May 2016 Woman At Work by Woman At Work Magazine

VOL 2/ ISSUE 5/ MAY 2016/ ` 50

WOMAN AT WORK www.womanatwork.in

COVER STORY

STAND UP WOMEN, START UP INDIA The Rise of the Woman Entrepreneur

#WomanAtWork

MEET THE #WOMANATWORK WINNERS

Trendsetters The Voice Of Success RJ Shubhra Misra, Radio One

SDM/142/MAY 2016

In Conversation

People Mean Business Pallavi Srivastava, Country Head HR, IBM Singapore

KINDERDANCE PUNE IS LOOKING FOR BUSINESS PARTNERS

FROM THE EDITOR

lEtter

FROM THE EDITOR

he dotcom boom of the late 90’s and early 2000s gave wings to the dreams of thousands of wannabe entrepreneurs. Some of them continued to fly while many others landed on the ground with a thud. There were many ideas whose time had not yet come. The second decade of the 21st century has seen the rebirth of entrepreneurship. In a global interconnected world, aided by technology, the early birds found it easier to give shape to their ideas and implement it as business models. North America, the land of a zillion dreams, has been the pioneer of garage-to-glory stories. Amazon, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn are all fables. The Indians got a first-hand experience of this while on their jobs in the Silicon Valley and elsewhere in the USA. Many of them had nursed silent ambitions of doing their own thing some day. As the entrepreneurial folklore started spreading to the world including India, Indians gathered their strength and decided to take the plunge. The last five years has seen the rise of the Indian Start-up. Powered by digital tools and armed with the mental strength to drive for success and accept failure, the Indian Entrepreneur has been reborn. It is normal, even fashionable at times, to term onself as a “start-up founder” today. But as one reads up stories of many successes, one cannot help wondering on where have the women gone. Does entrepreneurship have anything to do with gender or is it just coincidence that there are not enough women dreamers? Multiple studies are revealing that the start-up ecosystem is not nurturing as many women as men. Across the world and in India, societal biases and “old boys clubs” are making the transition for women from corporate workers or homemakers to entrepreneurs, difficult. Fortunately, things are changing for the better. The past couple of years has seen many women founders start-up and succeed. The Modi government’s unveiling of many plans, to support start-ups, especially those led by women, is being hailed as a giant leap for entrepreneurship in India. It is time that women, with ideas and gumption, seize the opportunity and make entrepreneurship the great gender leveller. With all the stars aligning in their favour, this is the right time for women to Stand Up and Start Up India. Like Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook said, “The biggest risk is not taking any risk. In a world that is changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.” Happy Reading!

CONTENTS

Cover Story

STAND UP WOMEN, START UP INDIA The Rise of the Woman Entrepreneur

“Start-ups” are the toast of the day. Armed with technology and dreams, India is celebrating entrepreneurship. But low participation of women makes one wonder if societal gender biases are moving over to the realm of entrepreneurship? Can the “startup game” be a gender leveller?

Events

#WomanAtWork

Meet these eight fantastic women who won the #womanatwork campaign of our magazine and know more about them and their inspiring professional journey

Simply Successful

THE CHANGE AGENTS by Megha Johari

Meet these three resolute women who redefine rules at work, set high personal standards of passion and courage and make their lives a glowing example of grit and determination.

In Conversation

People Mean Business

Pallavi Srivastava, Country Head - Human Resources, IBM Singapore, in conversation with Woman At Work, explains the art of maintaining a business outlook and people focus as a Business Leader.

Special Feature

Leading The Way by Megha Johari

Making her mark through sheer hard work, skills and capabilities, Nisha Dutt, the CEO of Intellecap Advisory is a trailblazer leaving her footprints to be followed and respected by future leaders.

Trendsetters

The Voice Of Success

Woman At Work talks to Shubhra Misra, Head-Programming and RJ, Radio One FM, Pune about her journey into the world of words and voices.

COVER STORY

STAND UP WOMEN, START UP INDIA The Rise of the Woman Entrepreneur

CONTENTS

BLOGHER

How to Get Headhunted on Social Media by Akshaya Borkar

Brand ‘You’

THE ART OF SMALL TALK by Ruchi Suneja

43 09

Legal Angle

WOMEN AND NIGHT SHIFTS by Manoj Wad

By Invitation

DELEGATION WOES: A MANAGER’ S PITFALL by Sayali Shende

Health at Work by Shilpa Bhoskar

Bookshelf Tech At Work Wheels At Work Netsetters Women in the News

33 44 07 08 46 45

Editor In Chief: Poornima Parameswaran Batish Consulting Editor: Suchismita Pai Cover Page & Graphic Design: ThinkingPartners Printed And Published By: Sanjiivv B Batish on behalf of Woman at Work Media Published At: 5, Ganga Plaza, Off NIBM Road, Kondhwa, Pune – 411048 Printed At: Neha Creations, off Sinhagad Road, Pune For your feedback, ideas and suggestions, write to info@womanatwork.in Website: www.womanatwork.in Note to the Reader: All images/photos have been given credit for as 'Courtesy xxx' from where they have been downloaded and checked for being royalty free based on details available publicly. Any omission is unintentional. For any queries or issues, please contact on info@womanatwork.in *All rights reserved. Reproduction in any manner without prior permission is prohibited. The views expressed in the articles are of the authors and not necessarily of the magazine. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy of information in the magazine. But neither the editors nor the publisher can take responsibility arising out of errors or omissions in the information provided.

TECH AT WORK

Free Wi-Fi, courtesy Google and Indian Railways Google, in association with RailTel has launched its free Wi-Fi service in 10 railway stations across India under the RailWire umbrella. These are Bhubaneswar, Bhopal, Ernakulum Jn (Kochi), Kacheguda (Hyderabad), Mumbai Central, Pune, Ranchi, Raipur, Vijayawada, and Vishakhapatnam. Google plans to roll out the facility to 100 stations by the end of 2016 and to 400 stations eventually.

Oasis from Kindle

Huawei has launched its first smartwatch in India The Huawei watch features a 1.4-inch circular AMOLED display. The device sports a scratchproof sapphire crystal lens and has cold-forged stainless steel frame. It comes equipped with a built in heart rate monitor and IP67 rating which makes the smartwatch water resistant.

WOMAN AT WORK | MAY 2016

Source: google.co.in / timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Amazon has launched its latest Kindle e-reader Oasis in India. Kindle Oasis is the company's eighth device in the series, with a charger that is built into its cover. Amazon claims Kindle Oasis is its thinnest and lightest-ever model.

WHEELS AT WORK

Indian Springfield launched in India Price : INR 30.6 lacs onwards Noteworthy : The classic Springfield with flamboyant bodywork is equipped with modern technology to offer a fine balance between touring and urban riding. The motorcycle can be quickly converted into a cruiser by removing the quick-release windshield and panniers.

Maruti highlights Vitara Brezza’s sporty appeal Price: INR 6.99 lacs onwards Noteworthy: The Vitara is being promoted as a very sporty crossover with glamor quotient. Maruti’s first homegrown product targets a young urban audience base with features like touch screen infotainment system, projector headlamps, LED DRLs, alloy wheels, electrically controlled ORVMs, and more.

Tata Tiago Noteworthy: Built on a modified XO platform, Tata Tiago has been styled by designers at Tata Design studios in the UK, Italy and India. Gone is the age old Indica’s silhouette, which can still be seen on Bolt and Zest; what comes across is a car that has been designed to impress the young generation.

All information & photos in this section is courtesy RushLane which is a leading source of cars & bikes and news & reviews.

WOMAN AT WORK | MAY 2016

@rushlane

BRAND ‘YOU’

THE ART OF SMALL TALK In this monthly series, Ruchi Suneja, founder of Ikon Image Consulting and one of the leading Image Coaches in Western India talks to us about how to build one’s personal brand to standout in the crowd and carve a space for ourselves in our professions of choice.

n our last article, we had spoken of executive presence and how it means the art of conveying an aura of warmth and authenticity to everybody from the front desk to the CEO in the corporate world or during networking/conferencing meets. The key question is how to build this authenticity and what tool can come handy when you are trying to begin or improve relationships? Small talk is an important people skill. It’s an important executive skill. It’s the first step in connecting with others and forging lasting and meaningful relationships in business. It is an easy way to get to know someone, create a positive first impression, and gain selfconfidence. A study done by Midwestern University found that in 80% of situations, lack of communication skills rather than technical ability or business know-how was the primary reason for people to not get ahead in their jobs. Knowing the art of small talk is an essential part of interpersonal communications protocol. The dictionary defines small talk as light conversation about common, everyday things or chit chat. In business, small talk is social talking on a business level. Small talk is an important conversation about seemingly unimportant topics. It is used at cocktail parties, meals, networking events, as pre-meeting activities and more. “Small talk isn’t just about being

gregarious or entertaining, it is a gesture of respect,” says Brett Nelson in Forbes. Small talk is designed to give people a chance to network, creating a bridge to conversations about opportunities. When aiming to network, small talk puts people at ease, draws them into a conversation, and creates a comfort zone so that you can build a relationship with them. If you generally wait for someone else to take the initiative in a conversation, you are being self- centered. The first step in becoming a great conversationalist is becoming invested in the conversation and actively working to help the other person feel comfortable. Remember the purpose of small talk is to build relationships. It is not a time for arguing or disagreement. You can use humour in small talk, but be careful to make sure that it is not at anyone’s expense. Small talk is inclusive, as it often occurs in groups of 2 or more. Discussing a topic, that is so specific that a casual spectator cannot take part in it, is not polite. The art of small talk is learning to speak so that all observers feel included. Another main component of small talk includes listening. Small talk does not mean rambling on and monopolizing the conversation and not allowing others to speak. Listening, is often more of the conversation than speaking. It can be a good way to learn the art of small talk, as well as being a part of it. You will gain stature, respect and rapport if you can get the conversation going. Almost always, people will embrace your efforts and appreciate your leadership and friendship.

