An Indian engineer's enthusiasm wins Diversity Award for BC Hydro
BURNABY – Anitha Basavaraju's first winter in Regina was enjoyable for its novelty. "Living in India, I just saw pictures of snow in the movies and it was like, wow, I can feel it now," says the native of Karnataka, a state in southern India where the language is Kannada but the weather is definitely un-Canadian.
Her second prairie winter was "bearable". Her third winter was... much better because she knew she'd soon be moving to the West Coast with her husband Ramachandra Maddur.
"I think 2007 was my year," says the engineer, flashing a 100-megawatt smile generated in large part by her experience as a new BC Hydro employee. "I hope 2008 is my year, too."
Basavaraju speaks glowingly of her boss and her work at Hydro. In fact, her enthusiasm in describing her experience to a reporter from Canadian Immigrant Magazine last fall led to BC Hydro winning a 2007 Workplace Diversity Award from the magazine.
"It's the focus BC Hydro has, to make people like me feel comfortable," she says. "I'm a part of HEMS (Hydro Employees' Multicultural Society) today, and we're working towards having an ambassador for each group or country so that they have some means of contacting every newcomer and help make them feel at home. It's awesome."
In many ways, Basavaraju's Hydro experience is a relief.
She came to Canada to join her husband, who was working on his masters in environmental systems engineering at the University of Regina. But while the Saskatchewan city had some programs for immigrants searching for jobs, opportunities were scarce and the doors weren't opening.
B.C.'s thriving South Asian community and some key government workshops proved pivotal to finding a job in the Vancouver area. Basavaraju leaned heavily on a local immigrant support group – Kannada Kuta – to learn the most valuable lesson of all: the value of networking.
"That's how someone like me can really get some contacts," she says. "I did understand after moving to B.C. that networking takes at least 80 per cent of the job market. It's all filled by networking."
After some initial apprehension, she made some cold calls. Then Basavaraju worked the room at Kannada Kuta, and discovered two Hydro employees who got to know her and helped ensure the company would take a seriously look at her application.
She got the job in February, 2007, working in BC Hydro's Quality Assurance group. Her training and experience with ISO – the International Standards Organization that oversees world-wide industrial and commercial standards – proved to be a big asset.
And what's it like to work for Hydro? Well, she's got a great boss in QA team lead Mike Knapp, the ability to take part in multicultural events at work, and a rather attractive benefits package that allowed her to take six weeks off for a trip home to India in her first year.
"I really have to feel thankful to have such an opportunity," she says, laughing. "My husband travelled with me but he couldn't really get six weeks. I got it."
Basavaraju is part of the changing face of BC Hydro, which is working hard to expand the diversity of the company. Visible minorities now make up 13 per cent of BC Hydro's workforce, women make up 29 per cent of the total, two per cent are Aboriginal and three per cent are disabled.
Of course, diversity in the Lower Mainland is not hard to find. Basavaraju has her pick of Indian restaurants, she can celebrate festivals both Indian and Canadian with her friends at Kannada Kuta, and she can even bring Indian sweets home to her parents in India.
And the weather?
"Me and my husband have no problem with the snow, with the driving or anything," she says. "We've seen the worst back in Regina."
