CHAPTER6

WOMEN ENGINEERS IN K.S.E.B.

Respondents' entry into work was in consonance with their decision to take up

engineering as their subject of study as seen in the previous chapter. Job opportunities

in engineering in general and different specializations in particular have played an

important role in influencing engineers, particularly women, in deciding the course of

their career from the beginning. It is necessary to note at this point that lack of job

opportunities mentioned by the engineers did not appear to mean that they were ready

to work anywhere under any kind of circumstances. It has also been mentioned earlier

that some of the respondents had striven to get a job specifically in K.S.E.B. This

chapter focuses on women engineers within this one organisation in Kerala, namely

Kerala State Electricity Board (K.S.E.B). K.S.E.B. is one of the most sought after

workplaces in Kerala because of two reasons. It is a government organisation, which

guarantees job protection. The other factors that attract engineers to K.S.E.B. are

handsome salaries and comfortable working conditions (interview, engineers:200 I).

K.S.E.B. is also interesting as an example of a workplace where egalitarian laws and

rules of modem industrial enterprises protect the formal space. Recruitment and

promotions are seen to be based on ostensible 'gender blind' policies and are equally

applicable on all sections of employees.

As mentioned earlier, promotions are given on the basis of seniority and they

are granted at intervals based on the number of available vacancies. (See chapter 3 for

details). Because of K.S.E.B.' s attractiveness as an employer many leave private and

public organizations to join K.S.E.B. Considering this and the acute unemployment

problem in Kerala it is interesting to learn the experiences of the respondents in terms

of job waiting period and incidents of early work.

The discussion that follows focuses on the experiences of women engineers in

K.S.E.B. primarily in relation to their experiences in relation to their male colleagues.

The question relevant here is: Does the 'gender blind' policy, which is seen to offer

equal treatment to both men and women, is actually effective in doing so? Does it lead

97

to equal professional development of men and women engineers in the organization?

What are the structures and processes that mediate between the rule and the actual

practice of it at the ground level? This chapter is based on the interviews with 50

women engineers in the organization. Views of 50 men colleagues are also taken into

account to the extent of their relevance to women's experiences. In-depth interviews

with 18 women engineers also provided insights into the understanding of the issues

at hand. In addition to these interviews with the employers presented the

management's opinions on various issues. This helped in throwing lights on the

dynamics at work at different levels within the same organisation.

Job waiting and Interval

In a state having 2401 electrical engineering degree holders waiting for jobs

and backlog of unemployment for electrical engineers reaching 695 by 2002, job

waiting is a common experience. Engineers of K.S.E.B are no different. Only 43

engineers (less than 50 percent) joined jobs immediately after they graduated from

college. Of the remaining, the gap between passing out of the college and getting a

job ranged generally from 1 year to 8 years. Some of those who waited for the job did

it voluntarily while some were forced to wait2• As the retired engineers in the study

graduated in late 1960s, the demand for engineers was more and in effect they did not

have any job-waiting period. In fact they were contacted by the K.S.E.B and asked to

join immediately after their certificates of graduation were issued. With the supply

increasing (higher number of engineers passing out) and demand not increasing at the

same pace (employment sector not expanding to absorb all of them), the volume of

unemployment and the years of job waiting appear to have increased over the years.

Majority of the engineers (38) reported 'lack of opportunity' as a reason for

their job-waiting period. The reason given for voluntary waiting for the job was that

they were keen for a post in K.S.E.B. The reasons given by the respondents for

Source: Manpower Profile India, Year Book 2000, Technical Manpower Profile -20001 India and the States. Of the 24 men who said they had no interval, I of them, Sathyamurthi (E.E/M-09), actually joined the job after '7' years of completion of his course but is not ready to call it 'job-waiting' period as he wanted to try his hand in business. He applied for the job in K.S.E.B. after his business venture failed.

98

interval between passing out of the engineering college and getting a job are clubbed

into three broad categories-: Lack of opportunity, lack of interest and family

responsibility. However many of the reasons within these categories are overlapping

and cannot be treated as independent factors.

Two other women wanted to be only in K.S.E.B. and so did not try for a job

anywhere else. This meant 5 years of waiting for Sudhakumari (E.E/W-05). Since she

was the state champion in table tennis she was confident that she would get into

K.S.E.B. through sports quota whenever a vacancy arose. Saranakumari (A.E.E/W-

30) also was ready to wait for one year for a job in K.S.E.B. She did not apply in any

other office. After finishing her B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering in 1969, she worked

as a paid apprentice for 6 months in K.S.E.B. Till 1972 when she got the post of First

Grade Overseer in K.S.E.B she did not look for any other job. Being a graduate

engineer, it was underemployment for her as the qualification needed for a First Grade

Overseer was only diploma in engineering and graduate engineer usually was

appointed directly to the post of A.E. Thara (A.E/W-28), who passed out of her

graduation in 1992, did her Post Graduation in 1997. She said she also did not work

anywhere because she was 'choosy' and wanted the best available job.

Some cited convenience and better work environment as the· reasons for their

preference of K.S.E.B. For instance, Radhadevi(Rtd.C.E/W-38) did not join as

Engineering Supervisor in Telecom, a post she had got immediately after the

completion of her course in 1968 but chose to do post graduation. She said she would

have joined if she were selected in K.S.E.B instead of Telecom. She did not wait for

her M.Tech. course to be completed to join K.S.E.B when she was selected. She was

keen to join K.S.E.B. rather than Telecom because it was nearer home and had offered

better opportunities.

"I preferred K.S.E.B. to any other office because I could get job near (my house) ... Telecom job had the chances of getting transferred ... K.S.E.B. job and transfer ... in that case ... one does not have to go outside Kerala ... and you can get a transfer to places nearer your home ... if you try ... if you give reasons ... "(Radhadevi Rtd.C.E/W -3 8). ·

99

Table 6.1 Reasons for the Interval.

Lack of Lack of Family Other Not Opportunity Interest Responsibility Reason# Applicable

Age M w M w M w M w M w

group

26-30 3 1 1 I 2 "' - - - - .)

31-35 - 1 - - 6 6 I - 2 6

36-40 2 6 - - - - - - 5 -

41-45 2 3 - - - - - - I 1

46-50 7 - - - - - 2 - 4 I

51-55 8 5 I 2 2 2 2 1 7 "' .)

56-60 - I - - - - - - 3 5

Total 19 19 1 2 9 9 6 1 24 19

# Other reason-Men in this case tried to start their own business while women were indecisive about their job.

The security and prestige associated with a government job was important for

the 9 men who said they wanted to enter K.S.E.B. One decided to do his higher

studies while waiting while the remaining wanted a job in a government office in

Kerala itself and so waited until P.S.C. advertised vacancies in K.S.E.B. Two an1ong

them did not apply in any other organization. Manivarnan (E.E/M-20), one among

them, was emphatic that he would not have gone outside Kerala even if that meant no

work for him. He always wanted 'peaceful' job for him. On probing it was found that

'peaceful' job meant an office job that had a regular timing and which did not involve

travel, tour and frequent transfer. It was also found during the interview that since he

was the only child of his parents, he was conscious about his responsibilities towards

his parents. These considerations also could have influenced his decision.

