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Being woman-no barrier to storming a bastion

Aditha DISSANAYAKE

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Balancing family life with a professional career

Prof. Niranjanie Ratnayake says she has been lucky in being able to balance her career and family life because she got the support of both her parents and her parents in law. She also thinks that being an academic has had its plus points as this allows her to spend more time at home.

“ I am invariably working till about midnight, as I bring my work home, but being home means being available for the children when they need me, so that’s a big advantage.” She had not taken any administrative posts until the children were grown up and though she had not forgone any promotions, had not rushed into them either “Even though my husband and I have the same number of years of service at the University, he became a Professor about five years earlier than I did” she points out.

Prof. Ratnayake admits “without a doubt” she is what she is today because of her parents. The biggest influence in her life was her father. “He was a simple person, always cheerful, and he loved to quote from the books he had read and poems he had learnt during his school days at St. Aloysius College. Galle.” But her mother was the one who ‘knew’ that the children should be educated and sent to the best schools possible, and later, to the University.

“It was really remarkable how the two of them complemented each other. My father was the one who earned, but he was not very economy conscious. But mother could stretch his private sector clerk’s salary like an elastic to feed and clothe us, not uttering a word about shortcomings. My father was always there to wipe our tears when we had any disagreements with mother; of course he and we knew mother was right!”

She is grateful to the support her husband Prof. Lakshman Ratnayake has extended to her whenever she needed it but also points out that perhaps the most important role he has played in her career is by allowing her to reach her heights on her own. “He does not usually interfere with my academic work.” she contends.

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For years, researchers have struggled to understand why few women take up careers in science and engineering. Theories vary from family-unfriendly office hours to innate differences between the genders. Yet, career success in a male dominated field is possible as some women who have excelled in their chosen fields have proved. Prof. Niranjanie Ratnayake, a Senior Professor in Civil Engineering, who was the first ever female Associate Professor, and Senior Professor of Engineering (any discipline) in the Sri Lankan university system offers insight into her success and advice for women considering a career in a male dominated field.

Soft spoken, bespectacled, dressed in a maroon sari Professor Niranjanie Ratnayake is the epitome of feminine grace. Yet, her academic qualifications and achievements in the field of engineering are overwhelming. After having obtained a first class degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Peradeniya in 1974 she became a lecturer and held the post of Director of Post graduate Studies of the Faculty of Engineering (from August 1999 to June 2004) and was appointed as the Head of the Department of Civil Engineering (from June 2004 to June 2007), at the University of Moratuwa. She also has a research Master of Engineering Degree from the University of Wales, and is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka. Her field of specialization is Environmental Engineering.

Yet,Prof.Ratnayake says when she was studying for her Advanced Level exam, becoming an engineer was just a dream. “I was quite good in Maths, but not so good in remembering botanical and zoological names in biology, so I chose to get into the mathematics stream at the Advanced Levels” Recalls Prof. Ratnayake. Having attended Anula Vidyalaya and Visakha Vidyalaya, she says “we were trained to do what is right, and not care too much about what others say”. She had never felt disadvantaged by being a girl.”I don’t think it ever occurred to me at that time that I was entering a man’s vocation,”she confesses.

This was the era when science and technology were gaining popularity even among the ordinary people with breakthroughs in astronomy, space travel and people walking on the moon. “Yuri Gagarin and Valentina Thereskova were household names, even though I come from a very ordinary family in Sri Lanka, and had access to only the radio and the newspapers”, says Prof.Ratnayake. “Apollo 11 was launched when we were in the Advanced Level class. The movie on Sir Arthur C. Clark’s “2001: Space Odyssey” was breaking box office records. I remember reading everything I could lay my hands on about space travel at that time.” She also feels it was natural that she should have been interested in science as, being the youngest in a family of three, her older brother had studied physical science and her sister, dental surgery, both at the University of Peradeniya.

