Ila Ghose

Ila Ghose (née Majumdar) (24 July 1930 - 11 December 2019) was a mechanical engineer and West Bengal's first woman engineer. She was the first female alumna of the Bengal Engineering College.

Early life and education Ila Majumdar was born in the Madaripur subdivision, Faridpur district, East Bengal in 1930. She was one of six sisters and two brothers. Her father, Jatindra Kumar Majumdar, was a deputy magistrate and her mother was a housewife. From a young age her interest in engineering was recognised.

In an interview with the Global Alumni Association of Bengali Engineering and Science University, Shibpur, she spoke of the gender bias she faced in her career:“Of course, I have faced gender bias all the time in my professional life. I think it will take a long time to change the mindset of the society, and there is no other way to bear it. But it hurts when the cases of selection / promotion comes, how the authorities find flimsy excuses not to offer a woman her rightful place as they feel she is not supposed to boss over men. One had to tolerate this.”