For women, reasons relating to the family such as marriage and bearing and

rearing of children were also cited as important in delaying job entry. For Santha

100

I

(E.E/W-40) it was long interval from 1969 to 1981. Marriage and transferable job of

her husband were important factors why Santha was unable to work for 12 years

except for a brief period.

" I gave up many opportunities that came my way ... after my marriage. He (husband) was not in favour of (my) going for job as he wanted me to look after the children. But by the end of the year ... 1973 I joined Port Trust in Vishakhapattanam ... whtre he (husband) was working ... but worked only for a few months as he was transferred to Cochin in 1974. In 1975 or '76 I got selected in K.S.E.B. but could not join as the rank list was cancelled by P.S.C .... At the age of 33, I joined the post of A.E. in K.S.E.B." (Santha E.E/W-40).

Lack of interest was cited by two women engineers as the reason for not

joining any organisation after graduation. They said that they had wanted to get

married first and, then decide whether they wanted to work leaving the decision

finally to the husband's family. This section dealt with the respondents' job waiting

period and found that while the popular perception is that it is unproblematic to get

job for engineers, only less than half of the respondents joined job immediately after

the course. Those who had to wait for the job did so due to a mixture of reasons.

Waiting specifically for a job, and fulfilling family responsibilities and roles are the

main reasons given by the respondents for the long interval between I year and 8

years. A sizeable number of women waited voluntarily for various reasons that are

mentioned earlier in this section. Both men and women also waited for a government,

secure job like that of K.S.E.B. which would allow them to take care of their desire to

work near their homes and their family responsibilities. Some of the women, looking

for secure employment, even waited for many years, in one case up to 5 years. One of

them even took a position for which she was overqualified.

Early Work Experiences

Majority of engineers (37 men and 31 women) joined K.S.E.B. after working

in private and public sector companies and educational institutions. For 13 men and

19 women K.S.E.B. was the first work place.

101

Table 6.2 Work Experience before joining K.S.E.B.

Worked earlier Not Worked earlier

Age Men Women Men Women

26-30 3 3 - 4

31-35 3 12 - 1

35-40 7 6 - -

41-45 3 2 - I

46-50 11 1 2 -

51-55 10 7 8 6 I

56-60 - - 3 7 I I

Total 37 31 13 19 ---1

I Organisations where respondents worked include public and private

companies, colleges and polytechnics. Many more men respondents as compared to

their women colleagues worked in these organisations. A larger number of v-wmen

engineers had worked in colleges and polytechnics, mainly as teachers.

Reasons for leaving the organisations vary between men and women

respondents. Majority of the men left their jobs because they got better jobs.

Not even a single man left the organisation because of family responsibilities

while many women did leave their work due to marriage, birth and rearing of

children.

Careers in K.S.E.B: The Office and the Field

As shown earlier, the career path in K.S.E.B is fixed on the basis of one's

position in the merit list of the examination conducted by the Kerala Public Service

Commission prior to entry and seniority thereafter. Promotions depend on the number

of vacancies arising in every designation. Promotions are not dependent on

performance evaluation. However, if a person is not promoted after 1 0 years of

102

service in one post, slhe is given 'non-cadre promotion' to the next position. That is,

salary and other benefits are given according to the next position though s/he would

continue to serve the organisation in the same position. The difference is noted in the

way the designation is mentioned3. All the engineers except a few in the study joined

K.S.E.B. as Assistant Engineers (A.E.) and have continued well up to the prestigious

position of Technical Member. One cannot perceive any kind of overt differences in

the career path of men and women respondents who get the same rank in the merit list

except due to the number of vacancies that would arise in every designation.

Career paths of men and women in terms of seniority and promotions look

identical. For instance, Aleyamma (C.E/W-42) and Joseph (C.E/M-08) are both Chief

Engineers and as Assistant Engineer they were seemingly equal at the entry point. In

that sense, there is no apparent glass ceiling (wherein women can only look up and

see the top offices but are blocked from reaching them) as discussed by Bullock

(1994) and both men and women are subject to similar constraints in their careers.

However, if one looks at the quality of technical tasks and overall exposure to

different technical areas and tasks of men and women, differences are striking.

The three profit centres of K.S.E.B.-Generation, Transmission and

Distribution- are entrusted with product~on, conduction and supply of electricity

respectively across Kerala. These are the technical divisions which in turn carry out

their functions through office-work and fieldwork. While the offices maintain the

documents regarding functioning of the organisation, it is the labour in the fields that

keep the flow of electricity intact. While the engineers in the offices are responsible

and have to be present from 10 a.m to 5 p.m, engineers in the field are responsible for

the work in the field for 24 hours. They have to be present in the site whenever

required.

All the three profit centres have offices in the field but the functions of the

field offices are different in each profit centre. While the engineers in the field in

Generation operate turbines and generate power in the case of hydroelectric power

The designation, in such cases, is indicated by the two letters - NC (Non-Cadre). For example, when one A. E. does not get promotion after I 0 years of working on the same post, s/he will be referred to as A.E.E.(NC).

103

stations, engineers in the Transmission field are engaged m maintaining and

controlling the flow of electricity till it reaches the Distribution. Field offices in the

Distribution are different from the other two in an important aspect. Field engineers in

distribution are in direct contact with the customers and face problems peculiar to it.

· Many women consider Distribution as very difficult because the engineers working in

the Section offices have to deal with the field staff and customers4. Technical and

social skills are needed to tackle the problems in the Distribution. Very much in

consonance with Shakeshaft (1987) who found that men educational administrators

are seen as having 'special gift to deal with community', this study found the women

engineers as having been treated as necessary only when men are not there. Women

are not seen to be capable of having daily interactions with the public, customers and

the contractors.

Meena (A.E/W-50) worked in all three profit centres and finds 'Distribution'

as the most difficult. She makes it very clear that it is not because of technical tasks,

but that they are in direct contact with the people at the ground level.

"It is difficult to tackle people .. .linesmen and other field staff...customers. And also the social limitations .... that work against women ..... like the interaction is limited for women .... and also imagine as the officer-in-charge, I have to go to the field at odd hours if the (electricity) supply is disrupted .. .! cannot go alone ... even if I go alone others will not spare me ... So my husband always accompanies me .. .if it is night .... they do not mind to talk bad things against you ... " Meena (A.E/W-50).

But for the exercise of her engineering skill she finds the Generation

Profit Centre as the best of the three. She said it was important to be mentioned

specifically because technical qualification alone is not enough for an engineer

to do his/her duty.

" ... I am thrilled ... I have the experience of entering the 'penstock' at the dam at Moolamattam (when she was working on contract there) ... The valve of the big barrage in which the water is stored had some problem. It was opened after 25 years of its construction for the repair. I was the first woman to enter that. I consider this as an honour" Meena (A.E/W-50).

4 See the section on organisational hierarchy in the third chapter for details on the hierarchical arrangements of offices under engineers of various designations.

104

In this context, an attempt was made to explore the experiences of women in

K.S.E.B and draw implications for women who enter work areas that have been

conditioned by male traditions. The role of gender in work allocation is important.

Women were hardly appointed to field positions. Only 6 women in the sample had

work experiences in the field whereas 35 men were posted in the field at some time or

the other during their tenure. Interview with the personnel officers and engineers

suggested that there has been an informal policy not to appoint women in the field in

K.S.E.B. It is considered as a favour granted to women because they would not be

able to handle the pressures of the work in the field which needs 24 hours' attention.