The defining moment in her choice of a career had come, not on the day the Advanced Level results were released and she learned she was selected for Engineering, (along with five other girls in her class), but when a letter came from the University of Colombo offering her a substantial scholarship if she gave up Engineering and joined their physical science program. “I knew then, that I did not want to give up my opportunity to do engineering at any cost.”

She admits her social life as an undergraduate at the University of Peradeniya was not as pleasant as she would have wished. There were only 12 girls in the batch of 150 Engineering students, when she entered university in October 1969. “We were called the “Dirty Dozen” after the movie.” recalls Prof. Ratnayake. “There were 4 first classes when we graduated in 1974, one in Electrical Engineering, two in Mechanical engineering and one first class in Civil Engineering.Mine! This was, out of a batch of about 120 Civil Engineering students!” More importantly, one of the Mechanical Engineering first classes was also obtained by a girl - Indira Arulpragasam (now Samarasekera) who is currently the President -Vice Chancellor of University of Alberta, Canada. “I did not feel any competitiveness between the girls and boys as far as the academic work was concerned. If you do well, you get good results.” Prof. Ratnayake reveals the secret of her success.

“Male colleagues!” she exclaims in mock exasperation when I ask her how she got on with her batchmates. “Socially, there was a kind of general barrier - we came from girls’ schools and they came from mostly boys’ schools, and there was no easy transition. Individually some of them were nice, but particularly in our batch, there was this mass movement to ignore us, and not only us, but the boys who were nice to us as well. We were treated as if we were some strange creatures.” This had had no effect on her studies, but she admits “socially, we really did not get on well with our male batchmates.” She finds it amusing to meet some of her batchmates today and hear them confess “Yes they had not treated the girls well!”

As soon as the final exams were completed she recalls receiving several letters along with her other batchmates for various vacancies, without even being present for an interview. “I was called to the Irrigation Department, and was assigned to the Hydraulic Research Laboratory at Jawatte Road.

However, I was there only for about 2 weeks, for they called me back to the Faculty, for the post of Temporary Assistant Lecturer. Since then, I have been an academic.”

Prof. Ratnayake does not believe it is difficult for a woman to create a niche for herself in a man dominated field. “I feel that being a woman has not held me back from anything that I wanted to do in my career” she explains and adds “Of course, sometimes our brains have to compensate for what we miss in brawn. I tell our female students that they cannot afford to be mediocre; employers will select a mediocre male over a mediocre female, but they will hesitate to take a mediocre male when there is an excellent female engineer.”

Prof. Ratnayake observes a dearth in the number of women who have chosen careers in such fields as technology and science not only in Asia but in western countries as well and attributes this to the general acceptance in every society that females are not suitable for these professions.

The advice she has to offer to young women who are considering a career in a male dominated industry is simple. “Don’t think about it too much , the brain is supposed to be gender neutral, and if you are prepared to work at it, you can achieve excellence”. She believes that once you have achieved your goals, your options open up, and you get the opportunity to choose what suits you best because by then, you would have a clearer idea of what you really want in life, and make the best choice. “Life is all about making the right choices, as they say.” reminds Prof. Ratnayake. “But don’t be afraid to make mistakes, there are more ways than one of achieving what you want, some may be tougher than others, but not trying takes you nowhere.”

In other words, Prof. Ratnayake’s exemplary story can be summed up into the following equation. Hard work+making the right choice=success.

Opinion:

Say ‘no’ to discrimination

Sampath Jayakody

Today the concepts of being a man and a woman have undergone a sea change. If we compare this with the days gone by, we could witness a crystal clear discrepancy with the concept of being a man or a woman in this contemporary modern society. However issues regarding being a woman appear to be a vexed topic even now. A lot of people have the notion that women are subordinate characters to a man. Only a small proportion of men agree that women should be given the equality in the society.

However we should be egalitarian in our attitudes. We do not possess any qualification or permission to keep other people under our control. If we try to do an action like that, it would showcase our deterioration of interaction with human beings.Some people claim a woman should still have the orthodox qualities and the conduct she had in the past.

