A Mechanical Engineer from Odisha, Rashmi Hati, had a goal fixed on a government job. She ultimately found her path in manufacturing and is grateful for choosing a career in the manufacturing sector. She believes talent, confidence, and knowledge are key to beating gender bias. Moving to a new city with ambitious goals was a big step, but Rashmi’s determination led to her success.
Rashmi Hati has worked in the manufacturing sector for the last fourteen years. She now works as the assistant manager in the Purchase department of ZF Steering Gear India Limited. She completed her BTech in mechanical engineering. Born and raised in Odisha, Rashmi was interviewed in Pune in 2006. After getting selected, her professional career began in January 2007. Since then, she has been working in cutting tools and machining.
Initially, Rashmi started her career in a small-scale industry as a design and development engineer, where she worked for two years before moving to Guhring India Private Limited in 2010. There, she was part of the tool management team at General Motors for five years as a line or application engineer. In 2014, she took maternity leave for 2.5 years. Post leave, she joined Motherson Techno Tools in 2017, which was again a cutting tool company. Its head office is in Noida, and she was involved in tool management at Bajaj Auto Chakan. Her team, which consisted of 13 to 15 members, handled machining components, tool procurement and technical commercial planning. After working there for five years, she took another break of 1.5 years for her son.
From 2023, she has been part of ZF Steering Gear India Limited. She added Purchase as a new profile and her experience in cutting tools. With the new assistant manager role in the purchase department for cutting tools, she leads a team of three, including herself. She also handles the technical activities, procurement, and planning.
New Ambitions in New City
Even though Rashmi’s educational background was in mechanical engineering, she was preparing for a central government job. She says, “My father was in a central government job, in Hindustan Aeronautics, and he inspired me. However, as things didn’t turn out as planned, I decided to explore other fields.”
Shifting to Pune for job opportunities was a big decision for her. The new city was foreign to her, however, with the help of her friend, who was also into job hunting, she gradually adjusted to the city. Initially, it was pretty difficult as she was staying in Hadapsar while her company was in Bhosri, which meant travelling for two hours a day, and she did it for nearly two years.
Though it was challenging at first, as days passed, she learned new things, adapted to her job and got more involved in her work, which made the journey enjoyable.
Rashmi realises that when she was at General Motors, being an MNC, she didn’t face any issues as her team was very supportive. However, she faced challenges when working for Bajaj Auto Chakan at Motherson Techno Tools. She shares, “Initially, the people had been working there for 12 to 15 years, and as a new female employee, I wasn’t given the post of Project Manager. I started out handling connections and it was tough for the first two to three months”.
Though it took time for her to adjust to the working environment, her contribution to the company was appreciable after some time. She shares that the team had concerns, such as dissatisfaction with their salary, facilities and the treatment they received as third-party employees. So, she focused on understanding what they needed from the company and started addressing their issues, such as introducing uniforms, ensuring safety gear and improving conditions. She shares one example, “In 2013, I helped them secure a good increment. Over time, my efforts built trust and they began to respect me. From then on, I didn’t face any major issues and the team supported me in every step”.
Rashmi feels fortunate to have had a very supportive family from the beginning. In her community, there was no norm for girls to pursue higher education. However, her father encouraged her when she decided to pursue engineering after completing her schooling in 2001. She recalls, “Being the eldest, I always had the support of my parents, and my mother insisted that if I wanted to pursue engineering, I should go ahead. They immediately enrolled me, and even though I studied far from home, I received constant support in both my studies and extracurricular activities from my family.
Confidence Will Bring You Success
For Rashmi, college days were fun and memorable, though there were only eight girls in her mechanical engineering batch, and the rest were boys. She feels lucky to have a good circle of friends who always support her. She admits that going to college was a big change for her, as it was the first time she stepped outside her comfort zone and became independent.
In her professional career, there have been moments where she was recognised for her achievements at different stages and where her juniors look up to her. She agrees that her husband was there in every phase of her journey. She shares, “his support has been crucial in balancing work and family. He takes care of most of the responsibilities for our son, which allows me to focus on my career”. For her, money isn’t the main driving factor as she enjoys her work, which she has studied and is passionate about. Even after taking a 2.5-year break for my son, her husband encouraged her to return to work and restart her career.
Her role models are her parents. Her father has been a huge influence on her. She says that during her father’s childhood days, when he lost his father at a very young age, he worked hard to support himself and his family. Her mother, to whom she looks up. And then also her several female friends, to whom she considers her role models.
According to Rashmi, women need to prove themselves through talent and knowledge. While other females face business, she feels fortunate enough not to have experienced that. Companies today recognize and promote women, and their companies encourage female employees. “In my journey, I’ve never felt held back due to my gender, talent, confidence, and knowledge speak louder”, she says.
Her message to the younger generation is, “Believe in yourself, have confidence, live life to the fullest, and always respect your parents. They are everything.”
