In celebration of International Women’s Day, we at the team decided to celebrate and honour the ladies of the industry. We tip our hats to the army of women in all positions that we’ve had the privilege of working with, and for this year, we chose to speak to one of the women who is at the forefront of vehicle safety, and that is none other than Zanita Zainuddin, Proton R&D’s head of safety and intelligent drive.
In case you didn’t know, it was Zanita’s team that was tasked with redeveloping the Geely Binyue into the X50 (strictly from a safety-related perspective). One of the most crucial changes was to reinforce the front floorboard with ultra-high-strength steel to prevent it from tearing during a frontal collision. Had this not been done, the X50 wouldn’t have netted the full five-star ASEAN NCAP crash safety rating, which is extremely strict on tears affecting the area around the feet.
Zanita’s team was also instrumental in the development of many Proton cars, going back to the days of the Putra and Waja. Let’s find out what the journey was like for her, shall we?
*Note: The interview has been edited for clarity.
When did you join Proton and what is your role in the company?
I joined Proton on September 1, 1995. Currently, I am the R&D head of safety and intelligent drive. Essentially, I am responsible for overseeing the development, validation and integration processes regarding all aspects of a car’s passive and active safety systems, including intelligent driver assist systems.
Why did you choose to study engineering? And then, upon graduating, what drew you to look for work in the automotive industry, and ultimately Proton?
Since I was young, I have always been interested in taking things apart and putting them back together. I treated those much like solving a puzzle, and among the stuff I’ve “disassembled” included my late father’s wrist watch, gramophones, and radio players. Then, in secondary school, I became interested in physics and chemistry (I only had to understand and learn the formulas) and add maths. I hated having to memorise things like I did with biology.
Also, at the time, I was reading a lot about the space race that happened between the US and Russia via Life magazine and encyclopedias. I was also interested in cars (what powers it, what looks good etc). So, basically, since middle school, my inclination was always towards engineering. My first few choices were either aerospace, aeronautical or mechanical engineering.
Ultimately, I decided to take up mechanical engineering, since I didn’t have much of a choice after failing BM in my SPM. It’s ironic, because my dad was a BM literature lecturer at one of the local teaching institutes. Plus, most local undergraduate programmes have a prerequisite of at least a credit in BM.
With all said and done, I graduated in from UiTM Shah Alam in 1995 with a mechanical engineering degree. I didn’t jump straight into to the engineering field, because at the time, engineering jobs were few and far between. I worked briefly as a management trainee at a Japanese retail chain, and six months later, I received a call from Proton asking me come in for an interview – it was for an engineer position at its R&D division.
I was excited, and really keen because it was a fully fledged automotive company with an engineering position, plus it was a national one at that. I secured the job, and here I am today, nearly 26 years on.
Because of your gender, did you initially have to work harder to get noticed in your role?
I don’t really understand when you meant “get noticed.” Here’s what happened to me. The position I initially got was homologation engineer. During my first year, I was tasked with homologating the Proton Putra for its entry into the Australian market. About seven months in, one of the last things to do to meet Australian regulations was to witness a frontal collision crash test of the Putra in a Sydney facility. I was hooked – I wanted to fully understand what made our vehicle “crashworthy.”
To put it simply, crashworthiness is the science applied to make a vehicle capable of protecting its occupants in the event of an impact. At the same time, Proton was in the midst of expanding its R&D capabilities, and we were developing our very own car, the Waja. I took the chance and applied for a transfer to the new lab (formerly known as the Component, Material, Safety & Strength or CMSS) in 1997 to lead the safety unit.
For me, it was more to do with having the passion and interest, as well as being confident enough to deal with the job scope and producing results, rather than gender. That, I think, was the reason I was accepted to lead the CMSS safety unit.
Can you share with us some of the experience you’ve had working as an engineer that is related to your gender, because society feels it’s a “man’s job?”
As I progressed through my career, it went from being 100% hands-on with physical tests, which involved a lot of planning and execution, plus I often had to go down to the manufacturing floor. There were the so-called desk work, too, such as data analytics and strategising.
Throughout the entire time, the only time I’ve felt a little less adequate was when we did actual, physical work. This included the various times we needed to do post-test teardown of a vehicle. Those are the only times when you need to have more brawn, per se, to physically remove the engine for the purposes of structural performance analysis. In fact, we have special tools for that and as engineers, we are not specifically trained for that except the technicians.
