Karnataka - Bangalore

Women engineers reach for the moon

BANGALORE: Starry-eyed girls who sat glued to the television as Chandrayaan-I launched into space might have felt a tinge of disappointment as images from the control room had one conspicuous omission: women scientists.

However, statistics reveal that ISRO is far ahead of several scientific organisations in the number of women scientists it employs. According to its 2008 annual report, 1,288 women work in scientific and technical posts in ISRO — about 555 in its four centres in Bangalore. About 18.77 per cent of the employees working with the Department of Space are women, including 1,274 in administrative categories.

Geeta Varadan, Programme Director (Special Projects) ISRO, was recently chosen for the ISRO merit award.

Besides being the first woman to be picked for the award, she also holds the distinction of being the first woman to be the Director of any ISRO centre: she heads the Adrin (Advanced Data Processing Research Institute) Centre in Hyderabad.

Caught between juggling these highly demanding job profiles and en route to Hyderabad, Ms. Varadan spoke to The Hindu about her scientific career, the proverbial glass ceiling and how it feels to be among the three senior-most women scientists in ISRO.

“We have come a long way now. I was the only girl student studying engineering at Osmania University. In 1979, when I walked into the ISRO office (in Hyderabad), I was the first woman to work as a scientist at ISRO office,” she says.

Certainly it was not easy to strike a balance between her family life and a demanding job, but she points out that the “performance-based culture in the ISRO community ensures that merit is recognised”. “No excuses,” she repeatedly says, “I had to work twice as hard to prove myself.”

“Way back in 1980, when my husband went abroad, ISRO was starting on a major programme. When I found my name missing from the list, I asked my chief for the reason,” she reminisces. She was told that because she is a woman, they felt that she may leave the project mid-way and thus could not be given critical projects. “I had to convince them that my job was my priority and I was not one to make excuses. I was given the job right away, and thereafter I haven’t looked back since.” The right attitude, being assertive and working hard is the only way to get around the proverbial glass ceiling, she adds.

Today, engineering is a profession which attracts tens of thousands women. “It’s a lot easier for them now. It makes me very happy to see young girls join ISRO. I try and encourage them to speak up, be assertive and chart their own roads,” she explains.

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