Woman Power: What the world needs!
Disclaimer: Long read. 8-10 minutes.
8th March is International Woman's Day!
"Wishing all the women in my life A Very Happy Woman's Day!" Messages to this effect will flood our Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok, Snapchat and every other form of social media. Websites will ask us to buy things to gift the women on this day. Offices will cut cakes and put up pink decorations extolling their support for women. And, everywhere, we will expect them to say - Thank You for celebrating us.
It took 70+ years of struggle for women to get the right to vote in 1920. It took another couple of decades before women could start working, and that too because men were away fighting a war. Its taken another 80-odd years for one organisation to celebrate the fact that they have achieved gender balance across management levels.
As I watch the workplace environment today and see some men enjoy privileges that women have to struggle for; As I watch my daughter who will enter the workforce in a few years; As I interact with some of the amazing women leaders across various fields; I wonder - do we belittle all the struggles the women have to face by just collapsing all this into one single day in the year?
With that niggling thought at the back of my mind, I reached out to a few of the dynamic, independent, strong women leaders that I have encountered in my life till date and asked them - What would they have to say about being women leaders and What advice would they give to young girls, like my daughter, who are just entering the workforce? What can the new women entrants learn from them?
I started with my family's two dynamos; my wife - Anindita Das Veluri & my sister - Kirti Veluri; women who I admire immensely. From my college days, I spoke to Zeba Zaidi Adeeb who has set up one of the most successful running events in the country. From my earliest working days, I reached out to Arundhati Ghosh whose ideals I admire & Jalaja Pillai, who moved away to start her own consultancy. From my current work environment I sought answers from Sue Pulendran & Belinda Jurisic who are trailblazing across the sky and setting new benchmarks. And finally I spoke to the newest person that I have interacted with - Ramya Babu who is single handedly setting up a division in her organisation.
Interestingly, and something that I should have expected, they all mentioned that there is no such thing as a woman leader - a leader does not have a gender, a leader is a leader.
I learnt a lot as I read through their replies. I realised what a change they can make as leaders. I realised that inspite of their daily struggles, they keep the faith and be the best they can be - which is sometimes better than the best men.
There is some amazing sound advice from each of them ranging from being yourself to not compromising on your values, from constantly learning to building your tribe, from not feeling guilty to taking bold risks and a lot in between. Sound advice for any young person joining the workforce - and for some veterans.
As you read through their replies to two simple questions I would tell the men to read each one carefully and if you have a woman in your team - to understand their potential and give them the support. To the young women reading this, I would tell you to learn from these masters and imbibe the values they have espoused here.
I hope you learn from the women below. And treat them as equals.
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Head of Marketing & Communications – NetApp Asia Pacific
What does it mean to be a female leader today?
I am who I am today- not only because of the choices I made yesterday but also because of the belief in myself, hard work, and persistence. A key catalyst in my growth has been the trust placed in me by people who lifted me, and gave me opportunities to shine.
One of my most important responsibilities as a leader is to help people! Just as I have been helped on my journey. I have a duty to those around me, regardless of gender, to take pride in their potential, to identify and create opportunities that will allow them to flourish.
What advice would you give to young women joining the workforce?
I recently read that a girl's confidence drops by 30% between the ages of 8 -14, which is both shocking and startling. The openness to risk and failure gets squashed under a deluge of social and biological signals resulting in self-doubt.
My advice to young women entering the workforce:
- Surround yourself with goodness. Surround yourself with strong-willed individuals who have a vision and determination to make something for themselves, those around them, and the community.
- Don’t be afraid to fail. Get out of your own way. Seek out new opportunities and experiences - take them on. Relish the challenge, learn from failure and bask in the joy of success and doing good.
- Find your voice. Every opinion and view matters - especially yours. Finding your voice becomes easier when you give yourself permission to use it.
And finally, in the words of Michelle Obama, “word hard, laugh often and keep your word.”
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Lead – Training & Standards, Air Asia
What does it mean for you to be a woman leader in today's environment?
