well in Physics and Maths at school.
Coronavirus and the lockdown that followed this year gave me a chance to revisit the question. What exactly got me into engineering? This article is an answer to this very question.
I come from Chennai (formerly Madras) in India. I have a natural liking for physics, maths, and everything in between the two. Titanic was the first movie that I watched and remembered being drawn to the scene of the reciprocating engine room. The four-year-old me wanted to be in that engine room on the Titanic. Unfortunately, none of them in the engine room nor anyone in the whole of the movie looked like me, which made no sense to relate.
Luckily, my uncle worked as a maintenance officer in one of the cargo ships and had travelled to many prominent ports and thereby cities in the world (Southampton and Glasgow being his favourite). I enjoyed having conservations with him about what engineers do, the challenges they solve, and the world in general. Being drawn to all the problem-solving, and make-do stories from his time on the ship fascinated me. These stories would run in my head when I was alone. I started imagining myself being on the ship and solving the very problem that my uncle explained to me with his stories a day ago! I knew I wanted to be a problem-solver. I knew there was something for me – but it was still far from a concrete thought. Although I knew that as my uncle, I could be on the ship one day if I did well at school, so I did my best.
However, growing in a conservative culture where people around me played gender-specific roles, didn’t help matters. Men were the primary earners, whereas women looked after the house and the kids. The society around me operated this way as far as anyone could remember, and I didn’t see anyone around me, questioning this structure. In fact, not only everyone seemed pretty comfortable with this structure, but also endorsed it in every possible conversation at home and away. At social occasions, you’d find dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers, who advocated the practice of gender-specific roles as a route to a blissful life. I knew that I was a misfit in the system, and there would be social sanctions from the community when I question its structure.
Growing up, I remember myself being interested in engineering alongside being chronically doubtful of my capabilities. It was almost like I wanted to be an engineer but in secrecy. In social situations, I downplayed my logical abilities to be liked and accepted. I continued this behaviour for the early years of my teenage life until I had a computer with internet in my room. This was when I started reading about engineering, and particularly about women engineers like Kalpana Chawla (American astronaut) who were of Indian origin. The more I read about the profession, the more I felt like pursuing it. By this time, I was fully convinced that I have to become an engineer. To become one, I was fully aware that I had to face a level of cultural barriers.
Sixteen-year-old me was up for the challenge to convince my parents for enrolling me in an engineering degree. I remember my parents thinking that this was a phase and it will pass soon, but it didn’t. I was met with initial reactions of disappointment, regret and distrust from the family and community. Nevertheless, I tried to place valid arguments, and they tried to hold peace as adults, and I was there in university doing engineering. I wish I could call it a win and end this article, but that wouldn’t be complete.
I was one among eight women in a class of nearly fifty men during under-graduation in India. And one among four women in a class of nearly 25 men during my masters in the UK. Women are a minority in engineering professions throughout the world and irrespective of the economic power of the country. This is something I realised and came to terms with, in my early twenties. It wasn’t a problem of where I came from, but rather a global concern. Needless to say, that there are visible or invisible challenges, barriers, hindrances for women to enter and remain in any STEM profession. In my opinion, every engineer has a responsibility to act on when it comes to improving equality of this profession.
Coming back to the question, why did I choose to be an engineer? I don’t know.
After eleven years of studying and working in this profession, I still don’t know what naturally draws me towards maths, physics and engineering. All I know is that I enjoy being an engineer and working with a team of like-minded problem solvers. I find it both stimulating and satisfying at the same time. This profession has helped me connect with some amazing people, travel around the world and solve various engineering challenges that came my way. On receiving my chartership status from the IMechE, I feel honoured and disheartened at the same time to join ~5% of registered women engineers (i.e. CEng, IEng, EngTech).
However, the situation is not all gloom and doom. Last five years of working in this industry (especially in universities), I have seen a growing number of female students being passionate about engineering degrees and enthusiastic about bringing a change in this industry. I am very optimistic that we will see a better gender balance in engineering profession going forward.