Interviews with the engineers, field staff and consumers also seemed to suggest that

they believe in women's inability to work in the field._ Field staff and consumers

defined this inability in terms of the physical weakness and social limitations of

women.

These are happening in informal ways. These informal processes are essential

to understand the organisational dynamics and role of gender in work allotment (Witz

and Savage, 1992; Crompton, 1992). At the entry point women are given

appointments as Assistant Engineers as in the case of men. At this stage women

appear to be happy to get places that are easy to manage. Women look at the field as

an area 'difficult to manage'. However, career graph already takes a tum at that point.

Looking back at their careers, women engineers agreed that first appointment in a

person's career is significant as it often sets the mold and expectation of that person.

"It is important what work you do ... first time ... and how you form your opinions on that work ... l think that is what happened to most of us who did not work in the field ... "(Annapurna Rtd.C.E/W-39).

Exposure to technical details and a greater opportunity to use and develop

skills as electrical and civil' engineers- are· provided· by work in the field of generation,

conduction and supply of power. Kamalambal (Rtd.C.E/W-37), one of the retired

women engineers, said that if given a chance, she would request for the opportunity to

work in all the departments and both field and offices. At a function organised to bid

her farewell, she advised the junior women engi11:eers not to get intimidated by the

double responsibilities of a woman-at work and at home- but work hard to concentrate

at work and get as much exposure as possible. When she visited a- generation site later

105

in_ her career she felt that she was missing. so much. of experience and exposure and

was uneasy to enquire· more on the· technical details that she did not understand at the

site. She felt that it is important to learn and keep the enthusiasm to learn alive

especially for women as they easily get used to their roles expected of them and

sacrifice their career or give less importance to it.

" I would say to anyone ... especially women ... that they should realise early in life what they are missing in their career. ... Do not be satisfied with what is given to you ... try to get as much information on other posts ... on your colleagues' post. .. Otherwise at a later stage one is not equipped ... someone can point a finger at you and ask ... 'you have been here for years ... yet you do not know about this' .... " (Kamalambal Rtd.C.E/W -3 7).

" ... Also when you have to take a decision on an issue on the field ... sitting in the office you are in a position to come closest to the actual situation ... because you had seen it and handled the problem earlier. .. Otherwise I doubt. .. how I can decide on something which I have never had the experience of touching and feeling ... "(Meena A.E/W-50).

This exposure in all the fields is necessary for later years, when one is in the

superior positions like Chief Engineers and Technical Members. Then women find it

difficult to manage. This lack of confidence emanates from the fact that they do not

have experience in the field and leads to the perception that 'field is not woman­

friendly'. It is found in a study on women in educational administration that women

have confidence in areas where they have experience while their insecurity lies in the

spheres where they have not been participating. (Shakeshaft,. 1987:84). Nevertheless,

this lack of exposure and confidence often boomerangs against women. The example

of Radhadevi (Rtd.C.E/W-38) was often mentioned. Radhadevi was expected by her

colleagues to become the Technical Member. But she was not selected. The reason as

explained informally was that she did not have enough exposure on certain technical

matters, as Member is advisor on technical matters. She has always been working in

the office and never had direct experience in the field .. Exposure. in the field is an

added asset (interview, engineers: 2001;2003).

It is important that all engineers in K.S.E.B. get to work in the_ field and that

too in the early years of their career (interview, engineers:2003). _Meer:: (A.E/W -50),

for example, says that one develops some bias against field or gets used to the so-

106

called comforts of office work over a period of time and become averse to work in the

field and in remote areas.

"When the C.E (Generation) office was shifted to Moolamattam from Trivandrum, 33 staff members who were associated with the office were also transferred. However, except the 'skeleton staff that consisted of 7 members all others went on leave. In the case of women, none was willing to work there. They did not want to be away from home, ... office ... and their city .... Some took leave and got transferred within 6 months back to Trivandrum. All other women followed sooner or later .... All these happen ... O.K.... without them ... family does not run but if they were used to working away from home they would have adjusted ... " (Meena A.E/W-50).

Because women have not been sent to the field, management and semor

officers often give extra facilities and better treatment to women who are sent to the

field than those who are in the offices. Foe example, women engineers who were

transferred to Moolamattam from Thiruvananthapuram were referred as privileged

(interview, engineers: 2003).

"When the lady engineers came from Trivandrum, car was sent to receive them from Kottayam Railway station ... and the C.E. was ready to arrange houses for them ... C.E was a good man and he thought about them ... as having left their offices... You never get such treatment... for doing your routine work... I mean what is one's duty ... but they did not stay ... "(Meena A.E/W -50).

As mentioned earlier, women hesitate to take up field job despite their

awareness later in their career that exposure to field work is important to get the skills

required to tackle many issues when one takes decisions at the senior level (interview,

engineers:2003). Women seemed to prefer office positions and posts, which are seen

as easy to manage, because they want to balance their roles and responsibilities at

home (interview, engineers: 2003). To the queries on women's preference to office

jobs, majority gave family responsibility as the reason. Responsibility to husband,

children and parents is a genuine reason for many women to feel burdened. Many

reiterated Meena (A.E/W-50)'s point that:

"Ladies prefer office jobs ... It is not that men do not like to work in the office ..... Ladies prefer (office jobs) to mange the family. It is a situation where you are contented with doing clerical jobs while qualified to do technical work ... It is because of the importance given to family ... children ... "(Meena A.E/W-50).

107

Some women engineers who were posted away from home did not feel the

intensity of the problem as they had support from the families. They said that caring

and taking care of the children were important aspects of family support in the

absence of mother at home. Many among them acknowledge that the joint families in

which they were living also helped them, as the children were common responsibility.

"We were staying with my husband's parents, brother and his family, and children used to be a common responsibility ... ours or his (husband's) brother's ... My children were looked after by their (paternal) grandmother and father ... Of course ... I did not think all these then but... I worked ... in Alapuzha- ... without any worries ... when I was transferred because they (children) were with their grand parents ... But if you ask me I would say ... that I had to work ... and children must be a great responsibility for women who have to leave them with servants and strangers" (Kamalambal Rtd.C.E/W-37).

Some women while acknowledging the role of family said they had

'overcome' all the obstacles to work and realised that all the extra effort put in at that

time was worth. All women who were able to do a stint in the field felt that it did

immense good to their career: The sense of satisfaction one derives from it is

unmatched.

"I am one of those ... who took career as more important part of my life than family .. .lt is K.S.E.B. who is paying me for my work ... I went out of my way to do all the work sincerely ... Financially too I was not in a position to leave the job. Many times I ignored many situations in my family where I could have got ... more involved .... Now when I look back I do not feel that my children or my family missed anything because I was 'over committed' to work ... I would say ... that is the way it has to be ... There are men who ignore commitments (other than work) .. ,and they work .. ,_ they get the benefits in the_ work and. you. cannot blame .... but after all these year.s l can. say proudly that lam. fully satisfied with. the work .. l have got technical and practical expertise and I can show that in tangible terms. I feel that that is how it should be. I asked and got I ine construction in the transmission .... precisely due to this ... One should. not feel bad. that one did not do justice to one's work." (Bharathi D.C.E/W-45).

