Balancing motherhood and a career is never easy, but Dorina Sharma made it look possible. From leading a kindergarten section to becoming the Head of HR at Philips Machine Tools, her journey reflects resilience and determination. A single mother of two, she chose teaching to stay close to her children before taking a bold step into the corporate world — a shift that laid the foundation for her remarkable rise.
Dorina Sharma, the head of HR in Philips Machine Tools, joined the company in 2008. However, she started her career in the company as an admin. But before shifting her profession to corporate, she was working in the education sector, heading the kindergarten section for six to seven years. She says, “I have a deep passion for nurturing minds, which shaped my perspective to leadership and responsibilities”. She chose her career in the teaching sector in the year 2000, because, being a single mother, she wanted to spend her time with her children as much as possible and according to her, the teaching profession fits her conditions well.
Choose Teaching as a Carrier for her Children
It’s been sixteen years that she is working with Philips Machine Tools, and that she has shifted her role from a teacher to a corporate employee and admits that she always wanted to pursue her career in the corporate sector. “But once my children grew up a little, were big enough to understand and take care of their own needs. I felt it was time for me to take a bold step and move into this corporate work”, she shares. The transition from teaching to the business environment was a bold shift. But agrees that this shift became the foundation for her journey.
Her journey was built with growth and challenges, making the admin role as the steppingstone in her journey of the corporate sector. It will be rightly said that her confidence came from her role as an admin as this role allows one to learn and understand the inner working of business operations. She says, “I was in touch with all the departments as an administration”. From the ground level of being an administration she climbed the ladder to move up to the role that she is holding today.
Challenges Faced by her in the New Role
The initial phase of her journey in the manufacturing industry was not that difficult in terms of gender biasness, but what challenged her was to learn those things which were new to her, new to her as a profession. She feels she was fortunate enough to not experience those things which usually other female workers may experience in the manufacturing world. “I had good people around me, people who supported women in their growth”, she states. She acknowledges the exposure, which was given to her, her voice that was never not heard. Dorina shares an example of how her male colleagues were there to support her.
“My office was in a very remote place, not as developed as it is. So, if people saw the light in my cabin, they knew I was waiting back to work. And most of the male colleagues would wait back to escort me to the main road so that I am safe. At least the main road where I can go home safely”, she shares.
After shifting her role, though Dorina didn’t face any gender biasness, still she had her own challenges. Her role in the corporate sector needed to deal with people, and she admits that with gradual experience the talent of handling and communicating with different people is achieved and she was new at that time. She says “there are no textbooks on how to deal with people. Even if there are books on this, the practical scenario is different to the theoretical scenario”.
Dorina believes that there is no work life balance. She gives a beautiful metaphor of boat, where she compares a boat with life and how it is not possible to deal with two boats at the same time, just like it is not possible to handle two lives, that is, work life and personal life, at the same time. Priority should be given to one over each. For her it’s about prioritising. Such dedication of her has made her a successful woman in the present. Her achievements speak for this statement. She was invited as a chief guest on 8th of March, that is on International Women’s Day, to Symbiosis Centre of Distance Learning. She felt proud as she was among those few women from the manufacturing sector who got invited. “Believe in yourself”, is what she said there. “It is you who will limit yourself, it is you who will grow yourself. Like Neo Tolstoy says, we are lost because we thought we are lost”.
Pillar of Support for Dorina
For every successful person, there is a mentor behind, one who inspires to grow better, to whom one can look after, and Dorina was no different. Bill Withers, who was the corporate head of Phillips Corporation at that time was the mentor to her, who was there to guide her. With his guidance in the role of HR, she learned many things. By highlighting her mistakes, Withers showed her the right path. She says how one can always learn from their mistakes, just like her. Dorina is also thankful to Miranda family, who stood by her like a strong pillar. Terrance Miranda, Subhra Miranda and Mayra Miranda, was there throughout her journey.
She admits that there can be different role models at different stages of life, and she also had many role models, but if given a chance to choose one name, she names Indra Nooyi, she thinks that Indra Nooyi has impacted her life greatly, with whom she can connect to, can feel relatable.
Coming from a teaching background, Dorina’s personality of spreading knowledge is inevitable. With her leadership advice to the younger generation, she takes pride when someone acknowledges that her advice has helped them, in her words” it feels good, it is exciting, it brings a genuine smile.”
Co-existence of Gender is a key of Success
She believes that gender doesn’t play a role in the industry of manufacturing, rather it is the skill which plays a key role. Co-existence is the only way one can flourish. From her company Phillips Machine Tools, she learns how everyone is respected equally, Subhra Miranda who is the business manager of Phillips Machine Tools also ensures that nobody is thought low off, or nobody is treated low off just because of gender. So, Phillips Machine Tools does hold a good culture.
In both teaching and the corporate world, patience is essential, she thinks, and says, “we are all kids at heart, only our bodies grow, but our minds remain curious and evolving”. Her teaching background has greatly helped her as a leader, as mentoring is not just about achieving goals but shaping a way of life.
With gratitude, one should always start her life. It sets the right tone and mindset for everything that follows.
For young women, her message is simple, “Never give up”. Being a woman is not a limitation, keep trying, keep pushing forward. Failure is not about getting results, it’s about stopping the effort to get them. Learn from setbacks, refine your approach, and grow. “When you educate a woman, you educate a family”. But when they bring women into manufacturing, they don’t just shape parts, they shape the world, says Dorina. You break stereotypes, bring new perspectives and prove that this is not just a man’s world”.
As women, we are like moulds, adaptable yet strong, shaping society in powerful ways, she asserts. Her purpose in life is Miles to go before I sleep. This unstoppable energy drives her to create change, empower others, and keep moving forward.