The role of a leader should not and cannot be gender specific. A person becomes a leader because he/she has leadership qualities; not by the virtue of one’s gender. This has been a known fact for decades together but it’s achieving acceptance only now! And therefore, it means the world to me that the leader in me is accepted and to an extent applauded in today’s environment. The cultural shift is slow but I am happy to be in a time when the shift is oscillating in the right direction! Soon, we will shatter the glass ceilings!
What advice would you give to young women joining the workforce?
- People will judge you; don’t let that define you - A woman who has a mind of her own and speaks it is more often than not labelled as “bossy”. A man, on the contrary who does the same is judged to have leadership qualities. Nothing and no one should stop you from voicing your opinion and don’t let anyone make you feel otherwise.
- Work Life balance is important. Don’t apologise for it - Do not let anyone make you feel guilty for taking leave to spend time with your family/friends or even your own self. Don’t let anyone make you feel that if you take maternity leave; you would probably lose your job. These should not be the criteria for measuring your abilities. Your work and performance should be. Let your work speak for you!
- Choose your battles - Not every battle is worth your time. Choose the ones that are worth the fight. Learn to ignore the rest. And a special note for all the single/unmarried women leaders. Do not let people’s version-of-you affect you!
Remember - “You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks ~ Winston Churchill”
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Independent Consultant, Coach & Facilitator
What does it mean for you to be a woman leader in today's environment?
I do not have a gender perspective on leadership. I believe we have good and bad leaders across all genders.
Leadership is more a personal philosophy for me rather than an external manifestation of hierarchy, position, power or a tool to "manage" people. So leadership is how I lead myself.
What advice would you give to young women joining the workforce?
- Permission to make choices true to myself without any pressure, guilt or shame.
- Authenticity - to feel comfortable in my skin and be who I am.
- An ability to give/pay it forward. This for me is a key differentiating factor. It is not enough to do what I think is right/good for me, but to be able to empower others to do that as well.
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Customer Experience, Digital Marketing & Mobility leader - IBM
What does it mean for you to be a woman leader in today's environment?
I think today's environment offers huge opportunities for any leader - be it a women or man. Having said that, given the ratio of women vs men leaders i think being a woman leader offers us an opportunity to create parity at the work place, the responsibility to bring many more deserving women to the forefront and the commitment to build a culture of healthy competitiveness that is based on meritocracy.
What advice would you give to young women joining the workforce?
I would ask the young women to be
- Be lifetime learners -as long as you are open to adapt, learn and be relevant you will grow;
- Be fearless in your approach - if you believe in something stand by it - dont back down just because your voice is weaker than the others or because they have the majority.
- Never compromise on your core value as that is what defines you.
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Senior Director of Channels, Veeam APJ
What does it mean for you to be a women leader in today’s environment?
I do think that women leaders have a responsibility to encourage and support future leaders and be a voice for equality and diversity of thought. We have to lead by example and embrace what we bring to the table that is different to male leaders. The quote I love is ‘don’t be a man, it’s a waste of a good women’
What advice would you give to young women joining the workforce?
- Be willing to ask to learn more and do more, own your own learning and be comfortable with trying new things outside of your comfort zone.
- Take risks, there is no such thing as a bad decision and any situation can be made right. Learn how to listen to your head, heart and gut and most importantly take time to learning about who you are.
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Managing Partner – Volano Entertainment Pvt Ltd
What does it mean to you to be a woman leader in today’s world?
Its 2020 and I would love to say that being a woman leader in todays world is no different to being a male leader. Sadly though that’s still not true! As a woman leader, I think you have to work a lot harder than your male counterpart to firstly earn respect, secondly prove your merit, and thirdly and most crucially command loyalty. Although for me , the definition of a leader is someone who believes wholeheartedly in themselves and focus all their skills and energies on development of their people with a view towards reaching a common goal, it’s a role that is completely gender agnostic. However, we still have a lack of women leaders at the top of either political parties or business organisations. This is not a reflection of the merit women possess, but of societies inability to recognise their potential.