(When Meena (A.E/W-50) was working in the substation of Transmission near Palakkad), " ... my husband used to sleep there in the room where I was working ... My child too was there with us ... May be that one works at any kinds of situation when one is· temporary ... but l am ready to work (anywhere) ifl am asked to ... and ifit is necessary for my work ... " (Meena A.E/W-50).

Some of the women engineers· said- that it was not as if women have not

attempted- to. try their hand· in the field jobs. There are instances- of women wanting to·

108

work in the field and acquire experience but were refused. Susanna (D.C.E/W -04) had

asked for a posting in the field when she was an A.E. She thought of work in the field

as challenging and essential for an engineer to gain expertise in the profession. But

she was refused: on the ground: that w.omen. cannot wmk in the- fi-eld~

"The then C.E. asked me the reason for my interest in the field ... l said I wanted to gain expertise ... My explanation did not satisfy him ... He thought it was strange for a woman to ask for more difficult jobs ... He probably thought that I wanted to make more money (Laughs) ... It is not that women do not want to go (but) they are not given the chance (to work in more challenging fields)" (Susanna D~C.E/W-04).

What emerged from the interviews and, observation is that though there is no

rule that prevents· women from working in the field~ there is a convention of women

working in the field in K.S.E.B. In the case of K.S.E.B. there are only decisions at the

informal plane. In this respect it is different from the findings of some of the studies

in the- field that some of the- statutes at the workplace are designed to protect them and

many of them reduce women's effectiveness as competitors (GOI, 1974;

Subrahmanyan, 1998: 128). It is often the lack of precedence of women working in

that area that prevents employees from sending women to the field in K.S.E.B.

Employers' explanation is very interesting. Field is seen as additional responsibility

for women. Employers also want to make the point clear that they cannot take the

responsibility for the safety of women. They also have not seen many women

performing in the field and are not very sure how they will execute their tasks in the

field.

" .. Women have families ... children ... they want to go home by 5(p.m) ... How can they take responsibility for fieldL. Why should we experiment (with. women)2 ... women. engineers. in. this place are ..... utter waste .... See there are women like the- one ... in, Thermal ... (C.E -name omitted} ... and the one ... (E.E.-name not mentioned by him) who went to attend the conference (representatives of State Electricity Boards) in Hyderabad ... what all nonsense she spoke there... It came out even in Malaya Ia Manorama (newspaper) ... They cannot be given (the responsibility) ... to manage more responsible posts ... For women ... again ... Board (K.S.E.B) .. . cannot responsibility for their safety in the dark... in remote areas ... it is unnecessary hassle... So basically Board is only trying to protect women .... And. also. there_ had. been. not many. women. working in the field ... So we do not know how they will manage .... " (interview,. Chief Personnel Officer:200 I).

109

Despite the citing of tradition, the 'protective policy' of K.S.E.B and the

'extra burden' K.S.E.B has to take towards women workers, it is surprising that

many women are recruited on contract to work as Control-room-in-Charge in

the substation of Transmission Centre near Palakkad. This area has some

industries of which Malabar Cement is the most prominent. Meena (A.E/W-50)

thinks that there is a double standard existing at the policy level of K.S.E.B. She

finds that it is all double talk when women are blamed for the job 'not done'.

" There were 36 women for the same job ... including me ... We were all doing ... fine .... There was no complaint that we did not do (our job) ... But I find that women are not appointed (to the same position) ... when they are permanent..."(Meena A.E/W-50).

Women who had worked in the field had to overcome a number of obstacles to

perform in terms of 'resistance by the field staff- linesmen, workers and clerical staff

- mainly men to being supervised by women' (interview, engineers: 2001 ;2003).

There seems to have been a greater refusal to report on time and a 'shared interest' to

indulge in activities that are not favoured by women engineers (like come to the office

drunk and smoking, etc) and disobeying of orders (interview, engineers: 2001 ;2003 ).

Most often the women A.Es. were subjected to loud, unfair comparisons with the

earlier men officers of the same cadre with the aim to make a point with the new one.

Women appear to have reconciled to the fact that they have to work first to get the

subordinates in line. (See the section on 'Strategies Women Undertake' that follows

in this chapter).

"You have to bring them to that level first. .. o.k. Madam is capable ... she knows the job and ... she keeps her word and does not...dillydally .... then they will come to the level where they would say ... 'Madam had told me to do this ... I have to do' .. .It is a bit difficult first. .. You have to work hard ... may be harder than men ... " (Sulochana Rtd.C.E/W-34).

"The 'glass wall phenomenon' - women are not given the breadth of

horizontal training, but are placed in one division (frequently 'personnel' or human

resource arenas) and thus never receive the diversity of experience that is required for

moving vertically up the corporate ladder." (Lehman, 1996: 154). In K.S.E.B. too at a

horizontal level movement is restricted where women are concem'"'J. Formally there

is no rule by which one can be stopped from being employed in any post. In addition

110

to the unequal representation of women in the field compared to office, it was also

found that women are not re_eresented in all offices also. Formally all posts of A.Es

are the same (in various offices and field) but informally posts differ in terms of

various criteria that assess their perceived importance within the organisation. The

importance of such posts is assessed in terms of their centrality to the functioning of

the organisation and, criteria such as opportunities for close dealings with contractors

and firms producing equipments and so on (interviews, engineers:200 1 ;2003;

personnel officers:200 1 ;2003). Following these criteria, Department of Reforms is

considered relatively unimportant while Tariff and Regulatory Authority is a sought

after department. It is this 'hierarchy at the horizontal level', which made the C. E. of

Tariff tell the researcher to 'go to engineers like those in Reforms who are sitting

without any work instead of disturbing people like me who are always busy with

productive work with such silly~uestions inthe name of ~es~ch-},And as practised, . . .. .. ~-~"" ...

important departmental positions always go to men (interview, engineers:2003; chief

personnel officer: 2001; 2003). Savage (1992) finds that even after organisations

themselves have restructured to accommodate more women, the types of areas into

which women have moved are those that tend to be barred from effective

organisational power.

The relegation of women to jobs that are considered 'easier to manage' may

be viewed as practices and traditions peculiar to the context of the organization but

actually conform to the gender norms that are at work in the wider world of which the

organisation is a part. Thus the firmly established male traditions informally restrict

women from moving from tasks 'seen as more appropriate for women' to other tasks.

These positions are like 'glass cabins' that are transparent. Though they can see each

other and the tasks, they cannot move into others' position easily. Thus woman can be

suggested to be occupying a glass cabin where horizontal movement is restricted. If

you happen to break the informal rule and move into positions that are seen as

'inappropriate' for women, then you are at the receiving end of the wrath of many

from customers to your colleagues.

Another problem that women A.Es working in the field was the lack of toilet

facilities for women in majority of the offices of K.S.E.B. Women felt that there still

Ill

is dearth of such facilities for women in the field. It is a major problem and there are

cases when action is not taken in spite of repeated complaints. Women in the offices

in the remote areas too face the same kind of problems. There are instances when

women in offices in the cities also encountered the same problem. Bharathi

(D,C.E/W-4-5), for example, got tired of the problem of lack of toilet facilities in the

city area of Thripunithura and decided to build one for the- women; including her, in

her office.