Few tips to master the art of small talk Take initiative and be the first ? one to say hello Begin with statements & questions like - How did you come up with this idea?, What got you started in this industry/area of practice?, Tell me about your typical day? Be approachable in your body ? language Focus on the other person and ? less on yourself Do listen and look engaged ? Discuss general interest ? subjects such as movies, sports, books, food, travel and hobbies Close a conversation before ? walking away from the other person by using a graceful exit line; “It’s been great talking with you. I really enjoyed hearing about…” Avoid these subjects with ? others you don’t know very well Health or diet habits, cost of things, personal questions, gossip, off-color jokes, controversial issues, such as politics or religion, when you don’t know the others in the group.

ruchi@ikonimageconsulting.com WOMAN AT WORK | MAY 2016

THE VOICE OF SUCCESS

TRENDSETTERS

WOMAN AT WORK | MAY 2016

TRENDSETTERS

It is a rare chance to interview someone who is in the business of interviewing others. It was a golden opportunity to chat up with MJ Shubhra, one of the most popular Radio Jockeys in the country. She was one of the earliest radio jockeys when the FM boom hit India and has not looked back since. Woman At Work talks to Shubhra Misra, Head-Programming and RJ, Radio One FM, Pune about her journey into the world of words and voices.

The chirpy and exuberant voice that Pune can recognize with their eyes closed hides the grit, passion and determination that is behind the voice. No one could have imagined that the girl who hardly spoke, would one day, become the voice that would touch a million lives. Youngest of three siblings and the daughter of an Air Force officer father and teacher mother, no one outside the family could have claimed to have heard Shubhra's voice when she was a little girl. She was known for her docility and shyness. She was the 'quiet' one of the house. A good student, who was obsessed with cleanliness and order, Shubhra was a dreamer. She could never keep her attention at a singular place and that cost her dearly in her academics in later years. After her graduation, she landed up in a Bachelor's of Education course purely by chance. It was there she discovered her passion for teaching. She realised that being a teacher was her calling and she was a 'born' educator. She enjoyed her time with young children and had a way to connect with them. If she could not connect with a child for some reason, it would continue to nag her much later. Her marriage to an Army officer meant

packing backs every now and then. She would move cities and take up teaching jobs for the duration she stayed there. But what made her uncomfortable was that she had to start all over again and prove herself before she could have her opinion counted. After eleven years of teaching in various locations, she decided to quit and become a stay-at-home mother to take care of her second daughter. In the year 2000, she moved with her husband and family to Chandigarh. While she had consciously decided to opt out to take care of her girls, she was not happy within. As a home maker and an army wife, the lack of identity was getting to her. It was at that time that she chanced upon an advertisement that was calling people for a career in the voiceover industry. It was also the year that FM radio was making an entry into India. Shubhra had received a lot of appreciation for her voice and neutral accent. So when she saw the advertisement, she decided to go for it. It was her first tryst with the voice-over industry and little did she know that this would be the turning point of her life and professional journey. She started receiving a lot of calls from studios in Chandigarh for voice-overs and she was

enjoying this world. Just as she was warming up to this new profession, her husband got his transfer orders to Pune. Within a year, she moved bag and baggage to Pune. But now that she had got a taste of the voice-over world, she wanted to see if Pune offered these options. On a routine trip to a popular coffee house in Pune, she asked one of the hotel staff if they knew anybody who was associated with studios. As luck would have it, one such person was at the restaurant at that time. That was just the stepping stone she needed. Meanwhile, the FM boom had reached Pune. She applied to a Radio Mirchi advertisement that was calling for radio jockeys and went for the audition. Shubhra credits all her moves to pure luck. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There is a guardian angel on my shoulder, watching over me all the time. He makes things happen for me.â&#x20AC;? And she went on air from 2002. Twists and turns were a part of Shubhra's career. In her new world of radio and voice-overs, Shubhra somewhere missed her 'first love' teaching. When she heard that the Delhi Public School was opening a franchise in Pune, she was tempted to apply. After a lot of thought, she decided to pursue

WOMAN AT WORK | MAY 2016

TRENDSETTERS

the opportunity. Her talent and luck helped her once again and she was back to teaching tiny tots. But having carved a niche' for herself in the radio world, she was being missed by many. The national programming head of Radio Mirchi called her one day and urged her to come back. Meanwhile her husband got posted to Kolkata. She then decided to take charge of her career and stay back in Pune and opted to join Radio Mirchi again. One day, she got a call from an old friend who was with another leading radio station Radio One, and wanted her to join her team. Shubhra had learnt a lot about radio from Radio Mirchi and decided it was time to move on for diversity of experiences. She decided to join Radio One as Executive Producer. Initially she used to do scriptwriting, voice-overs and program management. She slowly moved back to being on air. 12

WOMAN AT WORK | MAY 2016

She now had her fingers in virtually every pie at the radio station and was enjoying it. She was then offered the role of Head-Programming, which she took on, inspite of her reluctance and resistance. She considers herself more of a doer than a creator and was not sure if she could do justice to the role. But today, she has created a space for herself in the media world. Her talent and passion have enabled Shubhra be the voice that the listeners connect with instantly. A self confessed workaholic, Shubhra dotes on her two daughters, who are now both in college. They mean the life to her and they are very proud of her achievements. Her husband and daughters have been the pillars of strength for her. Her daughters carry both her and her husband's family names. She admits that in India, being a working woman is not easy. They have

to take care of work and home. But she urges women to demand for support and help from their spouse and family. It is very difficult to singularly do justice to both. A soured relationship in early adulthood taught Shubhra the lesson to stand up for herself. She recalls, “It was the first time that a docile Shubhra stood up for what she thought was right.” It was then that she transformed from a 'yes' person to someone with a mind of her own. Shubhra is thankful to her guardian angel who has enabled all her moves in life and considers herself fortunate. In her exuberant and soulful voice, she advises budding professionals to, “Find your forte' and know your talent. Do what you enjoy. Also financial independence is key. It is no longer a choice to stand on your own feet.”

BY INVITATION

DELEGATION WOES: A MANAGER' S PITFALL Sayali Shende is a Corporate Trainer and Founder of Crackerjack, a training & development solutions company. She has rich and diverse experience with corporate and academia in USA and India. She is a professional brand strategist, a prolific writer and a blogger. She likes to write and blog on a variety of subjects right from branding to emotional intelligence to women empowerment. managers and is a critical barrier to effective delegation. What constitutes this barrier? I love my authority

ohit, a dashing young man on the go has a fast track career record. He gets regular career jumps, aces his appraisals and is on his way to get the coveted corner office. His team size is expanding and so is his span of control. Is a happy man? Given his meaty pay package YES. Is a stress free man? Given his short temper and irritability, NO. This is a syndrome plaguing most employees, especially managers with a team. The cornerstones of management fundamentals like planning, coordination, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling are almost sacrosanct requirements of a manager. But what makes a manager an effective manager is Delegation. A manager who can effectively delegate tasks to his team can be an efficient manager and also develop his team members. Rohit is a stressed out corporate executive, because he doesn’t delegate his tasks. What prevents otherwise savvy and smart managers like Rohit from delegating their tasks? Delegation Barriers can be classified into 3 types: Managers Dilemma, Delegate’s Dilemma and Organization’s Dilemma. The Manager’s dilemma is owned by

Most managers revel in the power bestowed upon them by virtue of their promotion and capability. With power comes authority which most managers refuse to let go. When tasks are delegated to a team member, along with the task, a certain degree of autonomy has to be given to take decisions and in some cases execute them. When this autonomy is partially passed on to the team member, a sense of insecurity creeps into the manager. The delegate (the member who has been given the task) now can be seen as a competitor, a sure threat to a Manager. The biggest problem is that the Manager doesn’t understand that it’s autonomy that is passed and not the authority. Will I become redundant? One important reason why managers don’t delegate tasks is the looming anxiety that if the task is delegated, what would she do? What she fails to understand is that tasks can be delegated partially or in chunks. Many critical tasks can be kept with the manager and the operational tasks can be offloaded to the team member. This way, the team members are also given higher responsibility and some pressure of the manager can be reduced. The feeling of redundancy can be managed in this smart way, leaving the delegator and delegate with a sense of accomplishment. Will my secrets leak? Most managers are business savvy and learn the ropes of the corporate game very fast. Many valuable learnings

happens on the job. Pieces of nuggets, tips and techniques, aptitude, call what you may, are honed while doing the job and taking higher challenges. Any manager is a boss because she knows a bit more than her team member, securing her place firmly in the corporate maze. If her ‘extra’ aptitude makes her better than the rest, delegating tasks becomes a huge risk. Delegation of tasks also involves imparting ‘how’ to do them. This is where the secrets of doing them efficiently may be spilled, leaving the manager feeling rather helpless. Her forte is not her’s anymore. Can I trust the guy? Most managers believe that their team members cannot complete the task as efficiently and perfectly as they have done. Failing or commiting mistakes are a great way to learn (as long as the damage is under control without financial consequences). They suffer from momentary amnesia since they forget that they too have committed blunders. Not delegating the task because of lack of trust leads to the manager doing everything by herself and stew under pressure. Delegation is a powerful way that a manager can leverage to free up her mindspace for strategic and long term thinking. If done smartly, not only is she developing her team by giving them challenging tasks but sowing seeds of a great organizational culture. If done in a systematic way, delegation creates new leaders, reduces attrition, enhances productivity, workload is shared, and most importantly leads to reduction of stress for the manager. www.crackerjack.in

WOMAN AT WORK | MAY 2016

EVENTS

Reetu Uday Kugaji Food Author & Culinary Diva

Standing Ovation She has handled special food preparations for IPL matches, T20 and International Cricket matches. She won the Holiday Recipe Contest based in the USA in Jan 2016. She is also the winner of the Best Food Story Contest- “My culinary journey to Istanbul” in 2015 and Best Recipe in the Weekly Recipe Contest with plattershare.com

dominated industry and not a good choice for women. But she stuck to her passion and was supported by her parents and spouse. She considers this decision and their support an important turning point in her career.

