Among the many challenges in leading a team of all-women engineers within manufacturing, there was one last-minute hitch that energy professional Samruddhi Yelikar wasn’t expecting.
“It was safety gloves,” she says. “Women have smaller hands. But we couldn’t find them in women’s sizes – the only models we had were made to fit men. We had to scurry around trying to find some small enough for my team.”
Six years after qualifying as a mechanical engineer, Yelikar is one and a half years into managing projects for Siemens Energy India Limited (SEIL) in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Maharashtra, India. There she leads a 22-strong female-only team – almost unheard of within the engineering sector, which has a stubbornly low ratio of women engineers and technicians.
Last (fiscal) year more than half of SEIL’s graduate recruits were women and the gas insulated switchgear (GIS) factory where Yelikar works has created an all-women manufacturing line. These efforts are part of a wider strategy within SEIL to build a more diverse and inclusive workforce – at the factory where Yelikar works, women make up part of every function.
“It’s a very ambitious and bold example of inclusion that Siemens Energy India is setting,” she says. “Siemens Energy has a [worldwide] target of a workforce made up of at least 30% women [in leadership roles by 2030], and they’re focusing on production, which is a very male dominated field.”
It has taken immense time and effort to recruit women in the required core engineering fields, she says – which proves the need for these initiatives. “One of the greatest challenges has been to find skilled candidates and get them on board … an all-female team has changed the environment in a very positive way.”
Women on Yelikar’s team tend to work collaboratively, she says. “Whenever there is a problem, we jump in and solve it together.” At the time when the all-female team was introduced, all employees took part in gender sensitisation training, says Yelikar, which has helped educate company recruiters in unconscious bias.
She’s driven by the desire to help more women step outside traditional roles. “I want more women to enter this workforce and get involved.”
As a young girl, Yelikar had ambitions of working in aeronautical engineering, but is forever grateful that her mother persuaded her that mechanical engineering offered more opportunities and flexibility. This has since been borne out by her career – she’s previously worked in automotive and tooling sectors. “In these areas the focus was on operational excellence and accuracy.” These principles also hold true within the energy sector, but she’s found a heightened focus on safety, security and long-term impact. “We’re building the national infrastructure after all.”
Like many nations around the world, India seeks to make a transition to cleaner energy and has set an ambitious target of reaching 50% decarbonised electricity and 500 GW of fossil-fuel free generating capacity – including hydro and nuclear power – by 2030. By 2070, India aims to achieve net zero emissions [pdf], and SEIL aims to support these targets by expanding manufacturing and helping to modernise the nation’s grid. The factory where Yelikar works has become an innovative hub for reliable and sustainable grid technologies.
“It’s a great challenge,” she says. “Currently we all are highly dependent on fossil fuel.” She’s been interested in the energy sector ever since her family installed solar panels at home as part of a subsidised scheme. “I was curious and researched the sector and discovered the extent and scope of government projects. I found it so inspiring.”
Although her background was in mechanical engineering, she found the switch to electrical production relatively straightforward. With an MBA in operations under her belt, she’s complemented her knowledge with in-house training delivered by SEIL.
Yelikar’s team contribute towards the manufacture of cutting-edge systems, which help control high voltage power and are more suitable for confined spaces, such as within cities or industrial plants, than are traditional systems. On site she’s helping introduce more innovative manufacturing.
Her day begins on site with an informal safety meeting with her team before staff head to their stations, Yelikar in the role of chief problem solver. She’s also devoted to introducing stronger automation and digitalisation. “At the moment we’re introducing these smarter, more sustainable processes within smaller projects. My goal eventually is to not only shape individual processes but the systems at a national level – I want to help make them better.”
Having made the transition to the energy sector, Yelikar has been supported by managers who’ve acted as informal mentors. “Whenever there’s a challenge I can just go to them – they teach me a lot and encourage me.” In the future, she’s keen to pass her enthusiasm on to the next generation of young women choosing their careers.
“The energy sector is growing at a vast pace in India. There will be so many opportunities in the near future. By 2047 we aim to be a developed nation and there will certainly be higher demand for clean energy. Globally, this sector is a good choice right now, particularly for women – because companies such as Siemens Energy are really investing in them.”