What makes it personally rewarding for you to be a woman playing an important role in an industry that is still skewed towards male workers?
I love seeing all the safety features we’ve formulated make their way into actual cars that are driven by the people. It’s also rewarding to me to see the next generation of talent beginning to see this often overlooked aspect of transportation in a more serious light.
For me, I’d like for people to be more aware when it comes to having children as passengers – the best place for them in a moving vehicle is in a child seat. And as technology progresses, I would be happy to see more intelligent driving assist systems in our cars to help drivers better detect Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs) such as pedestrians.
What would be your advice for other young women looking to study and ultimately work in the engineering field?
Never be afraid to pursue knowledge, and be humble when asking questions. Don’t think that even if someone regards you as an expert, you know everything. Knowledge is constantly about learning and relearning, especially in our fast-paced world that’s full of new technologies.
Start building a support network with like-minded individuals. This is beneficial for your mental health and well-being, even more so for women. We need to have a healthy work-life balance.
Knowing what you do today, if you were given a choice, would you choose to follow the same path or would you do something else?
I would most certainly choose to follow the same path. No regrets!
What would you do to ensure that women are better represented in the automotive industry?
Firstly, if I had the influence, even on a small scale, I would like to have a say in policy-making, especially in technical working groups consisting of industry and governing bodies. Also, I’d like to listen and fully understand the various issues women face in the automotive industry.
The automotive industry, especially the engineering side, has always been dominated by men. But in the end, vehicles are driven by both men and women equally. Do you think more women should be involved in the car development process, and what advantages would that represent?
Yes, I think more women should be involved in the process of developing cars. Studies conducted by Deloitte and Automotive News in 2018 showed that a conducive, gender-diverse workforce enhances innovation by 20%. Having just three female members that act as tipping points resulted in positive median gains, both in the return on equity and earnings per share.
Personally for me, women are multitaskers, whereas men tend to focus on one thing at a time. Both in themselves have strengths. Women tend to see the big picture, which is crucial to link from one process to the next, seeing from concept to fruition while having the attention to details.
In my personal experience, these traits have particularly helped me when devising strategies and offering consumer related needs in vehicles, especially in cross functional teams for vehicle projects.
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
With a woman as the head and volvo in the family, children safety should be much much better than now.
Proton, leading family & chilfren safety for 26 years and counting.
Perodua mana?
P2 provides cheap, reliable and good cars at affordable pricing.
Syukurla, she joined Proton since 1995. Our national carmaker made immense profits every year. No retrenchment & VSS, syabas!
I hope P2 can learn more from Daihatsu how to make cars. All this time partner with Daihatsu, Perodua learn nothing as their Game Over workers are so lazy and minum teh 10X, so ended up only capable of redesigning grille. Now they are reduced to redesigning badges.
Proton R&D nie, senang aq cakap.. Macam yess Tapi Bukan, sekian.
Pencaci nie, senang aq cakap.. Macam yess tapi Bukan, sekian.
Good job. Also compliment to your other team for nice grill design.
There is no higher compliment than when the parent company silently took the design for their own car.
https://paultan.org/2021/03/09/geely-boyue-asian-games-edition-launched-lotus-tuned-chassis-unique-styling-cues-from-rm58k/
With due respect to Puan Zanita,I wish her the best as female head of dept.
However,let DRB not get carried away.
Before Geely finally said” I do” to wed P1,one must be having very bad memory,if we forget the final year when P1 was insolvent without a bailout.Remember,they ask for R and D grants,but reportedly use the billions to pay the incompetent suppliers who lobbied with croc tears?
To the taxpayers,R and D gomen grants in P1 has been diverted away from its intended use.
R and D has become “reap and divert” when abused.We believe Dr.Li has no intention of resorting to this bad practice in future,but if the partner still persists,Geely Malaysia will be his Plan B alternative.
Syabas Zanita! But rebadging what’s the fun??
Perodua must be a very un-fun place to work, rebadging for decades long and still ongoing
Syabas Zanita! But rebadging where’s the fun??