Recipe for Success The only ingredient required to cook is passion.

Inspiration Centerstage Reetu is a celebrated chef and culinary mentor with more than 20 years of experience. She is the Programme HeadCulinary Arts, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh at the ITM Institute of Hotel Management at Navi Mumbai. She is also an associate professor at D. Y. Patil School of Hospitality & Tourism, Navi Mumbai. A food author on various online and offline publications, Reetu also run a Facebook page titled “Food For Thought.”

If you are driven by passion, then nothing can dampen your spirits.

Turning point Reetu had always been fascinated by her mother’s cooking skills and hence a career in culinary and hospitality was her obvious choice. Many in her family discouraged it as being a male

I Dare: Kiran Bedi by Parmesh Dangwal

What’s in Store A mentor and a ‘food thought’ leader, Reetu wants to preserve the gastronomic cultural heritage of Indian cuisines. She wants to author a book on the history and authenticity of regional food in India. She hopes to make authentic Indian cuisines as an important part of university curriculum.

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EVENTS

Taru Mateti

Corporate Honcho & Podium-finish Marathoner

body leads to a healthy mind.

Regime to Success She believes in doing her best in whatever she undertakes. Perseverance, passion and belief in oneself are what drive the ace marathoner.

Turning point Taru had always been a fitness enthusiast, winning many competitions at health clubs and her gym. Running was the only sport she was not adept at. Losing in a running contest was the turning point in her life, when she decided to convert her weakness into her strength. She is also one of the few educators, who chose a corporate profession, in the latter years of her career. After teaching for many years, Taru did a few courses in programming. This led her to the doorway of software industry and technical writing. Taru has strong communication skills and sound technical foundation. She considered this to be a perfect combination for a career in technical writing and software products which were at the brink of boom in the past decade.

Standing Ovation She has 30 podium finishes in her short marathoner career. Taru has also successfully completed the 50km Pune Ultra Marathon. This marathoner also has a way with the racquet. She has won many inter-corporate badminton tournaments. All this while building a team of 75 people in her function.

Motto Do your best in whatever you do.

Inspiration 7 Habits of Highly Successful People by Stephen Covey

Setting Sights On Centerstage Taru heads the documentation and elearning team at Cybage Software. An instrumentation & Control Engineer, Taru has been working for more than

WOMAN AT WORK | MAY 2016

two and a half decades. A Maths & Physics Teacher-turned-Corporate professional-turned-Marathoner, Taru inspires hundreds of women to run and lead a healthy life. A disciplined fitness enthusiast, Taru believes that a healthy

Running 75k to 100 km. She also wants to participate in a 200 km cycling event.

EVENTS

Priyanka N Jain Start up Founder & Eco-citizen

Centerstage

Turning point

Priyanka studied architecture in England followed by a short work stint there, till she got back to India. It was during her stay in London that she was introduced to the menstrual cups, the benefits of which remained with her. She had always been interested in urban designs, and sustainability. Climate change and its environmental implications have always been her areas of passion.

Priyanka has never wanted to stop swimming, surely not because of a natural body cycle. That is when she got introduced to menstrual cups in London and has been using them since then. After settling in India and post her marriage she wanted to purse her interest in creating an environment of sustainability. That is when she decided to spread awareness about menstrual cups, which she had been using for years and founded ‘Hygiene & You’, a portal and platform that aims to be a one spot place for all hygiene related matters especially for women.

Milestones Priyanka has sold over 125 mooncups on her website so far and educated many young women about its hygienic benefits.

You have a mission and a vision, then stick to it. Persist patiently till you achieve results.

Motto “We shall need a substantially new way of thinking if humanity is to survive” -Albert Einstein

Inspiration The Period Book by Karen & Jennifer Gravelle

Future plans Priyanka’s ‘Health and You’ is launching incontinence underwear shortly. She also plans to blog in multiple Indian languages that will educate people about personal hygiene and eco friendly products, climate change and sustainability.

WOMAN AT WORK | MAY 2016

EVENTS

Mekhala Subedar National Champion & Squash Coach Centerstage Mekhala grew up in army cantonments which always had lavish squash courts. She remembers practising before and after school everyday developing into a prolific player. Since squash is an expensive sport to pursue, Mekhala’s

WOMAN AT WORK | MAY 2016

father coached her in the sport and mother took care of her diet, which forms an important part of the sport. Currently she is the only female squash coach in Bangalore and one of the few female coaches in India in a male dominated sport.

Shots to success

Turning Point Mekhala was awarded ‘Most promising Junior Girl Award’ in the sports category by Maharashtra government when she was 16. That motivated her to continue playing and become an authority in her sport.

Motto

A single minded focus and lots of family and parental support is what makes her the master of her game.

Be number one or nothing

Standing Ovation

Open by Andre Agassi

Mekhala has won the National Squash Championship 4 times and 54 Indian tournaments. She is the only female coach from India to be on the Panel of International Referees.

Inspiration The Future Beholds Mekhala plans to open her own squash academy.

EVENTS

Geeta Sridhar Educator & ‘Mother’ to cancer kids Centerstage Geeta is a Computer Science teacher with close to two decades of experience. Inspired by her daughter, she decided to take care of 28 kids suffering from cancer. An outstanding teacher and a foster mother to these kids, Geeta is pursuing a cause which requires immense emotional strength.

Lessons of Life She believes that positive energy and optimism instils you with the energy to go ahead and reach for your dreams.

Kudos Geeta is singlehandedly taking care of 28 kids suffering from cancer. She has a special home for these kids in Mumbai where she dedicates her time in taking care of their needs like education, health, food and treatment.

Turning point Geeta got pulled into the cause of cancer 10 years back. She recalls her daughter deciding to help and care forher friend who was a cancer patient. That was an event which left a huge

impact on Geeta who decided to follow her daughter’s footsteps.

Motto Value your smile, it can make you move mountains.

Inspiration Wings Of Fire - By Dr. A. P. J. Kalam

Future plan Geeta wants to continue her work and take more children under her loving care. She hopes that more and more people come forward to help and support such kids who are fighting a fatal battle against destiny.

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EVENTS

Varsha Anand Technovangelist and Strategy Ace Centerstage Varsha is the founder and promoter of Web Insights Private Limited. Prior to her entrepreneurial venture, she has over 25 years of experience encompassing Strategy Design, Financial Planning, Programs Execution, Innovation, Quality, HR, Sales and Marketing. Born to a 'typical' Maharashtrian family in the 1970s she says her earliest ambition was

WOMAN AT WORK | MAY 2016

to be a doctor. She loved to study and ended up doing her engineering and business management because she could not choose between the two.

Strategy for Success Be clear of your purpose and objectives, be conscious of the path you take, know your inclinations and skills and even talents. Build on your strengths and chose your trade offs wisely.

Vision Her vision behind her start up is to create a technological innovation around internet which will help organizations and entrepreneurs in promoting themselves in a cost effective way on web based platforms to create a brand differentiation.

Turning Point She had been managing businesses owned by others and had gathered wide experience in the craft. Hence there came a time when she felt a tug to start something more purposeful of her own that would be challenging. In 2013, she decided to take the plunge. She had a business plan in place and got seed funded, thus creating Web Insights.

Motto If you have walked on ice, might as well dance!

Future plans After building her first e-commerce platform, she has plans to build many such successful platforms for large organizations and enterprises.

EVENTS

Jenny Andrewss Design Expert and Engineer Centerstage Jenny Andrewss had over a decade of experience in Architecture, Interior Design, Retail Space Design, Corporate Interior Design and POP design. She comes from a mechanical engineering background with a specialization in creative painting which blends engineering, design and art. She has designed concepts across verticals like Fashion Apparels, Accessories, Youth, Consumer Durables, Leather goods and Jewellery. Jenny’s venture, Studioj has bootstrapped its way successfully through last four years and that has not stopped her from taking up ambitious projects.

Blueprint to success She believes that her passion, expertise, enthusiasm and loads of positive energy enable success.

Standing Ovation She has created and developed more than 15 concepts in Space Design and Visual Merchandising for famous brands across apparels, consumer durables and luxury items. Her work has won her many accolades like the ‘Creative Business of the Year Award 2013’ by the India Retail Congress, VMRD Award for the ‘Best Visual Merchandising (201213)’ at In-Store Asia. She has also been conferred with the ‘Designomics Award’ for Best Visual Merchandising 2013.

Turning point The Women's Entrepreneur program at IIMB, has given her the wherewithal to transform from a Designer to an Entrepreneur and she is the Chief Creative Lead at Studioj, her design venture.

Inspiration

Future Designs

Open by Andre Agassi

She plans to have international collaborations to enhance her vision of being among the top design companies of the country.

Motto One should have a zeal for continuous learning.

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EVENTS

Priya Hardikar

Finance Wizard and Comeback Lady

Centerstage Priya is an outstanding business leader with over a couple of decades experience in finance, accounting and operations. As Vice President & HeadCorporate Accounts and Finance at KPIT Technologies, she has been heading the finance vertical, establishing financial objectives, planning & implementing systems, policies & procedures and leading her organization towards growth and scalability. An adventure sports lover, Priya has ingrained resilience and the fighter- spirit in her DNA. These stood her in good stead when she met a near fatal accident while cycling up on a hilly track in Pune. Her recovery was nothing short of a miracle.

