Women who Inspire us

Foundation

Born and brought up in Bangalore, I was lucky to see Bangalore in its old glory in the 70s-80s.

I studied in 5 different institutions through my schooling, and I am glad I was exposed to very different cultures and backgrounds through this period. Building friends and relationships quickly was a learning I gained in the process.

Key Turning Point

I did my Final Year Internship in a Govt Organisation, National Informatics Center (NIC was one of the first steps the Govt was taking in the 90s towards computerisation and digitisation of the country and government). I found my passion for Software during this internship phase. This was when IT and Software was still at its infancy and I decided that I would only work in Software although I was an Electronics Engineer.?I took some time after my graduation to learn some key skills to get a job in software industry and that was completely worth the investment in time that I made. Re-skilling still continues to be important to me to stay relevant to the times.

Key Success and Failure

During my Unilever days, I attended a training called “Discover Your Purpose”, which I treasure to this day. Although the course itself was over 2 days, it took me a few more weeks to craft my purpose, after a lot of introspection. My purpose became “Growing Better Together” and I use this as my guiding light for all aspects of my life.

During the initial years of my career, I believed that women were equal to men and did not need any different treatment.

Over the years, I saw many bright, extremely talented women who were my peers, team members quitting their jobs due to various changes in their life. HR policy changes or flexible options failed to stem this problem. I saw up close the Mid-Career Crisis that women face in staying on the career path.

I then realised that I could have been a better ally, and provide a helping hand to other women in my sphere of influence. I am now part of groups such as Aspire For Her (AFH) in order to help mentor women who need this support.

Message to Aspiring Leaders

Having a career and staying the course is important. Find solutions to problems before they arise so that your career does not have to get sacrificed at the altar of family.

Women, in general, focus on doing work and not enough on networking. We, underestimate the power of networks and the breaks one can get with chance conversations. Try to find groups and meet people and colleagues at every opportunity. They will be a great asset to you.