" l was working in Thripunithura ... we (herself and support staff) ... used to go to the nearest house for using their toilet. .. We were fed up ... This house (her house where the in-depth interview took place) was being built at that time ... So one day I took the workers from their worksite here to the office and built the toilet for ladies ... Basically they divided the gents' toilet into two and made the one for women separately ... there was-enough space .. .I got the expenses reimbursed later. .. " (Bharathi D.C.E/W-45).

" ... I never used to drink water for the- whole day when I was working at Ponkunnam ... because there was no toilet for women ... I almost had a health problem due to that. .. "(Suma E.E/W-03).

Women also seemed to be caught up m the images of femininity and

masculinity within the- organization. While- they want to be efficient they appeared to

be careful that they are well within the images of femininity. This situation has a

parallel in Carter and Kirkup (1990). They find the engineers in the study struggling

hard to keep up- the dual and seemingly contradictory images of efficiency and

femininity (Carter and Kirkup; 1990:80~82); Bharathi (D;C.E/W-45); for example;

said she functioned well within her limits as a woman and. still performed welL She

said she remembered the farewell given to her by- he colleagues when the C.E, while

addressing the audience:, told that she· was one engineer who did her job well but also

maintained her status as a woman.

" ... In my farewell party ... my C.E. told the audience 'Bharathi was very efficient. She knew her job ... She- was also a woman ... always maintained that' .... " (Bharathi. D.C.E/W-45).

Women expressed sense of satisfaction and feeling of gaining expertise by

working in the field. From the observation and the interviews with the engineers in

the study experiences of working in the field appear to be very :1nportant for_ the

engineers in· K.S~E.B-. Field: tasks do· not give any benefit to· them directly either in

112

promotions or in monetary terms. Nevertheless, all the engineers in the study said that

the exposure one gains from fieldwork is unmatched and contributes immensely to the

confidence of the engineers, their colleagues and superiors.

Problems of field is linked to the nature of work. It is not always women's

expertise that is questioned but other social constraints that are related to gender. It

seems that it is 'not the women who are seen as problems but it is the nature of the

context' that is perceived as problematic for women to carry out their tasks 'as

effectively as men'. Women's lack of mobility and their perceived commitment as

primarily to family are seen as impediments in their career. Field poses genuine

problems for women in the present social set up. Fear of physical security and bad

name and the guilt feeling that one is not able to give adequate time to the family

because of the nature of job in the field, especially children and so on are at work at

the psychological level for women.

Professional Development

Acquiring new skills and updating the already acquired skills are considered

as essential for professional development. In K.S.E.B. opportunities for professional

development officially exist in the form of in-house training through PENTARC5 that

organises periodical training camps for the engineers in the organisation. Apart from

this, a selected number of engineers are often sent for training to other companies and

organisations having expertise in power generation and related areas within or outside

the state or country. These are generally considered as important for updating the

technical skill. Engineers in the study are of the opinion that training -both in-house

and training in personal capacities- and attending degree or diploma courses are

important for professional development. Since these engineers are officers who

manage the organisation, having a management degree/diploma apart from teclmical

trainings is also important.

Power Engineers' Training and Research. Centre at Moolamattam, Idukki is under the Department of Human Resource Management that is responsible for the research and development of training programmes in K.S.E.B.

113

Acquiring technical skills through degrees and diplomas from external

organisations like universities and colleges are entirely based on individual initiatives.

K.S.E.B. does not offer any incentives or grant leave for this purpose. A fuller

understanding of decision-making process for training essentially needs to critically

examine the positive effects of the training or the lack of it on the wage, working

conditions and lay-off probabilities. It is also important to find out who participates

and who do not. "Non-participation, especially in the case where employer support is

available, would reveal quite a bit about how both preferences and constraints shape

women's decisions about training."(Simpson and Stroh, 2002: 45). This is true in the

present study too. Moreover, the concern raised by the authors of the article also holds

true for this study where the non-participants -both men and women alike- raised

doubts about the quality of the training programme. It is also to be noted in this

context that the training 'advantage' men/~~icipants gained might disappear if one

examines in detail the quality and relevance of the training on their duty tasks. So the

doubts raised by the engineers on the relevance of the training on everyday tasks has

to be kept in mind while exploring further into the reasons for the participation of less

women in the training programmes.

Extra degrees and diplomas that are seen by engineers as helpful for their

work in K.S.E.B. are the ones in management and computers. However these appear

as helpful only in an indirect manner. Unlike in many other organizations, promotions

do not depend on the training or degrees one has. This follows from the promotion

policy.

Only around a third of the engineers have had trainings or additional degrees.

Of them very few women as compared to men had such trainings. Among women, 22

percent had attended some kind of trainings or got diplomas and 78 percent never

have had. Among men, 46 percent had other trainings and diplomas whereas 54

percent never have had any types of training.

Of the men, 15 had degrees in business management or computers whereas 21

had in-house fr<tining. Majority among them had both in-house training and other

degrees. Of the 11 women who have training or diplomas, only 4 have in-house

114

training and 7 have other degrees. Only 2 among the 11 both have in-house training

and other degrees.

A number of reasons were given by the women respondents as to why they did

not go for/ were not interested in any in-house training or extra degree. The first was

the absence of any link between the trainings and the promotions. Some mentioned

lack of interest in the training programmes of K.S.E.B. because the in-house trainings

did not update their skills. Majority of the engineers in the study felt that the training

programmes conducted by the HRD of the K.S.E.B is not adequate to update the

technical skills of the engineers. Opportunities to go abroad for advanced levels of

training are few and so very few engineers actually get a chance to update their

knowledge and skills. Another important reason given by women is that training are

often held at places far from their offices and this meant going out of station for the

duration of the trainings. They felt that they could not often leave their home and

family responsibilities to attend the trainings. Given these, the fact that it was not

compulsory to attend the training programmes for promotions added to the lethargy.

Since it did not affect their career path there felt no urgency to attend and they opted

out.

"The training ... should equip one to handle the job at hand everyday ... but that (the training given by the HRD in K.S.E.B.) does not ... give that( skill for everyday tasks)... if that is the case I do not want to leave my family, ... children and go ... to a far away place ... just for something which would not give me any benefit. .. "(Leena A.E/W-29).

However, women indicated that there does appear to be more interest in the

training programmes among the younger engineers. This section showed that there

are more men than women who received training. Women said that their family

responsibilities were the main reason for them not attending training programmes.

Also there was no motivation in terms of any tangible benefit they get in the

organization. Majority also found the training programmes to be not helping in their

day-to-day tasks in the organisation.

115

Perception of Men Colleagues and Stereotyping

A number of studies on women refer to prejudices- both organisation specific

and of the wider socio-cultural context- that work against women. While organisation

specific prejudices are seen to have their roots in socio-cultural norms, they also work

as institutionalized norms of the organisation. They are reflected in the form of

legislations of workplace and organizations too. Prejudices often get institutionalized

and become part and parcel of the norms of the organisations and cease to be seen as

'prejudices'. They lead to creation of 'stereotyped images' that can work against

women as a group or operate against individual woman. Perceptions of employers,

male colleagues and the public are often very much different from reality and

exaggerated to suit the prejudices they carry in their minds.