Oh and rebadging is no fun… at least for us car buyers. In other parts of the world, we could get Kona with hybrid and full driver assist for the price of ativa. This is how much fun we got deprived no thanks to a perodua rebadge.
26 years? Wondering what she did during her early years since Proton was without airbag, ABS and no seat belts for rear passengers. And also earning the moniker milo tin.
She was gaining experience.
Proton’s offerings changed from 26 years ago until now.
As you grow, you experience grows with you.
The person that she’s gaining experience from is clearly not doing his/her job properly too with no airbag, ABS and no seat belts for rear passengers on any Proton cars that time. Btw, one is paid to work and not gaining experience by doing nothing.
You’d have to blame her Mitsubishi Japanese sifu for that.
You hit a hard truth right there
Mitu kat Japan ok je. Tulah bodoh, kena tipu bulat2.
The one thing i’ll admire Proton for is how safety is their top priority. well done P1.
Nice. Now, how about more cultural and racial diversity?
Like many other GLCss, they sell to all Malaysians and should reflect the same in their team!
Just becoz u dont see them in the pic, doesnt mean there arent any. U’ll be suprised to see who are the sales engineer that keeps coming to promote and seal deal on parts to Proton. Jangan sempitkan minda anda.
Bingo!
26 years definitely a long time. Which model of Proton cars scored 5 stars or at least 4 stars in NCAP or similar tests?
Every car since Persona CM
No outcome. Gaji Buta. This article is about women empowerment and gender equality, nothing related to car safety R&D or whatsoever.
Correct. You didn’t read so all that info no input, no input no outcome. Only got noise.
On the other hand, who dunwan a job with No stress, Own time, Own kpi.. Earning a fixed high monthly income, and awaiting promotion and pension upon retirement…. good to know she’s no corruption cbt and embezzlement, syukurr.
What she did? Pls list down. Last time they did employ one lady just to create speedometer design for Gen2. She do proudly gave interview abt it.
From this article, I felt that the interviewer posit the questions along the typical “It’s a wee little girl in a big men’s world” narrative. What impresses me was Zanita’s determination not to walk that line in her answers, and to speak of her achievements and her struggle from a genderless position.
Don’t get me wrong, I believe she have faced gender bias, but it had failed to form her or define her as much as her own passion and efforts. As a result, she succeeded not by gender quota, or by social sensitivities, but by the pure fact that she is the best person for the job, better than all the men and women combined.
Woman should be more well represented. They should challenge the traditional role narrative that is still very much prevalent in our society. But they should do that through wit, strength, resilience and dedication. In contrast to the stereotypical victim narrative common to feminist oriented articles, Zanita will be someone I wish will inspire my own daughters one day.
Not too sound so crude and disrespect to her.
But empty can make the loudest noise.
The above was not posted by me, (the real) Not Toyota Fan.
If anything, I have great admiration for people (irrespective of gender, race, religion) who keep improving themselves and do well at what they do.
*surprised Pikachu face*
Sorry to hear bro. Well as long Admin allows such impostors to troll here, this trick never gets old.
Reading her interview, from her replies it does sound as if she was taken aback by such gender sensitive questions.
Perhaps it may be that within proton there is less of a gender bias gap than more famous conglomerates or perhaps only from their engineering arm does gender is a lesser issue than brains and capability.
If that is the case, i really do respect them for setting up a gender insensitive work culture.
Since I was young, I have always been interested in taking things apart and putting them back together. I treated those much like solving a puzzle, and among the stuff I’ve “disassembled” included my late father’s wrist watch, gramophones, and radio players. Then, in secondary school, I became interested in physics and chemistry (I only had to understand and learn the formulas) and add maths. I hated having to memorise things like I did with biology.”
Give me 5!
Wow tahniah to her. But… Proton not a successful company, thank you to Geely.
x50 nak tunggu lambat rasa5-6 bulan kenapa ya ini yg membuat customer x beli.cuba tengok p2 baru ada stock x payah tunggu lama.sy rasa proton x ubah dari dulu sampai skr mcm tu aje.jng cakap kereta barang pon lambat atau x ada stock
https://paultan.org/2021/02/03/mco-2-0-proton-production-affected-due-to-shortage-of-parts-new-product-launches-to-continue-as-planned/
Dah explain tu tapi tak mau dgr ke atau buat bodoh je?