Path to success Believe in yourself. Have the conviction that nothing is impossible.

Turning Point It took Priya more than a year to stand up on her own after the terrible mishap she had while cycling. But not someone to give up in life, Priya fought back and she pushed herself to recover physically and mentally after her accident. Today, she is back in action and has taken leaps in her professional journey. She is one of the few women finance leaders in the corporate world.

Inspiration My Truth by Indira Gandhi

Motto Happiness depends on what you give not on what you get. Learn from the past, plan for the future by focusing on today. Do your best and God will take care of the rest.

Future plan She would like to achieve the satisfaction of having inspired people to achieve common goals, earn respect for having the vision and commitment towards the vision and be identified with the creation of valuable, rewarding and sustainable functional excellence. 22

WOMAN AT WORK | MAY 2016

COVER STORY

STAND UP WOMEN, START UP INDIA The Rise of the Woman Entrepreneur

COVER STORY

idhi Agarwal is the founder of Kaaryah, an e-store that caters to the workwear needs of Indian women, offering clothes in 18 sizes to make each and every independent woman in India feel comfortable and confident. She got her business idea when her formal attire was spilled with coffee and she was at the airport waiting to a take a flight to Bangalore to attend an important meeting. She says, “I ended up going to a bunch of stores just to find a shirt that fitted well and looked smart. But I didn’t find anything that I really liked. Even with expensive brands, the clothes were either too tight at the bust or too loose at the waist.” She thought to herself. “I can shop for workwear when I travel

abroad. But what about others?” Being an expert in market research and analysis, a successful chartered accountant with an impressive experience in strategy consulting, Nidhi began her field work. She spoke with many women holding well-paid positions in the corporate world who just confirmed her assumption that Indian working women lacked options when it came to wearing formals that reflected their personality, that made them comfortable and exhibited their confidence. After all, as clichéd it may sound, one rarely never judges a book by its cover! Confident of her idea and the small team of members who believed in her,

THE 19-POINT ACTION PLAN FOR STARTUP INDIA ANNOUNCED BY PM NARENDRA MODI

Nidhi hit it off the ground using her savings and an additional investment from friends and family. However, to grow fast, she needed more money and hence, started meeting potential investors. She had great credentials, a resume that would make any prospect say “yes” without a second thought, but she was rejected by not one, not two, but 113 investors! Nidhi continued walking the road, and all the challenges and rejections became worth it when the 114th investor said “aye” and he was none other than the renowned business tycoon, Ratan Tata. Today, Nidhi Agarwal is a role model to many young entrepreneurs, and is counted among the well-known women entrepreneurs of the country.

ü No Income Tax for three years ü Tax exemption for investments of higher value ü Building entrepreneurs ü Atal Innovation Mission ü Setting up incubators

ü Self certification

ü Research parks

ü Start-up India hub

ü Entrepreneurship in biotechnology

ü Register through app

ü Dedicated programmes in schools

ü Patent protection

ü Legal support

ü Rs 10,000 crore fund

ü Rebate

ü National Credit Guarantee Trust Company

ü Easy rules

ü No Capital Gains Tax

ü Faster exit

WOMAN AT WORK | MAY 2016

COVER STORY

A report by Compass, the Global Startup Ranking 2015, ranks 20 cities across the world that are trending the start-up culture. It is no surprise that US cities top the charts. Bengaluru (earlier known as Bangalore), the Silicon Valley of India, ranks 15th. Bengaluru, India’s third most populous city, has emerged as the startup capital of India. The city is home to approximately 3,100 to 4,900 active technology startups and has achieved the second highest growth rate for exit volume and VC investment among the top 20.

This in turn increases the attention of the international investor community, who are eager to find high potential startups. The city has a solid pipeline of cost-efficient Talent, ranking #17. However, the analysis also suggests the average quality of the local talent is not yet on par with the elite startup ecosystems around the world.

The report cites that Bangalore’s venture capital investments in 2014 amounted to approximately $2.25 billion, growing 4x to land at #7 among the top 20. The ecosystem, which has historically been known as ‘the world’s back office’, has transformed itself into a high-octane environment that offers early-stage startups the opportunity to turn into billion dollar companies. Recent success stories such as Flipkart and InMobi are part of the unicorn club with valuations beyond $1 billion. Their success helps inject wealth and expertise into the ecosystem.

of start-up activities. The action is also spreading to beyond metros and Tier 1 cities.

WOMAN AT WORK | MAY 2016

While Bengaluru still occupies the mindspace of most people when it comes to start-ups, other cities like Gurgaon/ NCR, Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Pune are emerging hubs

A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD While there is a strong positive wave in the start-up world, all is not hunky-dory when it comes to participation of women in the start-up space. Lack of gender equality is common across all start-up ecosystems, found the Compass

study. No ecosystem comes close to an equal share of male and female founders, although psychologists and sociologists continue to debate whether 50/50 is the target to strive. As per the report, the trend for female entrepreneurs is significantly up - the number of female founders in the global start-up ecosystem has grown by 80% over the last three years. In 2012, 10% of start-ups had a female founder, as compared to the 18% global average among the top 20 in 2015. Chicago, with 30% female founders, has the greatest percentage of women entrepreneurs out

of the top 20 start-ups ecosystems. India also lags behind in gender balance in the start-up space. The 2015 Female Entrepreneurship Index (FEI) report of the Global Entrepreneurship and Development Institute analyses the conditions that foster high-potential female entrepreneurship. India ranks an abysmal 70 of the 77 countries surveyed. Traditionally the only women who became entrepreneurs in India have been those who were in dire financial need or those who did not want to do it

COVER STORY for money because they had it all. Women entrepreneurs were more found in home based businesses of making pickles, curries, tailoring and such low investment enterprises. Women who were professionally qualified would

typically join a company and choose to grow within that setup. Very few professional women would think of starting a venture because of entry barriers. According to Forbes Magazine, women account for only 10 per cent of the total number of entrepreneurs in the country. However, studies reveal that women have immense potential and are likely to be more successful start-up owners than men. Well, to begin with, women are in charge of a substantial amount of household spending, making them more efficient in understanding customer needs and preferences. Also, a challenge that women face while building start-ups can be turned into an advantage - Their

building a strong customer connect and profitable goodwill. Some interesting conclusions were drawn by a study titled “Women at the Wheel: Do Female Executives Drive Start-up Success” by Dow Jones. Even

though the survey was based outside India, experts believe that these observations are likely to stand true in the Indian ecosystem as well. Start-up companies with more female executives have higher success rates It has been observed that companies with more female executives, especially as VPs and directors, are likely to succeed more than the ones having fewer females. There are close to equal chances of success and failure in companies where there are 1-2 females, with failure rate slightly overpowering the success rate. However, the situation is opposite in companies where there are 4 or more females, with the success rate varying between 20 to 50 per cent. With these

reports, it is evident that more women running the business, the better are the chances of success. The Indian government, in the recent years, has taken massive initiatives to ensure that no one, be it men or women,

is left behind in grasping the opportunity to become their own boss and help generate employment in the country at different levels. The Prime Minister launched the “Stand Up India” scheme which aimed at encouraging reserved categories and women to become entrepreneurs by providing them affordable loans. The loan amount would range between Rs 10 lakh to Rs 1 crore, with 1.25 lakh bank branches participating under this scheme to provide loans. Also, it has a refinance window of Rs 10,000 crore through Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI). In addition to that, a corpus of Rs 5,000 crore will be created by the National Credit Guarantee

WOMAN AT WORK | MAY 2016

COVER STORY

The Female Entrepreneurship Index (FEI) 2015, produced at the Global Entrepreneurship and Development Institute did an analysis of the conditions that foster highpotential female entrepreneurship.

The conditions and characteristics that lead to ‘high potential’ female entrepreneurship occur on multiple levels. Female entrepreneurs, like their male counterparts, are influenced by the general business environment in which they live. There are few incentives for entrepreneurs - male or female - when the general business environment is 28

WOMAN AT WORK | MAY 2016

unstable, and the procedures for starting, running, or exiting a business are highly regulated or bureaucratic. Formal institutions or cultural conditions create additional barriers for women that make it more difficult to start or grow a business enterprise. For example, women may face diminished legal rights (either for all women or with respect to rights that women lose at marriage) or restrictions on their activities outside of the home or on their ability to travel within their communities, outside their communities,

or outside the country. In addition, this combination of gendered attitudes, social norms, and beliefs can result in more limited access to resources critical for ‘high potential’ female entrepreneurship development such as education, skills, and finance. Attitudes play a crucial role in forming a country’s ‘entrepreneurial culture’ in

terms of how the general population views entrepreneurial endeavors, tolerates risk, and judges business ownership as a viable career option. This cultural environment influences individuals’ opportunity recognition and willingness to take the risk to start a new venture. The institutional foundations including gendered institutions, access to resources, and the entrepreneurship culture form the context from which female start-ups emerge. In focusing on ‘high potential’ female entrepreneurship, we are specifically interested in female start-ups that exhibit characteristics that are related to ‘high impact entrepreneurship’ which we define as market expanding, innovative, and exporting businesses. There are three subindices to the Female Entrepreneurship Index: Entrepreneurial Environment, Entrepreneurial EcoSystem, and Entrepreneurial Aspirations. Broadly speaking, Entrepreneurial Environment focuses on assessing the ‘entrepreneurial spirit and culture’ of a given society as well as the presence of institutions to support entrepreneurial start-ups. The Entrepreneurial Eco-System contains variables that capture the access to resources and institutions needed for female business development. The final sub-index, Entrepreneurial Aspirations, focuses on the individual entrepreneurial characteristics as well as resource availability needed for ‘high potential’ female entrepreneurship to prosper and contribute to economic growth.