Though official norms do not differentiate between men and women within

K.S.E.B., informal norms and attitudes of top management, colleagues and women

themselves point towards women being given a 'secondary position' in the

organisation. The feeling among some women was that in K.S.E.B. women engineers

are treated as secondary workers. Leena (A.E/W-29) talked about the opinions

expressed by her male colleagues to the effect that women· lack 'practical

understanding' of the subject. She also mentioned that she felt that some male support

staff preferred to take orders from men and are reluctant to take orders from women.

Leena (A.E/W-29)'s opinion was reinforced by the incident narrated by Neena

(A.E/W-31). Women engineers vis-a-vis their subordinates in position of authority

also experienced what Mayes (1979) calls 'hostility'. Neena (A.EIW-31) observed

with pain that it is difficult for men to work under women's authority. They often

make it extremely difficult for women engineers to function. She narrated a case

specific to the field in K.S.E.B. Rekha, an Assistant Engineer, was in charge of the

A.E. 's office at Paika, a small village near the town of Pal a in Kottayam district6.

Men workers of her office refused to obey her instructions. They never used to come

to the office on time. Even after repeated orders issued by Rekha they refused to

6 Rekha is working at present in the transmission section in headquarter, Thiruvananthapuram. Neena (A.E/W-3 I) who was her classmate and friend narrated this incident.

116

report to her on time. Some of them used to come to the office drunk. Rekha objected

to this bahaviour and other things like smoking 'beedis' and cigarettes in the office

and use of abusive language. In spite of her repeated warnings, these activities

continued unabated. There were serious arguments and she found it difficult to

control the workers. There were interference by local politicians too who came to

argue in favour of the workers. There were open challenges thrown to her to the effect

that she would not be able to do anything to them. Finally, Rekha managed to transfer

one of the workers as a token punishment after repeated efforts. Neena (A.E/W-31)

feels that it is a clear case of men refusing to accept woman in a superior position.

" ... When she (Rekha) used to narrate to us (friends and colleagues) the ways men behaved ... ,comments ... challenges ... things which are very difficult to pin point and complain to the superiors ... we used to feel very outraged .... She was so hurt ... that she decided to get a transfer and now ... I do not think that she will work in a Distribution Section ( field office) .. . for at least 10 years ... " (Neena A.E/W-31 ).

Women engineers who were given the charge of Section offices, nevertheless,

showed considerable firmness on the one hand and an ability to strategise and bring

about smooth functioning of the office over a period of time on the other hand.

Lakshmidevi (Rtd.D.C.E/W-27) and Meena (A.E/W-50) would rather call it as

'resilience and patience'. The images of them as 'stern' and tough often preceded

them and influenced the way male subordinates behaved with them. Meena (A.E/W-

50), for example, narrated how the images and ideas about her had spread in her new

office before she reached and her efforts to convey the message that she was there to

work and not to discipline anyone went unnoticed.

" ... When I came (to this office) ... it was made clear to me that I was not welcome ... Open and hidden remarks to the effect that ... 'you cannot be so tough with us' type ... they would not listen to me ... none came on time ... there was sort of consensus ... it seemed to me ... A.E.'s office was at the front side (points towards it), a small room where you do not have enough space ... Male staff including the former A.E. used to play cards here on this table and they used to use this as a kind of rest room for them ... When I asked to clean up the room and wanted to shift here, there was a stiff resistance ... Then I brought out a notice against drinking and smoking within the office compound ... women who are not involved (in drinking and smoking) ... even they were angry with me ... They did everything they could to remove the notice and make me apologise ... They complained to the E.E. (above her) that these kinds of practices(putting up a notice etc) are not part of the tradition of the office and a newcomer ... that too a

117

woman cannot break the norms .... E.E. asked me to remove the notice but I politely but firmly refused ... all kinds oftactics ... a local politician asked me to behave properly .. .I ignored all these as .. .I realised ... what is important was to bring them into the line and get the work done ... I really was patient with them ... Then it was Onam ... I decided to organise 'Onam feast' ... then somehow we all together organised that and then onwards things are better. .. Then oneday some one comes and tells me ... 'Madam, you are not so bad ... we had heard very different things' ... Then things fell into place ... "(Meena A.E/W-50).

The 'dress code' that women professionals adopt within the work arena is also

very important (interviews, engineers:2001). In K.S.E.B. women wear saris and some

younger women wear salwar-kamiz too. Traditional dress of women is seen as

incapable of conveying 'authority' and, 'power suit' more or less in line with the

conventional dress of men is necessary to give out the images of power and technical

knowledge (Carter and Kirkup, 1990:79). One of the retired women engineers,

Annapurna (Rtd.C.E/W-39), who is known for her 'unconventional' dress pattern,

also hints at the refusal of men to accept female authority. She wore white sari and

blouse with high neck and no ornaments. When asked for details about her dress code

she replied that she had to work with eight to ten men workers in the office in the

remote areas and she was the only woman. "It was important for me to dress this

way." On being insisted on an explanation for her answer, she said she always tried

'not to express herself as a woman' at the workplace and was successful. This, she

said, was managed by the way she wore her clothes. It appears that Annapurna

(Rtd.C.E/W-39) saw the necessity to dress in a way that is different from other

women given that tradition does not allow her to dress like a man- in trousers- and 'it

was important for her to dress' in a manner that would help her hide the ,differences

between her and the workers under her and help her to 'get the work done' by them.

The perceptions of the men colleagues became known when they talked about

the 'efficient women engineers all of whom had retired'. They seemed to be based on

the images they were carrying about these women. Sulochana (Rtd.C.E/W-34), for

example, was widely perceived as an efficient lady who was 'like a man'. The

creation and stereotyping of images of women have been referred to by Kanter

(1977). She wrote about four categories of women managers who are treated

differently by men (Kanter, 1977:233). The 'mother' and 'iron-maiden' as described

ll8

by Kanter in her study were identified in K.S.E.B. too. Two women engmeers

themselves described their 'image' and approach towards their men colleagues as that

of a 'mother'. Annapuma (Rtd.C.E/W-39) and Radhadevi (Rtd.C.E/W-38) appeared

to be happy with their 'mother image'.

" ... I always was ... available for my juniors .. .I used to advise (them) even on family matters ... as a mother ... especially for my male colleagues ... so .. .I know that I had the image of a mother in the organisation .. .I wanted it that way ... " (Radhadevi Rtd.C.E/W -38).

Efficiency is an important quality of a professional engineer but it IS one

quality that is associated mainly with male engineers. Women engineers reputed to be

efficient were usually seen to be manly. Sulochana (Rtd.C.E/W-34), for instance, was

not even aware of her image in K.S.E.B. Discussions with the male employees­

engineers and mainly field staff- usually brought forth such references to her as "she

was like a man! Oh! What was she? She was a terror! She used to take a jeep, drive

and go to the field as and when she wanted. She was even better than men engineers".

Her mage was more in the nature of 'iron maiden'as described by Kanter (1977). It is

significant that these were the opinions of her men colleagues. Her women colleagues

said that she was good on her job and was well known for her efficiency. Their

opinions were devoid of the exclamation and hype observed in men's response.

Sulochana (Rtd.C.E/W-34) thought that she did not do anything extraordinary on the

job nor did she perform in a way that was impossible for other women. She and

Lakshmidevi (Rtd.D.C.E/W-27) are the two pioneer women who worked in the field.

