Manufacturing was hardly on her career choice list as an aspiring young woman. But once she entered the presumably male-dominated manufacturing industry, she made it her own arena of where she rode the ladder of success over the next two decades in her organization. Today, she proudly looks back on her journey and looks forward to supporting the journey of many women in manufacturing remarkable.
Rather than growing up watching machines and aspiring to be one making their mark in the manufacturing industry someday, Parvathy was far from even imagining any proximity to manufacturing ever in her life. An English Literature student, she was an ardent lover of nature, literature and philosophy.
But little did she know that one day she would end up managing operations in one of the largest manufacturing companies globally. Parvathy Satish, Vice President of Operations- India & International Process Management Support- Asia, SCHUNK Intec India Pvt Ltd, is integral to her company’s growth in the region and a major prime face of Womanufacturing in India.
Manufacturing by Chance: Initial Journey
Parvathy studied English Literature and always wanted to stay connected with nature, philosophy and humanities. However, in tandem with the trend in the mid-90s, computer education became a necessity and Parvathy, too, enrolled on computer training. In 1994, after getting educated with the basics of computer programming, she started her career as a Technology Consultant at a computer education institute.
But, Parvathy admits, her connection with manufacturing came all by chance. “Manufacturing or Engineering came totally unexpected in my way and I joined SCHUNK India in 2001.”
SCHUNK India is part of the SCHUNK GmbH & Co. KG, a world market leader for gripping systems and clamping technology. SCHUNK India provides value additions like engineering & design support, turnkey solutions, special top toolings & peripheral accessories, Installation & prove-out, product service etc. for SCHUNK’s products and technology to several industries including Automotive, Electronics, Aerospace, Defence, Railways, Pharma, Education etc.
Inspiration in Life
Parvathy draws inspiration from everyone in life as she mentions, “I have no single person to point out. I strongly believe if you have the openness to learn, every person in front of you, even a small kid, or every life situation, can teach or inspire you. Every experience during my journey at SCHUNK has been an inspiration for me.
However, she especially mentions the extraordinary influence of her parents in making her the best of what she is today. “I am inspired a lot, by my father, who enriched me with the core values in life, and my mother, who taught me the first lessons of being a good manager by setting a great example of being the best home manager.”
Parvathy admits that she has hardly faced any major challenges in her industry or organization because of her gender. “I have not faced any major challenges being a woman in my workspace. In fact, I have faced more privileges and respect from colleagues and associates all along,” she says.
A Margin of Leadership
Since 2001 Parvathy has been with SCHUNK India, managing operations. “The overall experience has been magnificent! I have spent the best years of my whole career at SCHUNK India and continue to do so and I have learned it all from here. I must reiterate that it has been exponential learning from a German family-owned business with over 75 years of leadership in manufacturing.”
As the Vice President of Operations and International Process Management, she manages the workflow, majorly in the departments of Internal Sales, HR, Marketing, Finance Control and General Administration of SCHUNK India. She also supports the Asian subsidiaries (China, Japan, Singapore, Korea & Taiwan) of SCHUNK GmbH & Co KG for the Process Management of Data on the centralized ERP with HQ.
Ensuring gender inclusiveness
She also points out the support and facilities her organisation provides for women employees. “We have taken special care to implement all safety measures which ensure that the lady colleagues are not at any point of risk during their work time. The best feedback we get, from our team, especially the ladies, is that SCHUNK India is a great safe place to work and I think that sums it all.”
SCHUNK India has even special attention to ensuring gender inclusiveness in the organization and takes pride to celebrate womanhood. Almost 55% of the operational team are women. “Most of our department heads like Internal Sales, Administration, Marketing, HR are women and even our Warehouse-in-Charge is a woman. This also includes my role in the Global Scenario of IPM.”
Another interesting fact that Parvathy mentions is the policy of recruitment and retention of women employees followed by SCHUNK India. “The selection process always looks at the expertise of the candidate and not the gender. I must also add that 40% of our existing lady colleagues have been in our organization for an average of 12 plus years and this is an indicator of the high motivation and satisfaction of the women employees at SCHUNK India.”
Outlook on Woman Empowerment
Parvathy feels that times are changing for sure and the impact is very different from what it was 20 years ago, and it is again different from city to city as well. Having said that, she also adds, “Even though things have been evolving, there is a lot of societal and cultural conditioning that still exists in our country, where women are expected to do a lot of defined tasks limited to home and are looked at differently if they focus equally or more on the career. I still get to sadly see women who must quit their job to handle parenting and other household duties and they do not get the desirable support or encouragement from their family.”
However, Parvathy sports a positive frame of mind and encourages every aspiring woman to explore their scope in life. “I would like to tell our young women to accept and love themselves first because when you do this, others also start accepting you more. There is no competition with anyone. We do not need to be better than men. We do not need any freedom from anyone, we just need freedom from our own insecurities.” Summing up she urges women to explore opportunities and learn to be independent, and most importantly a better person every day, in her own words, “A better person can be a better professional”
