Sampada is a Senior UX Designer at Blinkit (formerly Grofers). She has been taking care of all things design on the supply side. This week we talked to her about her journey as a woman in technology.

Introduce yourself.

I am Sampada. Pakka Mumbaikar (OG Mumbai) but right now stationed at Bangalore and a part of the Blinkit family as a Senior UX Designer for almost 2.5 years now.

Born and brought up in Mumbai, I’ve literally played hopscotch with my career choices so far. EXTC (Electronics & Telecommunication) Engineering for graduation, Masters in Graphics design, CMF (Color, Materials, Finish) designer in TVS motors and now UX design!

If someday I have to write a mantra for creative life, it would be “Coffee is the brain and music is the soul of a creative life”. Trying to explore and challenge the tech world not only as a designer but also with girl power. It’s been a fun ride till now and I’m hoping to learn more as I grow with the amazing personalities surrounding me.

Tell us about your team and your role.

I work as a UX designer in Supply Chain. We are a team of four amazing crazy, creative and diverse designers but with equality as a base — an equal number of boys and girls. Suppose tech is the skeleton and the foundation of Blinkit; operations are its limbs. In that case, the Design team is like the synaptic connections among the body and brain, keeping functions smooth and coordinated. Our team helps identify problems and areas to improve, research, ideate, brainstorm and find solutions. As a final step, we collaborate with the development team to turn product ideas into working prototypes, test them, deploy, get feedback and then start improving again. Our team helps people keep this cycle of improvement going and empathise with our users and build a better experience.

Share your journey as a Woman in Tech.

Well, not just my journey as a woman in tech but also the experience of working in a male privilege setup of manufacturing at an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer). It’s all about overcoming challenges and learning. It’s not just the knowledge, skills and talents you have but also the way to present and conduct yourself and voice your opinion that matters. All the assurance of gender equality is usually only in the printed form in the code of conduct at organizations. In the actual setup, we have to work twice as hard to prove our worth and talent and ensure that our success is untainted by the biased views of people around us. In my previous job, it was a privilege to work on the operation line of vehicle building, actually move around and work on bikes and cars to understand and help build solutions in what is usually considered a world devoid of women.

One of the most exciting experiences I had was during an interview for a job where they asked, “Will you be comfortable to go do research and interviews on the ground in a mostly male-supervised and all-male work environment? Will you feel safe and be able to work to your full potential?” I realized that I was explicitly asked this question because women are either considered less exploring or less willing to face the challenges of such an environment in our society. If it was a question about safety, it should be common to any candidate that applies for a job despite their gender. But usually, we as women face such questions and doubts in our work, whether in tech or at an OEM or even in more mature corporate setups.

Talk about the most important learnings from this journey.

All said and done, I’d say the most significant learning I had from this journey is to “believe in yourself, keep working smart and keep supporting everyone whether it’s a woman or a man.” Our success will always be judged and considered either a privilege of gender discrimination or just some bias and our failure will always be cherished by very few people in the industry. We will always have to fight hard and work twice as much to get what we deserve, but in all this, always believe in yourself and help others do so; it will help the larger community and goodwill and help you grow as a hooman being.

3 things that helped you grow in Tech.

Communication: Due to lack of connection, hierarchical ideas and biases and sometimes just out of competitive behaviour, people forget the most basic tricks to grow and get better knowledge- Communication with anyone and everyone in and out of tech helps me grow.

Collaboration: One person alone can probably come up with an idea but they always need the helping hands of many to realise that idea as a product. Collaborating with people across any role or designation has been the most helpful for me to climb ladders in challenges and solve problems.

Fun: Have you seen kids playing out in the scorching sun and heat? They sure know how to have fun in the oddest possible situations! Trying to find an intriguing and fun element in difficult situations has always helped me and my team to waddle through the marshy fields of competition in tech.

Talk to us about the constraints you face as a Woman in Tech.

As a designer and problem solver, I feel the industry sets two significant constraints.

1. Undermining work capability

2. Lack of acknowledgement

Let us address these, one by one. If you see out in the world, there are many women-led organizations in tech and the army, heavy work categories like construction, architecture, train operators, and even as astronomers. Still, on a larger scale and in our basic work culture in India and all across the tech industry, women are denied chances at jobs that are part of a male-dominated industry. The sad part is that the denial is due to the assumption that female counterparts cannot bear such challenges as they lack physical and mental strength. And this bias is towards the entire female population, which has been ingrained in the human mind for centuries; women are frail, weak and can’t handle challenging situations. In fact, the strongest beings in our society and tech are females who deal with demanding tasks and situations as daughters, mothers, wives, friends, role models, leads and architects of their own life, and others.

As for the second bias, it’s the gloomiest aspect of perception towards women in tech. We can see people considering their female counterparts as the best solution while presenting ideas, products, or a company’s face, which more or less addresses female representatives’ beauty or visual appeal to positively impact the business. But when it comes to pitching in an idea, constructing a new model, or investing in a think tank founded or led by women, they are looked down upon. And the behaviour stems out of a long-held belief that women cant solve complex problems or are slow learners when it comes to tech.

We have many initiatives and great examples that disprove these constraints. I am glad we can keep building on top of positive models so that one day a person’s performance will be judged solely on their ability and knowledge, devoid of their gender preferences.

Give us a book/movie recco on gender parity.

I Am Mother is a post-apocalyptic sci-fi, Netflix original with an average response. The creators have managed to put a great idea through this movie. The movie has all female characters, along with AI governing robot which also identifies as a woman. The entire film speaks about women being a concept of maternal ideology and feeling. Interestingly, it then shows the confinement of women in smaller spaces and ideas and perceptions, fitting them in the roles and views of people and society. A good watch from a gender parity perspective.

Talk about your inspiration/role models.

Dr. Arunima Sinha is a shining beacon of what willpower and a positive attitude can do. She’s the first female mountaineer who, despite being an amputee due to an accident, successfully climbed Mount Everest, a feat which is difficult even for a fully functional and fit human being. Her life story helps me believe in the power of the sheer will to live fully.

Daan Roosegaarde is a Dutch designer who has been in the field of design for social causes. He is an example of what one brain and unit of many hands can do, to make society a better living space. His works such as Van Gogh path, growth and urban sun inspire me as a designer to focus on what we can achieve and how long we still have to go.

These two role models keep me aware of what I am yet to achieve both in my life and career.

One message to all women in tech.

You are your only limit. And limits are meant to be stretched to figure out our capabilities.

Just give a thought to my question, “Why do you need to address yourself as a woman in tech?” It’s because STEM as a system discriminates against us as women and we end up in the same trap of believing in that concept of separate recognition. Our only identity should be our mind, brain, talent and skill. Us being a woman is discrimination or definition that starts in our mind, and it has roots in the long learned ideas that society is programmed to believe and follow. So, we are our only limits. Challenge these concepts and thoughts to keep going. That’s how we are going to make it and make it big.