So in todays world, being a woman leader means that you have the onus to advocate and invest in the changes required for the advancement of more women to leadership roles.
What advice would you give to women joining the workforce now?
- I would advice them to be themselves. Focus on being the best you can at whatever you do, learn, improve, progress and figure out what success means for you.
- Learn to hone your emotions and instincts because although these are supposed to be left behind at home, your emotions and instincts give you a distinct edge when you’re dealing with people.
- But most importantly, don’t conform, each one of us has a unique gift and its easy to try and fit into a defined role. But take the harder option, forge your own path and be true to yourself. There is definitely room for you at the top.
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Executive Director – India Foundation for the Arts
What does it mean to be a woman leader today?
It means I have had several privileges that has enabled this position of power. I am conscious of it. It means this is an ongoing struggle given the systems that promote patriarchy and misogyny and I have to call it out every possible time. I am aware of it. It means it is my responsibility to enable other marginalised voices. I am cognizant of it. It means I have to build solidarities across different kinds of discrimination at every level. I am active on it.
It also means I will be tired, frustrated, angry, anxious, sad and pessimistic at times. And that is alright. I reach out when I need support and sustenance
What advice would you give to women joining the workforce now?
- Believing in oneself in the face of odds goes a long way.
- Calling out misogyny in whatever form on day one helps it from growing into a monster
- Seeking power is great but as marginalised people we must distribute it too
- Seeking help in sisterhood is very soul nourishing
- Negotiations have consequences and it's best to be aware of them.
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Chief Strategic Accounts Manager & Channels lead - Neutrinos
What does it mean for you to be a woman leader in today's environment?
I believe today whether you are a man or a woman being a leader comes with a lot of responsibility and challenges. Leading takes time, personal investment/commitment and patience. Leading people and organizations can actively change people’s lives and drive organisations with purpose and passion. So for me being a leader is not only of your growth but make more leaders and I do take this very seriously and will not compromise my integrity, values, and self-worth no matter. I admire leaders that stand up for what they believe, their people and their organisations and drive sustainable thinking. I hope I live up to that challenge.
What advice would you give to young women joining the workforce?
- Know yourself and be proud of who you are. It is so much easier to deal with work and personal pressure if you are authentic and honest, I haven’t learned this art myself of balancing both this world but I have seen a lot of women who have mastered this. Trying to be who u believe everyone wants you to be is exhausting and does not work.
- Never stop learning and personally growing but be very selective in choosing who you trust and listen to.
- Find your tribe and make sure you have a safe space where u can be yourself and share your issues.
- Try not to always feel guilty about not being able to the perfect/best employee/partner/mother because you cannot be clear on your boundaries and fight for them. Remember if you do not set boundaries at work or in your relationships others will do it for you.
Make work part of your life but be careful to not put all of your self-worth into it. Things change and are out of your control and nothing is worth losing your self worth over NOTHING.
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I hope you learnt from their responses just as much as I did.
HERE'S WISHING EVERY WOMAN A HAPPY EVERY DAY WOMAN'S DAY!
Founder @US Global Mail. Entrepreneur (1 exit) and Marketing geek. Angel Investor.
4ygreat read Kaushal Veluri. Thanks for caring enough to do this!
Global leader SDR
4yThank you Kaushal Veluri, and with your voice and your actions you will help make this a reality.
Thank you, Kaushal for this article! Proud to be featured here!
AWS | Alliances & Sales | Business Strategy | DEI Advocate
4yGreat effort Kaushal Veluri and Thanks for sharing!
Co-founder : Vice President & GM (USA )
4yKaushal that’s so thoughtful of you. Thank you for voicing for all the women out there. I have had inspiring men and women in my life who have trusted in my ability and been there in my thicks and thins, and made me who I am today. #my family #Harriet Heyman #Samik Ghosh #Souvik Debnath #Suresh Chandrasekharan #Raghavendra Seshamurthy