Gopinath retires, says no glass ceiling at RBI

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor Shyamala Gopinath, who retired today, said her gender was never an issue in her nearly four decades of service during which she successfully saw through many a challenges.

"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 yesterday.

"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 said.

Speaking about the highs and lows at the the central bank, Gopinath said she enjoyed managing many a crisis situations 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," said Gopinath, who joined RBI in April 1972.

Managing government borrowing was always a tough job, especially during a crisis, she added.

"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."