Synopsis
Manufacturers are slowly realising that women can bring both diversity and promote creative output.
Industrial design is traditionally a male-dominated field, but one segment of it, automobile design, is seeing women break through the glass ceiling and make a mark.
Like Ramkripa Ananthan, director at Krux Studio, who has created a concept electric vehicle using upcycled material for last-mile connectivity. And Mahua Acharya and Suman Mishra, who have broken stereotypes and favourably ensconced themselves in productive roles in the auto industry. And many others like Sulajja Firodia Motwani, Mallika Srinivasan, Arathi Krishna and Anjali Singh are leading from the front in their respective auto-related family businesses.
The trickle of women who are entering the male-dominated world of automobile assembly, manufacturing, designing and leadership, is growing into a steady flow.
Manufacturers are waking up to realise what women can bring to the table, especially the advantages of diversity in promoting creative output.
“In future, a lot of automotive design will be focussed on UI/ UX (user interface/user experience) considering the mega trends of autonomous, connected, electric and shared mobility. With this, more women will consider a career in automotive design,” says Ananthan.
Experts point out that automobile plants are getting automated for better delivery. “There are very few shop floors in the organised sector today that need the application of physical strength,” they say, which is facilitating the presence of women on shop floors.
EV INDUSTRY’S LEG-UP
The male stereotype ceiling is slowly breaking and the sunrise electric vehicle industry is only hastening its momentum.
Rashmi Urdhwareshe, former director of the Automotive Research Association, and now the president of SAE India, says: “It is easier to be a significant part of the EV ecosystem as women can seamlessly play a big role in data analysis, simulation, validation, mobility solutions and disruptive technology processes of this industry”.
In fact Sulajja Firodia Motwani, the founder and CEO of Kinetic Green, who is focusing on her company’s electric transition, says, “developing a pathbreaking electric vehicle technology, with a vision to bring it within the reach of millions has been the most exciting phase.”
“We are currently at the cusp of a revolution in mobility, with the advent of electric vehicle technology having reached an inflection point. This, combined with other mobility trends like shared mobility, is changing the landscape dramatically,” Motwani said.
Mobility and automobiles are more about electronics and software now and that’s creating new opportunities for women – many EV factories now are “manned” by women. Even EV components like motors and controllers are electronics-based, where women are playing a key role not only in R&D but actual assembly and manufacturing.
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