What they have forgotten is that the time has changed. Some men still do not like to see their women doing a professional job.

Some men consider women as inferior characters. Those men have a sense of superiority. And they enjoy that. Some men claim that they should not be second to women - a man should be a man. Men try to control women because when they could control women they could do whatever they like. Should a woman question should she keep her mouth shut? And sometimes, some women even fear to question admitting unwillingly whatever their husbands or men do. Moreover if we go to a house we might be able to witness the same thing taking place in the society. Some husbands want to be kings inside their houses, while the poor woman works tirelessly almost like a servant. Likewise, there are many instances where women are being subjected to discrimination. When it comes to marriage a considerable proportion of men would say that they consider the fact that a woman being a virgin until she gets married but not vice versa.

However, the so called men, if they tap their hearts and ask, they might deduce, that they have had and experienced all the entities related to sexual life, sometimes including a number of pre-marital sex instances. I do not say that women do not fall into this category of men, completely. Nevertheless it has been common to notice that when it comes to finding a partner men naturally prefer virgins though men are not. Moreover if a woman cannot give birth to a child, then she is cornered.

The whole society blames the woman but not the man. In a way, we have got used to put the women under these kinds of pressures because we have a notion that women are weak and men are strong. Biologically that is 100 percent correct.

But though it has been scientifically proven, men cannot in any way keep women under their control.

Keeping women under the control of men is that interfering in women’s work in a manner which is disturbing and causing them physical or mental stress.

Untold unfairy tales!

Samangie Wettimuny

Who do you turn to first, when you need to share your ‘sad’ tales hitherto untold specially when you are certain that it won’t attract the attention of many who are satisfied with their assigned gender roles? Whom do you confide in when you find out that home is (not) your castle when you fail to win your parents over, when you find out that all your ‘unusual’ (un)girly talks fall on dead ears? Where do you choose to shed a tear hidden away from the public eye which finds you too ‘independent’ and too ‘smart’?

At the age of six you are at the centre of attention wherever you go. You and your baby pink frock would really steal the show! You are content and so are the rest of the crowd. But by the age of ten you have started showing all the qualities of a “would-be-deviant.’ You have got into the habit of ‘over-questioning” long before it becomes your profession!

While everyone is all eyes when the procession parades through the street ‘she’ poses the wrong question; “why aren’t there any female “Nilames? All angry eyes turn towards her. At the age of sixteen she goes wild when not allowed to enter the Kataragama Devale as she goes there on a ‘wrong’ day. “If all are ‘woman born’ how can there be ‘pure’ and ‘impure’ days?” again a wrong question and she is chased out of the premises by her own aunty! At a Bana ceremony she is worried as to why Hamuduruwo does not tie the “Pirith Noola” on her hand , but remains silent as she is well aware of the repercussions of being “too noisy”

While at home she is continuously being reminded of her place in the society and is advised not to be ‘too forward’, not to play ‘the father’s role.’ But by the age of fifteen she has become a voracious reader. By now she has learnt that unlike one’s sex, gender is socially determined. But she is worried as to why all women, even her female Sociology lecturers (who come to the scene much later in life) act as if gender is biologically determined!

Why do all the “irrelevant” worries roll through her mind? In a society where cooking is solely a ‘woman’s job’ what right has she got to question about it? Why does she always get involved in unnecessary issues and pose ‘insane” questions ;”If eating is a ‘shared responsibility’ should not cooking too be shared?” Why does she often say that she is not a dependant variable and would retain her surname after marriage? Why is she very good at finding fault with the ‘superior sex’ and believes only in fictitious characters?” Where does the fault lie? In her gender, or the way of thinking? According to Brecht “Fearful is the seductive power of goodness.” Similarly is not extreme sensitivity too, fearful?

Are there any other untold stories which await publicity? Will you confide in a journalist to share your worries especially if you are not ready to let those ‘socially determined’ labels slow you down? If you think that silence is (not) golden and a trouble shared is a trouble halved, doors are open for you!