INSPIRING NEXT-GEN WOMEN LEADERS

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India is inching towards a gender sensitive organizational structure enabled by a series of legislative, social changes, and HR policy changes by forward-looking companies. Some years ago, Indian Government made it mandatory to hire women independent Directors on the board of companies of a certain size and scale. It resulted in a lot of women upscaling themselves to qualify for such roles and also once there is women’s representation on board, diversity ratio improves.

In terms of a social change, there are now more career opportunities for women, acting as a catalyst for women to enter the corporate workforce. Most importantly HR policies are playing a big role in women’s participation in the workforce and keeping them there, whether it is diversity and inclusion or flexible working hours for young parents.

When I started my first corporate job I was told to work twice as hard to get half as much credit as a male colleague. It was shocking because I was struggling to find the right balance, leaving my children, stepping out of my home to start a corporate job and there was this additional pressure. But, this was 20 years ago, today women are more self-assured and I don’t think they should put any pressure on themselves to prove their worth. You have to be good at what you do.

My early professional years were spent raising my family vs. building my career. I joined my husband’s accounting firm which allowed me to set my own rules. After almost 12 years, I decided to get a full-time corporate job, being fully aware that it was not going to be easy.

Prioritizing exactly what made me happy at every life stage and daring to make it work has greatly helped me in building a successful career. It also demonstrates that it is possible to re-join the workforce after taking a break to raise your family.

MY SUCCESS MANTRAS