COVER STORY

To further help the target entrepreneurs, which include women, “Stand Up India” will also facilitate proper training, education and guidance to the participants. This is a quintessential part of the scheme as majority of women, especially belonging to the less privileged section of the society, are clueless about entrepreneurial practices. As a part of this plan, the Ministry of Women and Child development (WCD) launched Mahila e-Haat, an online marketing platform for women, a day before the International Women’s Day on 8 March. The portal has been set up with an investment of under Rs.10 lakh from the Rashtriya Mahila Kosh - an autonomous body under the WCD ministry for the socio-economic empowerment of women - and women sellers can register their products on the platform without having to pay any listing fee. On the day of the launch, about 125,000 beneficiaries under 10,000 self-help groups registered themselves on the portal.

The GOOD NEWS Women are rising up to the challenge. In the last couple of years, many women entrepreneurs like Nidhi Agarwal are making news in the start up scene for all the right reasons. Renowned author and researcher Rashmi Bansal’s acclaimed book, Follow Every Rainbow, classifies women entrepreneurs into three types -

Lakshmi (entrepreneurs who enlisted family support), Durga (women who overcame hindrances and victimhood and battled hard for success) and Saraswati (educated women entrepreneurs who struck out on their own). While Kiran Mazumdar -Shaw has been a poster woman for Indian entrepreneurship, many others are following suit. Startups like CashKaro, Clovia, Karyaah are all women led. Like most other start-ups, their journey has not been an easy one. While all the challenges they face are not gender related, women led businesses do have to go that extra mile to prove themselves to prospective investors. Globally, women entrepreneurs realise that the odds are firmly against them when they venture out to raise funds. A 2015 study revealed that 92 per cent of investment teams in the top global VC firms are men and another study suggests that only 4.2 per cent of VC funds go to women-founded businesses. Israeli serial entrepreneur Sarah Nadav said this to VCs, “Investors, you should know that the only thing that I have in common with your wife is a vagina.” Her remark is a telling comment on the “old boys club” that exists in the VC and Angel funding circles. But it is not just external or ecosystem challenges, that hold women back. Some of the factors are intrinsic. According to Babson College's 2012 Global Entrepreneur Monitor, an emotion that

can hold back women entrepreneurs is their fear of failure. The chances of success and failure are equal at the commencement of any new business, but as per the study, men handle it better than women. Those who’ve played the cards well, suggest holding on to the success vision and know that each and every obstacle and failure faced will only add to the glory of your start-up tomorrow. It is grit and persistence and patience that holds the test of time. Men or women, who standby their venture and have the conviction, finally emerge winners. But like Suchi Mukherjee, founder, LimeRoad, has to say, “It is okay to start up, it is okay to fail, it is okay to go through ups and downs and wind up (business). If India can get into that mind space we will see incredible innovation and change in the country.” A start-up isn’t about venturing into a fancy technology space or investing a huge amount of money. The beauty of it is that it can be as big and small as you want it to be. It does not matter where one comes from – IT, teaching, designing, social networking, planning, home-making – each concept holds the key to limitless success, provided one is willing to make the right moves. It all depends on the founder’s conviction, resilience and determination. Most importantly, one cannot let any barrier be too big to give up on the baby – the start-up idea. The odds are slowly turning in the favour of the entrepreneur, from government policies to the mind-set of the buyers and sellers in the market and the shift in paradigm is only going to bring more fruitful opportunities for those who are willing to make the most of them. Behind every successful women entrepreneur, is a story that tells us that no challenge is too big; what should be big is passion and will. Of course, becoming an entrepreneur is challenging. Of course, it is not joyride; it is being the captain of the ship, a ship that is likely to sail on uncertain waves, rising currents, and unpredictable winds. But as they say, “Beyond fear, lies success!”

WOMAN AT WORK | MAY 2016

Human Resource Management is a serious business of managing the most important asset of an organization â&#x20AC;&#x201C; its people. Pallavi believes that HR is a business critical function. Discussing the strategies to stay relevant in a fast evolving business of managing people, Pallavi Srivastava, Country Head - Human Resources, IBM Singapore, in conversation with Woman At Work, explains the art of maintaining a business outlook and people focus as a Business Leader.

IN CONVERSATION

PEOPLE MEAN BUSINESS W@W: You had wanted to pursue a career in finance and economics. Then what got you interested in HR? PS: Numbers, statistics and data have been my strong point, hence I wanted to do an MBA in Finance and study Economics. But during a summer internship in Human Resources at a television manufacturing Unit in Mumbai, I worked on job evaluation and compensation benchmarking projects which had lot of statistical data analysis as well as research. This project got me interested in HR. My decision was also influenced after I met a few thought leaders in HR at conferences and events. W@W: Where did you spend the first few years of your career? PS: I started my career 20 years back with Siemens in Mumbai and subsequently moved to Price Waterhouse Coopers in India before joining IBM in 2002. Since then I have held various portfolios at IBM and have worked in several cities in India and USA. I am based out of Singapore for the past eight years. W@W: You have an illustrious career. Which has been the best season so far? What role have you enjoyed the most? PS: Out of the multiple stints I have had at IBM, one of my personal favorites has been the role of an HR Transition Manager and Business Partner to one of the leading telecom providers of India, who were outsourcing their IT function to IBM.

It was the most complex outsourcing deal for IBM and there were barely any roadmaps to help us manage a transition which involved people spread across multiple locations of India. I had the opportunity to travel to 18 locations in India in a short span of six months, recruiting and transitioning engineers in

Human Resources as a function, needs to have an outside-in focus and human resource professionals need to kill the support staff mindset.

smaller cities of India like Srinagar, Guwahati, Indore, Bhopal etc. I had to design and implement the process from scratch and I ended up creating some knowledge assets which we could use as prototypes for similar deals. W@W: In the context of employee aspirations and manager expectations, what in your experience, has remained the same across geographies that you have worked in? PS: As I moved locations I was prepared to face the cultural biases and gender stereotypes associated with a country and its culture. However I found that

barring some cultural nuances of behaviour, most people had similar aspirations and dreams, similar expectations from managers and organization and similar types of concerns around family and children. There were more similarities than differences from a professional perspective. Some of that I credit to the fact that our company has a very strong culture around its values, stitched together with common processes, systems and tools that automatically create a sense of belongingness and similarities across geographies. W@W: Have you encountered any discriminatory behavior? PS: Racist and discriminatory behaviour based on stereotypes exists in all geographies and I have also experienced it at some point. A lot of it is simply based on stereotypes that should not be taken seriously unless it becomes demeaning. But as a global citizen, if we do not go looking for racial discrimination, chances are we will not find it easily. W@W: What are the differences in leadership styles that you experienced in USA compared to South East Asia? PS: I learnt that while Americans could be poles apart from a Thai-manager in terms of their personalities, similar leadership traits are valued almost equally in all cultures from a professional perspective. For example Americans come across as more confident and bold in their approach to work, more WOMAN AT WORK | MAY 2016

IN CONVERSATION individualistic while also being able to collaborate across large teams. They have an uncanny ability to spot talent that will get the work done. They are extremely good at delegating and most seem natural leaders. However, in a country like Thailand, leaders are likely to be less vocal, look for consensus more often or possibly balk at taking very tough decisions. But those who do rise to higher levels in South East Asia are the ones who are demonstrating similar leadership traits like the Americans. Those who were bold, had the ability to get work done, those who could delegate and influence large teams were the ones who eventually progressed to higher level roles. So some leadership traits are culture agnostic. W@W: Over the years, what are the big shifts or changes you have seen in the way HR works in an organization? PS: When I started my career, I was always told that my job was to be a support and enabler to the business. Over the years I have realized that the difference lies in the fact that we did not see ourselves as leaders of our units, as people who will drive and lead a decision and not let someone else take a people decision without taking HR perspectives. But today, the HR roles have evolved from being called HR Administrators to HR Partners. Mindsets have evolved from process orientation to solution orientation. With the advent of so many automated HR tools and systems, there are now more expectations that HR professionals will focus on analytical and value driven solutions as against executing standard HR programs. Value of HR programs is measured in terms of returns on investment and actual impact on business metrics. CHROs are measured not for keeping attrition low or motivation high; they are measured for the impact of their initiatives on people matters and growth and profitability of the organization. Today engineers and financial consultants, statisticians and actuarial professionals are joining HR and are just as valued in human resource function as in other verticals. W@W: What should be an HR 32

WOMAN AT WORK | MAY 2016

professional’s personal strategy to grow from being an administrator to an insightful leader? PS: A lot of HR members attend meetings as ‘participants’ not as contributors. HR professionals need to understand financial performance as an extremely critical aspect of their own measurements. They need the ability to follow sales, revenue and profitability discussion as well as attrition and engagement and compensation trends. For this, HR professionals should consider the CFO and the operations team as their best friends with whom they interact regularly to devise people strategies that have a direct link to business metrics. Get trained in consulting and financial management and analytics apart from ensuring one has formal training in their functional areas like compensation and benefits or general management. HR leaders, who believe the company’s success through HR interventions is more important than successful implementation of an HR program, are the ones who will be meaningful leaders. W@W: What should be the practices adopted by the CHROs to elevate their function from being facilitator to leading a business unit. PS: Define clearly the ecosystem of roles and responsibilities and the scope of HR professionals’ interaction with leaders. Hive off lower level administrative tasks to vendors and partners and retain critical business advisory capabilities within the unit. This needs investment in tools and systems that provide insightful reporting. Hire the skills needed - people who have analytical skills, creative thinking, bold subject matter experts and those who thrive in uncertainty and can handle challenges. Bring agility in thinking and behaviors in process management. W@W: What were your key professional leanings as you moved from an individual contributor role to a leadership role? PS: The key is the ability to get work done from others. This is not just about allocating work but about identifying the

right skills to leverage, assessing leadership qualities and bringing together working teams for positive outcomes. A lot of us are unable to let go of having a personal hand in every pie to make the work their own. A leader, on the other hand, strives to make the team and its people his own instead of the deliverable as his own. Another important learning is that Human Resources as a function needs to have an outside-in focus. We need to understand the organization in the context of its external interface, to understand the employee‘s aspirations in the context of your competitor’s value proposition and to understand the efficacy of your interventions in the context of market best practices. W@W: What is your style of management? PS: I am a fairly demanding leader both with myself as well as with my team. To that extent, I am impatient with deadline misses but I also do not like to micro manage. I expect the teams to handle their area of work themselves and seek interventions as needed while ensuring that the deadlines are kept in mind. W@W: How is the work culture at IBM from a woman’s perspective? PS: IBM is known for its very strong gender diversity focus. In fact our CEO, CHRO and the leader of the largest business (Consulting services) are all women. They are leaders not because they are women or despite being women but because they are the best among their cohorts. We are one of the world leaders from a diversity and workplace flexibility perspective, having won several awards in this space. At the same time, we also believe that men need to have similar flexibility and strong paternity leave policy as equal partners in family care. In order to have women empowered to take their careers seriously it is equally important for organizations to allow the same privileges to men.

