Shipra Sinha, the Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications at Light Mechanics, believes it is the myth that one should break to bring more women to the manufacturing sector. With automation, there are equal opportunities industries can offer to any gender, which can get a great inclusive culture in the manufacturing industry. According to Shipra, it is an exciting time for women to be a part of manufacturing.
After completing their Post Graduate in Business Administration, Shipra Sinha started her career as an Assistant Manager with Kotak Mahindra Bank and worked there for over three years. After a break, when she wanted to restart her career instead of returning to the industry, Shipra decided to look out at industries that needed more focus on marketing. She joined the manufacturing sector as a Marketing & Inside sales executive at RadcamTechnologies Pvt Ltd. In 2020, she joined Bengaluru-based Light Mechanics as its Marketing Manager and is currently heading as the Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications. ‘By chance’ is the adjective that staples Sinha to her deviation towards the joining of Light Mechanics.
“I was very interested in marketing and the sales profile and wanted to learn how marketing would work for me. So, I thought Light Mechanics was a good opportunity to showcase my mechanical skills. The company was also new then and looking for someone to handle marketing. So, I thought this would provide me with a good opportunity to showcase my skills in marketing,” says Shipra Sinha.
Shipra Sinha, who has been associated with the company for over three years, says that Light Mechanics is working to empower Indian manufacturing beyond making money and promote Make in India with quality laser technology and solutions. As a result, Light Mechanics has become a known company in the Indian laser industry. She is proud of playing a critical role in the company’s transformation in recent years.
“Whatever I have been doing for the company has given me a good market response and successfully created a good brand image of Light Mechanics in the industry. At Light Mechanics, we are into manufacturing laser machines, and we compete with mostly Chinese imported machines, which used to dominate the market. With our product portfolio consisting of Make in India laser cutting machines, laser marking machines, and laser cleaning machines, we have the expertise in the laser technology, and we manufacture machines in-house,” said Shipra.
Embracing Equity: Automation is the Game Changer
When Shipra agrees the participation of women working in the manufacturing industry is comparatively less, the scenario can change with the faster adoption of automation. Light Mechanics offers a complete line of fully & semi-automatic EV battery and welding assembly lines, for which the company created a niche business; is bringing equity and equal opportunity for males & females to work on the shop floor.
“Manufacturing has been traditionally known as a very male-dominated or labour-intensive industry. There have been a lot of changes over the past few years. The scenario today is completely different from that it was 20 years ago. Today, various departments of the industry are automated. We need to break the myth that the manufacturing industry is male-dominated and labour-intensive”, shares Shipra Sinha.
Shipra also believes awareness is critical in bringing more women to manufacturing. “When it comes to manufacturing, most women feel they cannot operate the machines, and that’s the bottleneck we need to remove. You have to learn how to operate the machine, and you can easily take care of the manufacturing part,” briefed Shipra Sinha, underlining the fear of women which stops them from joining manufacturing.
Break the Barrier: Working Towards an Inclusive Workplace
Shipra Sinha thinks women are still considered underachievers in manufacturing and that change should happen with the community’s involvement. She also added that currently, it is a good phase for women to be in the manufacturing industry as there have been roles created in every department that could accommodate women. The only constraints that happen to be with the women are in their minds.
“At Light Mechanics, we have the culture of inclusivity at the right place. We have a culture where every employee, irrespective of gender, can freely express their ideas and never distinguish based on caste in our hiring process. We provide growth opportunities irrespective of gender and thus promote new ideas in the process and thus provide an appreciation for their work. Our policies at Light Mechanics are gender-neutral, and as I am one of the women heading the women and promote women employees in the company,” added Shipra.
Detailing the current scenario in the industry for women, Shipra Sinha said that the industry is now looking at hiring more women in the manufacturing sector. This is an exciting time for women to be in the manufacturing industry. “Only message I would give to women and society is how we raise our girls as parents. We should make them explore and mentally should make them stronger. Secondly, I would want education institutions and governments to take up the mission of guiding girl children towards adopting engineering fields,” concluded Shipra Sinha.
Light Mechanics is a rapidly growing laser machine manufacturing company based in Bangalore, delivering state-of-the-art and customized solutions to meet the diverse needs of customers in every manufacturing industry. Shipra has been an active contributor to Light Mechanics’ success story. As the Head of Marketing & Communications, she has played a pivotal role in building the company’s brand image. Additionally, she has emerged as a role model for women aspiring to join the manufacturing industry.