Sulochana said she did not even think twice about the job in the field when she had to

work in the field. Most im-portantly, she believed that an employee should have the

welfare of the organisation as the uppermost objective in mind. As a result, slhe does

not have any right to refuse any job assigned. The field was also conveniently located

for her to carry out her family obligations.

" ... Also where I got the chance ... to work ... was ... always near my home ... and there was some problem at home between the parents ... and I was brought up by my mother ... and I always ... wanted to be near my home especially to look after my mother. I never felt the need to go to any other task (office), as the job ... (in the field) ... was satisfying ... " (Sulochana Rtd.C.E/W-34).

119

Interviews with Sulochana (Rtd.C.E/W-34) resulted in a demystification of the

image provided by the colleagues. It became clear during the interview with her that

she does not know how to drive a jeep and never drove one in her life. The whole

story about her as driving a jeep and crashing on to the field proved incorrect. This is

an example of women being typecast into categories - in this case 'man-like' lady

engineer. She was referred to as 'efficient' and 'man-like' lady engineer. The terms

'efficient' and 'man-like' were used together. It appeared to suggest that women in

their normal capacity as women could not be efficient.

Lakshmidevi (Rtd.D.C.E/W-27) is also known as an 'efficient lady engineer'.

Some colleagues referred her to as 'tough' though no references as 'man-like' were

made about her. She came closest to Kanter's (1977) 'iron maiden' in the study on

women managers. She is known to be responsible for winning a case against a famous

hospital at Ernakulam7• The hospital authorities were found guilty of not paying the

electricity charges in the early 1990s. K.S.E.B. had moved the court several times but

had lost every time against the hospital. K.S.E.B. lost a huge amount because of the

non-payment of dues by the hospital. During Lakshmidevi (Rtd.D.C.E/W-27)'s tenure

(02.09.1994-30.04.1997) as the Deputy Chief Engineer of the office controlling the

area, she along with her colleagues decided to pursue the case. A serious evaluation of

the case and previous appearances· in the court indicated that K.S.E.B. had sufficient

grounds to win. They also found that the misrepresentations of the case in the court by

K.S.E.B. had led to organisation losing the case earlier on. She along with her

colleagues helped the advocate, who incidentally was a woman, Jearn all the points

and finally K.S.E.B. won the case against the hospital. She was the first woman

D.C.E. who was in charge of the area there. Some officers of K.S.E.B. also narrated

the incident to the researcher. Lakshmidevi (Rtd.D.C.E/W-27)'s husband was also

forthcoming as far as her achievements were concerned. However, Lakhmidevi

seemed to have lost all her interest in talking about that case and was discouraging her

husband from narrating that story. She said she had enough trouble because of that

case and would like not to talk about those incidents. She was charged with emotion -

7 This hospital is at present owned by the son-in law of a very powerful leader of a national political party.

120

anger and resentment- when she was told the opinion of one officer in K.S.E.B.

(quoted earlier) that women engineers ofK.S.E.B. were sheer waste.

" ... I can swear that I perfonned much better than many of the men colleagues ... sex has nothing to do with perfonnance ... What matters is the attitude of the person towards his ... or her duty ... Unfortunately that is what is missing ... Board (K.S.E.B.) is in the present state (bad financial state) because of them ... Anyone who talks about women engineers as waste is keeping his eyes closed ... he is not seeing the reality ... Such men do not deserve to be there (in positions of authority) ... •· (Lakshmidevi Rtd.D.C.E/W-27).

What emerges from the discussion of image creation is the understanding that

there is a deliberate effort to accentuate the differences between women engineers

who are seen as 'tough' and 'efficient' on the one hand and the rest who are seen as

inconsequential. The thrusting of images of 'super women' on the efficient women

resulted in them being equated with someone who could do things that are not

possible for common 'mortal' women. Kanter (1977) calls the women who fall in the

former. category as 'tokens' and accentuation of differences between these 'tokens'

and the rest of the women as 'boundary heightening' (Kanter, 1977:21 0).

As the boundary lines of work of women are established by the existing

tradition of work that is male centred, women who move beyond are not looked upon

favourably. Moreover and more importantly, it i~ not often the efficiency of the

particular woman that is in question, but it is often women as a group or the

behaviour of the individual woman that are under question. Kaufman (1984) clearly

argues how women are expected to behave generally "softer" way than men and at

the same time they may be perceived as unsuited for the combative style expected

from many professionals. Perception of colleagues does not necessarily form on the

basis of any personal experience or individual incident. It can be based on outward

appearances or the images that are formed by others and passed to the present

colleagues. As observed by Carter and Kirkup (1990) women engineers in the

organisations are often mistaken by customers as secretaries or members of non­

technical staff unless their identities are clear by the kind of dress they wear and they

call it the 'power suit'. According to them women are expected by others to be

'feminine yet be serviceable' (Carter and Kirkup, 1990:80).

121

Strategies Women Undertake

Bullock (1994) considers that the personal policies and organisational career

structures that are shaped by the traditions of a male career are partly responsible for

women's under representation in senior positions in various organisations. Studies

have found that women who get to the top or non-traditional positions evolve and

employ strategies in order to survive and succeed in the organisational structure. As

mentioned earlier, Kanter (1977) finds that women managers were stereotyped into

various categories and that women managers consciously or unconsciously responded

to their stereotyped images and often used them as strategies to survive or succeed in

the organisation.

Women engineers are comparatively late entrants into K.S.E.B. and operate

within a male dominated organization with male tradition set in the job. Women

engineers were found to make use of the tradition to safeguard their interests. As

discussed earlier, women were not appointed in field offices. When women were

transferred to the distribution offices, they quoted the traditions followed by the

organisation and resisted the transfers. They argued that women were not appointed in

these offices until then and it would be against the tradition if women were transferred

to those offices. Lalithakumari (Rtd. D.C.E/W-36), for example, thought that field

offices are not suitable for women. When the engineer who was in charge of Pattom

Section office was dismissed on charges of corruption, she was asked to take charge

there by the Chairman8•

"I was not willing to go to the field office ... .I approached the then Chairman and told him that there were no women appointed in the field ... that was the tradition and so on ... But he pointed out the examples of Sulochana ... But I never thought about that ... because she was someone exceptional...reluctantly I took charge ... " (Lalithakumari Rtd. D.C.E/W-36).

8 Lalithakumari said she was appointed in that post because she was a woman and so was seen as more honest than men. This was an instance when women were appointed because of the qualities perceived as feminine rather than due to their efficiency as engineers.

122

Another strategy women use to succeed in their task in K.S.E.B. is 'avoidance

of extra responsibility'. Women as a rule are reluctant to take up any responsibility

other than their daily duty pertaining to their offices. While this is a strategy they

adopt mainly to carry out their domestic responsibilities, they also find it convenient

to keep away from controversies and to avoid any problems within the office. Susanna

(D.C.E/W-04) requested the K.S.E.B. management not to appoint her as the

chairperson of the Complaints Committee when she came to know that she might be

appointed as the chairperson. She had been a member of the Complaints Committee

against sexual harassment ever since its constitution. She did not want to have any

further responsibility. To her the honorary post of Chairperson is a position that brings

additional responsibilities without any benefits to her career.