HEALTH AT WORK

FIGHTING OFF

HYPOTHYROIDISM Shilpa Bhoskar is a certified nutritionist and founder of Saundarya Nutrition with a mission to make millions of people happier, healthier, prosperous and positive.

Following proper diet and nutrition can ensure that the symptoms remain to the minimal level. Here are the foods which you need to avoid or consume in less quantity when facing hypothyroidism

hyroid disorders are very common with women. Hormones produced by the thyroid gland control the body’s metabolism, which is the process by which the body uses energy. Low levels of thyroid hormones (hypothyroidism) can cause weight gain, while unexpected weight loss can signal that thyroid hormones are produced in excess (hyperthyroidism). Hypothyroidism is more common than hyperthyroidism. Following are few symptoms of hypothyroidism: Changes in mood and energy, hair loss, constipation, changes in menstrual cycle, dry skin, brittle nails, tingling and numbness in the hands or fingers. Untreated hypothyroidism can raise cholesterol levels and increase your risk of heart attack or stroke. Treatment for hypothyroidism usually involves taking thyroid hormones in pill form, generally throughout life.

? Soy, as the ingredient in soy interferes with the body’s ability to use thyroid hormone ? Vegetables like Cauliflower, cabbage, and broccoli (cruciferous vegetables) as they can interfere with the production of thyroid hormones ? Gluten, as it may hamper the absorption of thyroid hormone replacement medication ? Fatty foods, as fats have been found to disrupt the body’s ability to absorb thyroid hormone replacement medicine. It is recommended that you cut all fried foods, mayonnaise, margarine and fatty cuts of meat ? Sugary foods, as the body’s metabolism is already slowed down so it is better to avoid excess calories coming from sugary foods ? Processed foods, as they tend to have lot of sodium which adds up to the risk of high blood pressure ? Excess fibre, getting enough fibre is essential but excess fibre can interfere with absorption of medication ? Coffee and alcohol also need to be avoided.

SO WHAT SHOULD YOU EAT ? Fish, olives, flax seeds and walnuts with high omega 3 fatty acids ? Brazil nuts and hazel nuts which are high in selenium ? Whole grains and beans for sustained source of energy ? Dairy products for calcium and vitamin D ? Iodine fortified salt ? Fresh fruits and vegetables, specifically foods such as blueberries, cherries, sweet potatoes, and green peppers which are rich in antioxidants and nutrients that are known to lower risk for heart disease

WOMAN AT WORK | MAY 2016

SIMPLY SUCCESSFUL

THE INCREDIBLES by Megha Johari

{ { This monthly theme strives to bring forth the extraordinary achievements of ordinary

women, who are climbing up the ladder of professional success

and personal fulfillment. These are the women who redefine

rules at work, set high personal standards of passion and

courage and make their lives a glowing example of grit and determination.

WOMAN AT WORK | MAY 2016

rowing old is inevitable, but growing up and evolving is a choice. And Anita Gurnani seems to have chosen well. The lady in the fifth decade of her life exudes energy and freshness which can put aging to shame. The co-founder of 50 Young, a platform focussd on the personal and professional development of those who are 50 and above, Anita has based her venture on the ideology that life begins after 50. In case of Anita, it literally did. After completing her first innings of 35 years as home maker and being the support system behind the large Gurnani business, Anita decided to slip into the boots of a professional woman. And she did that with the ease and confidence of someone who was always meant to be in them. Having lived in Mumbai all through her life, Anita was always interested in entrepreneurship and progress and development of home makers. This interest formed the seed of her venture 50Young which envisions giving wings to the lost or suppressed entrepreneurial dreams of people around 50. Before plunging fully into entrepreneurship, Anita stepped into the world of business by working in the media space in her familyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s media venture. Her exposure to international animation, financial facets, customers, media and art of handling a big business encouraged her for greater challenges. Meeting diverse set of people, attending conferences and taking part in important business decisions made her realize how many unexplored possibilities lay in her way. A person with a natural business acumen, a huge social network and an

SIMPLY SUCCESSFUL innate knack of understanding people and their aspirations, Anita started toying with the idea of doing something for the older generation which had a lot of unutilized talent, “I realized that there is a lot of untapped talent and a lot of unpursued interests that homemakers have; which they had left behind in pursuit of looking after their homes and families,” says Anita.

give wings to their imagination, 50Young provides a 360 degree peer to peer online interaction and learning platform along with a calendar full of offline workshops and activities in every city they operate. They cover areas of interests from dance, technology, entrepreneurship, social work, conversation skills to business mixers. Their business is modeled on exposing and inspiring users to new horizons.

Around the time when Anita was toying with the idea of building a platform to Within 10 months of operations in leverage the power of 50 year olds, her Mumbai, they are a thousand member son Anand Gurnani, a serial strong community with a calendar of entrepreneur, was seeking out a theme around 20 activities every month. Many for a project that was focused on social of the members testify that 50Young good, was globally relevant, and very has made them see the opportunities large in scalability. Anand has been they have yet to discover and that these building platforms and nurturing are the golden years of their lives where ecosystems for businesses for more than they can enjoy and explore. Empowering 15 years. He immediately saw the their members and seeing them grow is potential in Anita’s idea. “Life has never an early milestone they are thrilled to been the same, achieve. since then. As the As an community I realized that there is a lot of entrepreneur is growing I have set and the 50 untapped talent and a lot of out to make plus unpursued interests that a global youngsters platform and homemakers have. are joining together them in with my droves, they team, we shall are looking at make it happen,” affirms Anita. expansion. The wise 50 year old group Call it serendipity or divine conspiracy, but Anita was lucky to have found a team which complements each other and is suffused by the same passion and vision. Her co-founders, Zenia Boatwala and Kamal Raheja, along with Anand Gurnani, who is also an investor in the venture are a pack of people driven with fire and focus, “In terms of the capital of passion, boundless energy and conviction, all four of us are equally invested into 50Young,” says the gracious Anita. The platform has its genesis in the fact that there are 350 million urban women world over who are above 50 and an appallingly high percentage of them are marginalizing their talents and strengths. The lack of platforms to showcase and capitalize on their talents turns their aspirations into forlorn dreams. Thus to

of founders understand the bane and boon of media; hence they like to maintain a low profile until they are sound with their product, format, content and programs. “We want to participate and pursue media only when we are completely ready for it” says the media shy Anita. “We are glad to share our story with those who care about our cause,” muses Anita who is selective about the extent and type of publicity that they want to garner right now. Bagging the 4th runner-up slot at Viviana extraordiNAARI 2016, a contest which had 260 participants from all over Mumbai, Anita and her team are happy to build their business brick by brick. While Anita is relatively new to the world of business, her experiences have been intense and enriching. Bracing roadblocks and striding confidently into

Anita Gurnani Old home maker.50 Young entrepreneur

new horizons, Anita feels blessed to be able to conquer her fears, “The only roadblocks we face are our own fears and inhibitions and our own inertia to learning and growing. Luckily for me, I am able to overcome those in my entrepreneurial stint and I am thankful to God for that.” Says the ever young and wise Anita, “Life has just begun. Let’s bond, inspire, teach and learn from each other.”

