‘SDVs open an avenue for women to be more inclusive in the auto industry’: DTICI’s Angelin Mary GP

Angelin Mary GP – Vice-President, Vehicle Software, Daimler Truck Innovation Centre India (DTICI) – revisits her journey as an engineer to reach her current leadership role, where today she drives cutting-edge innovation powering future vehicle software platforms, alongside leading various DEI initiatives at the company to create a steady pipeline of future women leaders. A seasoned professional with over 26 years of experience, she has served as Head, Vehicle Software, DTICI since April 2022.

Can you give us an overview of your journey towards reaching this position today?
I started my career with the DRDO (Defense Research and Development Organization) where I was there for around five years before deciding to move to the private sector. And my choice was automotive because of my prior experience in vehicle research at DRDO. I made the switch to the automotive industry with Delphi Automotive (now Aptiv) where I was in the software and electronics division.

I started as a senior software engineer and for a very long time, grew into various positions within the software domain. I was leading the system validation team of Asia Pacific, when I thought that I need to also experience other domains, some of which, like cloud and mobile, were a little ahead of their time. So that is where I joined Honeywell in its building automation solutions division.

That gave me a different flavour and speed altogether. With a cloud and mobile app, I was experiencing agile development methodologies, and after three years, the call from automotive happened again, and due to my passion, I made the switch to join Daimler Truck. I have been with the Daimler Truck Innovation Centre India (DTICI) since April 2022.

What was the level of diversity during higher education and in early years of your career?
I have done my BE in Computer Science and then an MS in Software Systems. While there was a 30-50% diversity ratio in courses like Electrical, Electronics and Communication, and Computer Science Engineering, streams like Mechanical Engineering were mostly dominated by boys. Even at DRDO, male dominance was evident, and I was one among the few women in an engineering role.

As I grew up the career ladder, from the leadership point of view, I was the only woman leader who could get into the senior leadership position. In fact, I was the youngest leader. But I have developed this attitude or habit of never being conscious of my gender. I play a role and deliver what is expected out of me. I think that has helped me to not be submissive and remain confident.

Are you seeing a change? What are some of the DEI initiatives at DTICI?
Several women have started to get into the leadership ladder, especially in the senior leadership roles. Often, women drop off at the middle-management stage due to various well-known personal reasons, but the situation is now changing. Companies are now encouraging women to grow in their careers, and at DTICI, for example, we have several DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) initiatives, wherein I am also leading one of the working groups.

We have a dedicated working group called the ‘DT Wings’ and this group enables access to various leadership roles for women. We focus on mentoring and coaching women to be confident to chart out their career roadmaps. We encourage them to network with other colleagues and leaders. Quite often, women are hesitant and waiting for an opportunity or waiting for an external push to reveal their talent. Hence, DT Wings offers the right forum where women participate in sessions that also teach them on how to market themselves. We coach them to promote themselves by executing various programmes. We also fast track and identify potential women who could be our future leaders.

Moreover, we focus on reintegrating women when they come back from their maternity. We are also forming a small committee to revisit the policies and offer realistically possible flexibility to women to encourage them to continue and grow in the ladder. Hence, we have a conscious focus at each level to create a steady pipeline of women leaders.

Diversity brings a multi-perspective approach in decision making, and therefore, it is not just important to have women in leadership roles, but across the board as it drives innovation. Furthermore, the industry is undergoing a lot of changes, not just at the policy front, but also if we look at the software content inside vehicles which is increasing leaps and bounds.

As we move towards software-defined vehicles or SDVs, it opens an avenue for women to be more inclusive in white-collared roles, alongside the shopfloor. The overall Industry is changing, and the change is particularly visible in the last two decades.

What message would you like to convey to budding women in the automotive workforce?
Women must not feel shy from projecting their work and promoting themselves. This is what I would tell my lady peers in the industry. Are they afraid of criticism? Do they need approval from someone? They need to ask these questions and overcome their preconceived notions. Women need not be conscious of where they are coming from and be afraid about if that would impact on how they would be treated.

We need to be confident by virtue of our core values. We must not wait for the right time, right age, right experience or support from the ecosystem. Women must just start today.