Gopinath retires, says there is no glass ceiling at RBI

Mumbai, Jun 20: The deputy governor of the Reserve Bank Shyamala Gopinath, who retired today (Jun 20) from the Mint Road office after 39 years of service, says she never felt that she was disadvantaged or advantaged for being a woman, and that there is no glass ceiling at the central bank.

"I don't think a glass ceiling operates for the Governor (of the RBI) or for that matter, for any of its officers. At the RBI, all officers are treated as officers and not as women or men. I am an RBI officer like any other. Because of one's gender one would not be able to climb up the ladder here," Gopinath told PTI in her last interview as the deputy governor here.

"In my 39 years of life at RBI, never ever I felt that I should be treated differently for being an woman. Being women does not help or places one at a disadvantageous position at RBI," she explains.

When asked about the highs and lows of her four decades-old career, Gopinath says she enjoyed managing many a crisis situation during her long years of service.

"There have been many testing periods during my career at the central bank. But I always enjoyed such situations, because our responsibility is to ensure that the public confidence in the system is not shaken," Gopinath who joined RBI in April 1972, says adding since she has handled so many areas, does not feel that she has spent so many years.

Elaborating on the tough tasks that RBI has to handle, she says government borrowing is always a tough job,especially during a crisis. "See, managing liquidity is a big challenge. Managing government borrowing means ensuring that the confidence in the system is not shaken and also ensuring that there is enough liquidity in the system."

PTI