In a period when women seldom took up job roles, Damyanti Gupta dreamt of an engineer position at Ford company and successfully earned it at the age of 25.
Originally from Pakistan, Damyanti’s family migrated to India during the Partition. She was born in 1942 into the Hingorani family, who gave great importance to female education.
Damyanti grew up listening to speeches of then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru which inspired her to take up engineering. She remembers the PM saying, “India needs engineers post-independence. Not just boys, but girls too.”
She was inspired to work for Henry Ford after reading his biography.
Damyanti’s family supported her and sent her to the US by selling their properties. She was rejected in her first attempt but soon she turned her into the first-ever female engineer at Ford. The HR at Ford Motors said, “You’re applying for an engineering job, but we have no females here.” Damyanti retorted, “I’m here, and unless you hire me, you’ll never have any.”
She is not only one of India’s first female engineers but also the first mechanical engineer to pass out from her college.
This 79-year-old lady now inspires thousands of women including her five granddaughters.
Watch the story of this powerful lady whose name is to be engraved in the history of great Indian women:
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