WOMAN AT WORK | MAY 2016

SIMPLY SUCCESSFUL

hen most people in the corporate corridors were introducing the world to the concept of diversity and inclusion, Madhumitha was living it. Born with a physical disability but determined to get included in corporate careers, Madhumitha Venkataraman possesses the kind of strength which cannot be crushed, hampered or disabled easily. Born into a Tamil family and brought up in Delhi and Mumbai, Madhumitha has ‘Left Hemiparesis’ (half paralysis on the left hand and left limbs) since birth. This orthopaedic and neurological disorder restricts free movement of her left leg and significantly disables her left hand. While her parents never let Madhumitha feel any different because of her physical condition, they left no stone unturned in consulting best doctors, hospitals and trying therapies like acupuncture, surgery, reiki. Madhumitha recalls a childhood which was a mixed bag of good and not so good experiences. There were times when her schoolmates laughed at her leg callipers, mocked at her inability to keep pace with their strides. But there were some friends who were sensitive and considerate, who made changes just to accommodate her. All these experiences of triumph and failure, backed by encouragement from her parents have made Madhumitha, a pillar of confidence that she is today. “My parents never stopped me from playing like a normal kid. I was encouraged to dance, play, run and fall. They always made me believe that it is fine to fall and to be slow but I can’t give up for want of trying”, says the brave lady who trained in Bharatnatyam, Carnatic music and painting as a child. Having braved through a tough childhood and teenage, Madhumitha explains that the life of a child with disability is spent between school and treatments. When the time came to make the next big decision, of a college 36

WOMAN AT WORK | MAY 2016

degree, her impairment became an impediment. She wanted to be an engineer but everybody around including the professors at engineering colleges said it will be very difficult for her to complete certain courses. “It is unfortunate that certain professions become inaccessible for people with disabilities” says Madhumitha who went onto pursue a Bachelors in Management Studies. An avid reader and a diligent student, Madhumitha always found books to be her best friends. Even though she specialized in finance, Madhumitha got an early initiation into human resources from her father who has been the head of HR functions at leading professional organizations. Her first job was an HR role with Edelweiss group. She explains that for a disabled person the best show of respect and acceptance from an employer is kindness and recognition to the fact that the disabled person may need some kind of assistance. “I remember the panel from Edelweiss showing great courtesy. Someone got up and helped me settle on my seat, someone opened the door for me while leaving and they also asked me if I needed a cab to travel back. Such small gestures speak volumes about an organization’s culture,” explains Madhumitha as clues to pick up for a person with disability while meeting a prospective employer. She explains that whenever she needed a reasonable accommodation or assistance she always asked for it, “I always let people know what I need. It’s best to not let your employer be in dark of your requirements as a person with disability. And I am not apologetic about my condition, I am rather in acceptance of it. ” Her encumbered movements made it difficult for her to travel by local trains and buses. Hence while life at office was a wonderful experience, reaching the workplace was an ordeal. She would often fall off on the railway platforms or slip on the train while boarding. “I would often reach office fifteen minutes late. But my team was considerate and helped me settle down,” says Madhumitha. That was the time when

Madhumitha Venkataraman HR Expert.Fighter

she developed a renewed sense of self confidence. Madhumitha comes from a family of intellectuals who believe education is the only supporting pillar in life - for a disabled person, more so. Hence her father convinced her to get a management degree. The academically inclined Madhumitha outshone at the Jamnalal Bajaj management program with a scholarship for her brilliant performance. Post MBA, she joined Mercer as an analyst and was promoted to a ‘consultant’ role in a short span. Her

SIMPLY SUCCESSFUL

extraordinary work got her selected for Mercer Professional Development Program, a professional training for consultants who plan to take on a lead role with clients. Her role made her travel both in India and globally. As a disabled person travelling abroad, she feels that infrastructure in other countries is far better. The airports, cabs, footpaths, roads - everywhere there is a place for the disabled.

qualifications. Along with physical disability he was also under a lot of financial stress. Knowing fully well that she couldn’t offer him a role, she decided to offer him some money in her personal capacity. But that man had immense self respect and declined the financial help. “That is when I started realising that life for disabled people, coupled with lack of financial resources, can be extremely challenging. It is difficult for a person with disability to find a job”, says Madhumitha who feels she was lucky to be born and educated in a family which empowered her to chase her dreams.

Having worked in an organization like Mercer has left her awed and inspired. She believes that it is one of the best places to work from an inclusion perspective. “People at Mercer are extremely committed, brilliant at their After a great stint at GE, Madhumitha work yet very humble. They have a very moved to e-commerce giant Snapdeal, as open culture where people from all Associate Director Human Resources. kinds of backgrounds are welcome” says Madhumitha. “All All that organizations need is a that organizations need is a kind heart, not a huge disability kind heart, not a huge disability network to be inclusive” says the network, to be inclusive lady who has been lucky to be around the best professionals in her field. Along with developing the HR function After experiencing the role as a for entire south zone for Snapdeal, she consultant, Madhumitha wanted to see also conceptualized and is responsible the other side of the fence: how for leading the company’s diversity and corporates implement consulting advice. inclusion charter, called Advitya. Hence she moved to GE Healthcare and Through Advitya, Madhumitha plans to joined them as an HR manager for connect with corporate heads of other technology, sales and services. She was companies to encourage employment also a part of the leadership for disabled persons. “Heading Advitya development for GE Healthcare South has been personally meaningful and we East Asia (EMERGE). One of the most also focus on all forms of diversity – gratifying stints at GE was being gender, disability, LGBT, culture, focused onto the needs of persons with disabilities – which included highlighting because within inclusion there can be no exclusion,” says Madhumitha who feels the success stories of employees, getting grateful to the leadership at Snapdeal for the voice of the person with disabilities supporting her with this initiative. team into the GEHC global platform, looking at the key requirements to enhance the inclusion of persons with disabilities in the company. At one of the hiring events focused on persons with disability, organized by Madhumitha at GE, she had one of the many humbling experiences which changed her life. A fully disabled person had come for an interview and Madhumitha had to reject his application based on his lack of

One of the unique and holistic approaches adopted by Snapdeal under the leadership of Madhumitha is diversity from the standpoint of the seller ecosystem: how can they empower more diverse entrepreneurs to sell on their marketplace. They look at diversity from gender, disability, sexual orientation, ethnic and several other perspectives. The other concept that they focus on is inter-sectionality

between different groups, “Every human being is a complete person and is not just 'gay' or 'disabled' - there is a lot more to the individual and looking at individuals unidimensionally breeds stereotypes. We believe in celebrating uniqueness – Advitya,” explains Madhumitha. Another best practice deployed at Snapdeal is the reasonable accommodation policy for persons with disability which puts the onus on the person with disability to decide what assistance/accommodation is needed. While in an ideal workplace physical accessibility is the key, organizations need to focus on sensitizing employees if they are looking at true inclusion of people with disability. It is true for all diversity groups, not just disability. A person with disability is not as dependent on ramps, wheelchairs, clutches and callipers as they are on respect, empowerment and dignity. “We are looking for opportunity, not sympathy”, says Madhumitha. Advitya was recognized by People Matters as a finalist for “Best in Diversity” at L&D Conference, 2015. Madhumitha has one strong message to give to all people who are representative of any diversity group, “Represent yourself well. Have confidence in your ability and highlight your strengths”. She was also recognized as an unsung achiever across Bangalore by ‘Wonder of Women’. When not in office, Madhumitha, blogs on diversity and inclusion, works with NGOs on disability and LGBT inclusion and runs to finish a 5 km marathon. She is one of the members of ‘One Step at a Time’, a support group for persons with disability in Bangalore. While the road ahead may be tough, armed with wisdom and determination, Madhumitha is ready to make the world a better place!

WOMAN AT WORK | MAY 2016

SIMPLY SUCCESSFUL cognizant of her strengths and paved the way forward, “I realized my strength was in my ability to make an instant connect with people. I am a ‘reacher’ who transcends interpersonal barriers quickly and facilitates new learning well.”

rowing up in an army culture grooms a person to look life into the eye. Something similar happened with Radhika Budhwar- a third generation army kid who grew up in a family of army men: grandfather, father, husband and his entire family. Her upbringing in cantonments in different parts of India proves how she acquired self grooming, finesse, presentation skills, art of conversation, a knack to connect with people and an ability to converge ideas so naturally. Thus the corporate trainer, soft skills and business communication expert and a specialist in conflict management and diversity, Radhika has the quintessential traits which make her an authority in her field. With 20 years of experience behind her, she explains that she saw a market for such skills in the late 90s when India was at a nascent stage of multinationals setting shop , “When the large international companies came to India, they realised that there was a large workforce available with the right technical knowhow, but sans the softskills required for those jobs.” That is when she started working with corporates conducting workshops and programs on soft skills and communication, presentation, interpersonal , interview skills and business and fine dining etiquette. Her first formal corporate training was for three senior executives who were travelling abroad for the first time and needed a personal enhancement and grooming download. She remembers with confidence how this success and many more that followed made her

WOMAN AT WORK | MAY 2016

Radhika’s workshops are like an experiential walk for the clients as she believes in doing live activities rather than theoretical sessions. She uses hands-on tools, simulating situations and activity based learning as a way of soliciting the output desired from her intervention. She is one of those effective breed of facilitators who does not use power points, superfluous theories or confusing jargons. “To be an effective trainer, I ensure that I speak the least among everyone in that training room. I facilitate outcomes and new learnings”, says Radhika who believes that there is a difference between a preacher, professor and a trainer. She takes her clients through their experiences and conditioning, interactive sessions, compelling audio-videos, casestudies, data and statistical evidences to put her point across.”The outcomes must come from the participants themselves.” Having conducted training for many years, Radhika could discern the growing conflicts surrounding people in all spheres of life. Right from relationships between individuals, to power tussles in organizations, expectation mismatch between levels of hierarchy and workplace dissonance - there is conflict everywhere. This explains her shift from training to conflict management and resolution. “My specialization in managing conflicts gets me to help harness the power of positive conflict and hone multicultural skills with organizations, individuals and geographies,” says Radhika, who enjoys the satisfaction that comes from turning conflict into collaboration and outlining an approach to management and resolution of that conflict. She has worked with many international organizations and travelled across the globe helping companies resolve conflicts arising from different work cultures and social behavior and

