March 8, International Women's Day, is a day of pride,
action and celebration. Women have evolved in society in unusual ways, but much
remains to be done. Madhu Matiyalagan, General Product Manager of Stratus
Technologies, talks about the important challenges women face in the workplace
in India and what it means to be a woman in engineering.
What led you to this career? Was this creating a “typical”
path for a young woman in your area and her family / friends who have supported
her from the beginning?
As an Indian and raised in an Indian family, you are
expected to become an engineer or other medical professional. Otherwise, you
will be looked down upon by your family, peers, and others. Many, if not all,
of my networks have become doctors or engineers. I looked into the medical
field and quickly realized that this was not for me, but I loved math. However,
it was clear to me that although I had a passion for mathematics, it was not
necessary to use it to become an engineer.
When my dad grew up, he was a role model for me. He is an
engineer who has become the CEO of his company in the field of civil
engineering. But the more I watched him, the more I realized that he didn't
want to continue as CEO. I knew I didn't want to see the sacrifices he made to
his family and other people, albeit with dignity. Instead, my goal is to develop
a CTO.
What were the biggest challenges you faced as an engineer
early in your career, and how has things changed since then?
Interestingly, in my field, I disagree with the statement
that professionally women have more difficulties than men. In my experience, in
high tech, you get the same knowledge as everyone else, and people treat you
the same way.
However, although I personally have never encountered gender
bias, it was difficult for women to give up their own opinions. We grew up as
girls with the idea that we need to be perfect in everything and know the
answers to all questions. If we don't, we will be considered weak or stupid. In
the beginning, I was very hard on myself if I spoke incorrectly and became
negative. Women engineers need to be more confident in their work, their
attitude and their voice. For example, I have seen that when women are faced
with having to apply for a new position, they hesitate if they are not 100%
qualified and are less likely to apply. And it is easy for men to apply because
they are completely confident in this world!
To this day, I face some of these dangers, but it helps me
find a mentor (preferably a woman) and connect with him.
"Women need to become more confident - in their work,
in their attitude, in their voice."
What, in any case, was the difference between your education
in India and the United States? What is the difference between your
undergraduate and graduate studies experience?
Education requirements in India are completely different
from those in the United States. In India, when I was at SRM University, the
workload was much higher. You need to know all the minor and minor details of
each topic being studied. I went to graduate school here in the United States
at Northeastern University. Although the topics themselves were of the same
level of difficulty, the workload was small. Homework and exams were time
consuming.
However, I have to say that I had the opportunity to do so
much work in India because all my other responsibilities were taken over by
other people. Culturally, in India, her mother cooked, the cleaning lady took
care of the house, she was accompanied by drivers ... all you really need is to
focus on your studies! When I arrived here, I had no idea how to do something!
I was completely dependent on myself. I realized that the workload was not that
heavy because here you have more responsibilities to take care of yourself. So
while I had the same grades in India and the US, the way I got them was
completely different.
In short, what do you do with Stratus and what do you like
best about it?
At Stratus, I am the General Product Manager of the ztC Edge
product. Being a product manager means creating a product idea and making sure
it works right. With the creation of ztC Edge, after the concept was developed,
my team and I had to go further and communicate it to the right people. We
handle product development, product marketing, technical writing, sales,
customer accounting and finance, licensing, and more to bring our vision to
life.
what i like about my
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