Even in the era of women’s empowerment, the oil and gas sector has always been seen as a male bastion, and a strict no-no for women. But Barmer, infamously known for female infanticide and foeticide, is breaking this tradition. Here women hailing from the region are venture out into oil fields and taking up professions such as engineers, supervisors and security personnel.
Barmer’s sex ratio is rather skewed.
It has 902 girls per 1,000 boys, way below the national average of 940. Whether it’s dowry, property or simply preference for a son, the reality is that daughters are still unwanted in these parts of Rajasthan. Last decade, the Thar desert region witnessed a tectonic shift when huge oil reserves were discovered.
Initially, the field work-force at Cairn Oil and Gas & Vedanta, the operator in the Barmer oil basin, was male-dominated. Then the company took the lead to change this perception by hiring for the very first time women engineers for frontline engineering roles for its exploration and production operations.
Arpita Borthakur, assistant well service supervisor in Barmer, said, “I joined the oil company with lots of enthusiasm and am proudly working in a male dominating area.” The company looks forward to achieving its target of 30 percent female workforce at the site. “I chose to join the company because it had shown an interest in involving women in frontline engineering ops, providing both men and women equal field exposure,” said Rangoli Jaiswal, a petroleum engineer at the Mangala Processing Terminal, Barmer.
The views of Irin M Paulson, senior petroleum engineer at this processing plant, are similar. “The support one gets on the field plays a vital role. And, I have found that support here,” she said. “There is a general perception that women cannot handle core jobs and even if some companies recruit women, they are not given the chance to work on the field,” said Pallavi Kaushik, an engineer working with Vedanta.
Breaking The Barriers
- Even in the era of women empowerment, the oil and gas sector has always been seen as a male bastion, and a strict no-no for women.
- But Barmer, infamously known for female infanticide and foeticide, is breaking this tradition.
- Here women hailing from the region are venture out into oil fields and taking up professions such as engineers, supervisors and security personnel.
- Initially, the field work-force at Cairn Oil and Gas & Vedanta, the operator in the Barmer oil basin, was male dominated. Then the company took the lead to change this perception by hiring for the very first time women engineers for frontline engineering roles for its exploration and production operations.
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