"One does not get any monetary or other benefits. It is not counted in the appointments to any office or promotion ... at the same time as the Chairpetson of the committee, one has to be responsible for the decisions of the committee ... (As the Chairperson) I might have to face the hostility of the persons/groups against which the decisions are taken ... it is better (for women) ... to keep off the controversies until (their) retirement...this is the attitude of majority of women in K.S.E.B ... " (Susanna D.C.E/W-04).

Women are also subject to sexual harassment. For instance, Susanna and

Jamila said many women engineers in K.S.E.B. received sexually abusive phones it is

not 'uncommon' incident in K.S.E.B. and she personally knows a number of women

who felt that men colleagues verbally abused them 'though it does not amount to

physical abuses'. She said she discussed the problem with her women colleagues and

then 'forgot' about it. She did not want to 'blow it out of proportion'. She thinks that

the best way to survive in the organisation is to keep a low profile and keep away

from limelight. This attitude results in women failing to retaliate to many of the

abuses they face everyday.

Keeping away from controversies is also part of being 'feminine' as explained

by Bharathi (D.C.E/W-45). Being too visible creates problems and controversies and

this is what women wanted to avoid. They feel that their colleagues often monitor

their actions and activities with precision.

"... I had to meet the Chairman a few times last week for work related matters .. .I went up and down a few times ... for a few days ... Then one day someone ... my colleague ... a man was found to be asking me ... 'What are

123

you doing here these days?' .. .I could not ignore the maliciousness in his question. When I told my husband, he told me not to visit anyone too often ... he does not want people to talk about me ... lt was some work that I was discussing ... " (Susanna D.C.E/W-04).

The above-mentioned strategies are passive means that women adopt to cope

with their work in K.S.E.B. There are also examples of women who consciously

adopted strategies to succeed within K.S.E.B. and to earn a name for themselves as

'efficient' engineers who 'got the work done'. While it is important to question the

criteria of calling them 'efficient' vis-a-vis other women who are not termed so, it is

interesting to see the strategies adopted by them to succeed in their workplace.

Some of the women engineers interviewed revealed that they made use of their

images and expectations attached to them to their advantage .. As mentioned earlier,

Annapurna (Rtd.C.E/W-39) and Radhadevi (Rtd.C.E/W-38) said they made deliberate

efforts to project the image of a 'mother' towards their juniors, especially men. This,

according to them, facilitated the communication between them and their men

colleagues. They think that their mother image helped juniors and men colleagues to

approach them whenever they had problems. Both of them admitted that their own

actions and behaviour were mainly responsible for their mother images and they were

aware of it. They never felt burdened by it and were happy to take the trouble. Both of

them were emphatic that they used their images in a strategic way to deal with their

colleagues and were successful.

The 'dress code' adopted by Annapurna (Rtd.C.E/W-39), setting her apart

from all other women in her physical appearance, has been referred to earlier. During

the discussion, she herself referred to her appearance without any queries from the

researcher. She said she was successful in managing eight men workers who were her

subordinates during her tenure as Junior Engineer9• According to her the dress code

helped her downplay the differences of gender between her and men workers on the

one hand and between her and her male equivalents on the other hand. An example

given by her to illustrate her success with her men workers is the way they used to

address her. She said all the men workers under her used to call her 'sir' and not

'madam'. She said she overheard them once saying that 'she is really a sir!'.

9 As mentioned earlier, the first appointment of the graduate engineers is to tlte post of Assistant Engineer (A.E.). Initially this post was known as Junior Engineer (J.E.).

124

Annapurna (Rtd.C.E/W-39)'s dress code and her efforts to neutralize the 'gender­

effect' form part of the strategies she consciously adopted to get acceptance of her

junior male workers.

Interpersonal relations, especially between members of the two genders,

appear to be very formal (interview, engineers: 2001;2003). For instance it was

observed during field study women preferred to have friendly relations with women

only. Some women engineers indicated that they prefer to share their experiences,

both personal and work, only with other women because they are afraid of the gossip

that will be generated due to such friendships. Annapurna (Rtd.C.E/W-39) and

Susanna (D.C.E/W-04), for instance, maintained that they cut short all 'the

conversations that go beyond the issues associated with work.

" I never talk to my colleagues on anything beyond work ... I had seen how they talk behind you ... and only you (women) will be blamed ... they (men) are used to these situations ... " (Susanna D.C.E/W -04 ).

" ... (Women) ... should never respond to complements ... on the dress and so on ... when it is from men ... I mean ... other than ... husband and ... those who are worthy of your trust. .. whom you know for many years ... Also never tell them 'you are looking nice in this dress (etc) .. .It can invite trouble ... I have seen it ... " (Annapurna Rtd.C.E/W-39).

Women tend to move around in single sex groups. This is seen in the canteen

where women occupy a small space on the side of the main hall. This is the only place

where women sit regardless of whether the room is crowded or empty (interview,

engineers:200 1 ;2003). Segregation of women in one corner of the canteen for lunch

and tea is the usual practice. Susanna (D.C.E/W-04) viewed this as a defensive tactic

used by women. It also reflects their understanding of others' expectations about

them. Moving in groups is another strategy women undertake as a defensive strategy

(Joseph, 1999; Ajitha, 1999). To break the isolation in different departments some

women go to others when they are free. Bindumol (A.E/W-01) who is the only

woman engineer in the Department of Hlnan Resource Management at the

headquarter (8th floor) goes all the way to the transmission section in the third floor to

have her lunch with her women colleagues. These strategies are associated directly or

indirectly with the stereotyped images of women in a workplace dominated by male

tradition.

125

Conclusions

In a state where thousands of highly educated people are unemployed, it is not

surprising that many in this study had to wait for jobs for many years. On an average,

intervals between studies and jobs of the engineers ranged from 1 year to 8 years. In

comparison to men more women had job-waiting period and they had many more

years compared to men. K.S.E.B. is a much sought after workplace because of the

attractions associated to a government job. Hence many in the study had joined

K.S.E.B. after many years of work in other offices.

K.S.E.B. as an organization functions within the framework of equality of

access and opportunities. The semblance of gender neutrality in its policies gets

exposed when one looks deeper at the pattern of women's work as engineers. Within

K.S.E.B. men and women do not get equal treatment in terms of the tasks performed.

There are definite paths for women's career within K.S.E.B. The one who strays off

this path is not looked at favourably. The male tradition within the organisation has

left many obstacles for women to prove their mettle. These obstacles are both

structural and social. As a result of the fact that only men worked in the field offices,

for example, there are no toilets in these areas for women. Family responsibilities are

one major area that seemed to constrain women. More importantly, perceptions of

people in the field like the field staff/subordinates, management and customers appear

to be biased against women working in the field. The informal policies practised by

K.S.E.B. in terms of not sending women to field as a protective measure also lead to

lack of female tradition in the field. The interactions in. the field provide additional

exposure to different aspects of technical know-how that are important for their

professional development.

Women seemed to be more reluctant than men to attend training

programme and obtain additional degrees that would help them in their

technical tasks. They cited absence of linkages between everyday tasks and training

and their family roles as main reasons for their lack of interest in attending training

programme. Chapters on engineers and their educational experiences and work in

K.S.E.B. point towards the importance of family in their lives. The following chapter

tries to look at the experiences of women as far as family's role in their education and

work is concerned and also women's experiences within their families.

126