Radhika Budhwar Conflict resolution expert. Soft Skills trainer

SIMPLY SUCCESSFUL expectations. One such experience dramatically change the outcome of a where she had to resolve the conflict product which we thought we had lost, between a Swedish company and their all because of serious conflict between Indian counterparts, Radhika sketches two verticals.” the path she took to the resolution, “I As a thumb rule to conflict management was asked to step in when there was a and training needs, Radhika believes that complete lack of trust between the two short cuts are detrimental to effective collaborators and the product outcome training and hence she follows prewas shaky. Right at once I had to make training assessment as a necessary both teams reassess the situation from exercise before plunging into designing different angles, and rectify power the complete training program. In preimbalances. Many times this occurs training she spends time in simply from a lack of cultural understanding the client’s needs by sensitization, as in this case. The Swedes assimilating their culture, expectations were looking at the Indian team as and approach to problem solving. unprofessional for not consistently attending calls and video conferencing at Radhika has a strong media experience as speaker on diversity, religious a particular hour in the morning. I had accommodation and women to make them see that it was often empowerment. She has also been a part because of the unpredictable and of documentaries on Diversity & swarming traffic that the Indians were Inclusion. Extending her media traversing every day. I took them involvement and incisive insights through videos and news analytics, data and research which proved the uncertain navigation through traffic To be an effective trainer, I ensure and distances in Indian that I speak the least in that room. cities. They were stunned at I facilitate outcomes and new what they saw and began to understand one of the learnings. constraints at the Indian end. At the same time I had to make the Indian partners appreciate the Swedish adherence to time lines by showing them the effect of one delayed deliverable/missing a time line, on the entire week’s schedule of their Swedish partners, for whom staying back post work hours was just not an option, unlike the Indian team. Both teams took this as a small starting point to working towards resolution.” Such situations need her to have a complete understanding of the country, work ethics and cultural backgrounds. She needs to sensitize people about cultural nuances arising out of different geographies and their diverse expectations. As a testimony to her effectiveness as a Conflict Resolution and Diversity expert, one of her German clients said “We have never had an experience where one four-day training could so

towards international events, Radhika was a part of one of the most famous and controversial Australian TV factual series ‘Dumb, Drunk and Racist’ broadcasted by ABC2 TV in 2012. She was one of the four Indian protagonists who were put in the middle of passionate debates and immersive experiences about Australians as being racist or simply misunderstood. The series was shot on locations in India and across 50,000 miles in Australia where the 4 Indians faced situations of racial fanaticism, Islamophobia and aboriginal discrimination. Radhika considers it to be one of the most gratifying experiences. “It changed my perspective towards stereotypes and brought honesty to my personal conditioning in challenging them.”

from up and close, Radhika says “with every interaction I add a new dimension to my own learning. I am growing each day, both as a person and a professional.” Having surmounted demographic barriers and reached people’s thought processes has made her more open towards accepting differences and incongruence “Breaking out of conditioned responses, recognizing, accepting and assimilating differences is a gift of my work to me,” says Radhika, who feels in better stead with every new experience. Radhika has been lucky to have a supporting husband, her father and an inspirational mother who have been the steadfast anchors of strength and courage all her life. When not spanning geographies, the avid reader and incisive blogger finds herself trekking highlands or getting involved in finding support for conservation of Ridley Turtles. Her next mission is working towards making workplaces more gender diverse and safe for women. She is passionate about spreading awareness towards sexual harassment at workplaces via her workshops for various organizations. When Radhika is not resolving conflicts, she is spreading the message of peace and harmony through the teachings of Sokka Gakai International of which she is a senior member and revered practitioner. Radhika attributes her success to her ability to maintain a neutral unemotional stance during conflict discussions and her talent of getting divergent perspectives to get into a symbiotic relationship towards the desired outcomes.

Having worked with a diverse set of people, and experienced cultural nuances WOMAN AT WORK | MAY 2016

SPECIAL FEATURE

LEADING THE WAY by Megha Johari

Making her mark through sheer hard work, skills and capabilities, Nisha Dutt, the young CEO of Intellecap Advisory is a trailblazer leaving her footprints to be followed and respected by future leaders. As one of the board members of the company, Nisha has carved her place in the legendary corridors of dynamic professional women who know the recipe for success.

he true mark of a leader is to have faith in oneself and follow the road less taken. When most people contemplated only a computer science degree as the safest route to 40

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mainstream corporate careers, Nisha decided to pursue her natural instincts of curiosity to delve deeper. This explains her interest in supply chain management, fuelled by her experience

of working at Xerox Corporation. Having worked in supply chain management, she was fascinated by the function. She wanted to add to her knowledge by getting a formal education in thinking scientifically and strategically about this discipline. After completing her early education in India, Nisha decided to go West to get an M.S. in Industrial Engineering (Supply Chain Management) from Oklahoma State University, USA and an MBA from Ohio State University, USA. At an early age, Nisha learnt the value of hard work and business acumen from her army officer father and businesswoman mother. Also, growing up in different parts of India, Nisha always found travelling and exploration a thrill like none other. Having done multiple stints across various industries, functions and geographies, Nisha is rich with experience and knowledge, both acquired by her inherent traits of curiosity and hard work. After the supply chain role at Xerox, she took up an expansion and program management role at Cessna Aircraft. There she was credited with expanding the business across USA, Europe and India. She also handled procurement, supply chain and outsourcing, creating efficiencies at every level. She then decided to do a career shift with a consulting role at Deloitte Consulting. The shift into consulting domain gave her work a dimension of width, depth and diversity. Managing mergers and acquisitions, financial restructuring and outsourcing made her experiences more multifaceted. After scaling peaks of success abroad, Nisha decided to return to India. That was also the time when she wanted to broadbase her career by putting her years of experience and skills into something different. That is when the opportunity of working with Intellecap came knocking. Remembers Nisha, “I chanced upon Intellecap. It was serendipity”. She found the ‘for-profit’ development sector very intriguing and felt that it aligned with her aspirations and need to do something more

SPECIAL FEATURE

meaningful that has a greater impact on lives and livelihoods around. She joined Intellecap in 2009 and went on to become a director and head of the global consulting and research practice, all within a span of 6 years. She has led projects related to assessing the financing gap in the SME (Small & Medium Enterprise) sector in India and stimulating an enabling policy environment for first generation entrepreneurship in India. She has worked on several inclusive business projects in Africa in countries like Malawi, Nigeria and Kenya. She is also spearheading Intellecap’s expansion into East Africa.

flat hierarchy and transparent practices. Believing in the power of human capital and investing in talent, Intellecap has soared incredible growth because of its work in areas of innovation and entrepreneurship which breeds ideation, creativity and passion unlike no other industry. These are the parameters of personal and professional fulfilment which have tied Nisha and Intellecap into a bond of leadership and success. Nisha brings extensive experience in global operations, business strategy, consulting and business development across geographies. She has in-depth expertise in the areas of strategy, business model design, business planning, risk management and research related projects for financial services, healthcare, water and sanitation and

Ascending into the role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO), she continues to play a key role in strategic decision making across Intellecap group. She is responsible for driving Intellecap’s growth Leadership is not a high chair. It is globally and leads the Business Consulting a role that demands listening, practice. She also leads understanding, empathizing and technology led innovations guiding in healthcare, agriculture, and financial services which are aimed at impacting the lives of the people at the bottom of the pyramid. Over the past other livelihood related sectors. few years the company has expanded Working in heterogeneous industries and into new markets and geographies. They varying cultures, Nisha feels she has are making their presence more been fortunate to have encountered pronounced and impactful by increasing great environments which were their products and offerings. meritorious and supported women as Having driven growth and expansion much as men by giving equal through her fortitude and unparalleled opportunities, challenges and growth. leadership skills, Nisha remembers the The lady, who has transcended self culture of Intellecap in the early days as imposed barriers for women into various zealous and fluid like a start up. Over industries, believes that empowerment is the years, she has seen the organization the key to growth and success and these grow in structured way in terms of vectors are gender neutral. business, investments, verticals and Being a propeller of professional management. But the entrepreneurial growth, excellence and pioneering spirit and fervour has remained innovation, the dynamic leader entrenched into the cultural fabric of the empowers her business and teams. company, thus making it a great place to Nisha’s believes in empowering people work. The company is proud of a in the right way as her approach to culture which enables people to chart managing teams. She considers leading their own growth path, take initiatives by example and ensuring openness in and explore their talents because to its

the way a leader or manager engages, discusses, debates and deliberates as critical ingredients to empowerment. “Leadership is not a high chair. It is a role that demands listening, understanding, empathizing and guiding,” says the charismatic CEO. Following David Ogilvy’s theory of hiring people who know more, Nisha believes in turning her company to a giant by recruiting immensely talented and knowledgeable people, in some cases who know more than their seniors. “I am glad to admit that I work with a group of passionate people who know how to turn knowledge to value. It is a great enabler”, says Nisha. Taking time out for family and personal affiliations is an important aspect of Nisha’s personality which makes her a complete person. For her, time at home is sacrosanct and she does not let the work-life equilibrium get disturbed. Trying to avoid weekend travels and prioritizing family time, Nisha values family and encourages others to do so too, “Work life balance is essential as it also helps you bring your game to your workplace. Take breaks. Treat family time as sacred.” The outstanding professional and a versatile individual, Nisha loves to fly. She is a patron of art and makes it a point to collect good artwork on her travel. Her thrill for flying leaves her with time to immerse in books, which rejuvenates her. The path to glory is usually full of roadblocks, but Nisha powered through them like none existed. Nisha believes impediments are meant to be conquered and exist to make you stronger, “Roadblocks are present everywhere but they have to be overcome and won over. I believe in taking challenges and turning them around. Looking back one always has a choice to avoid a roadblock or cross one. I did the latter” says the accomplished executive.

WOMAN AT WORK | MAY 2016

LEGAL ANGLE

WOMEN AND NIGHT SHIFTS Mr Manoj Wad is a leading Corporate Lawyer and Partner at J S Wad & Company. In his career spanning 27 years, he has practised in the Supreme Court and is on the legal advisory board of leading Multinational and Indian companies. His firm provides a bouquet of legal services to assist individual professionals, start ups and established business entities in their vocational and professional endeavors.

n December 1, 2015, the President of India gave his assent to a legislation of the Maharashtra State Assembly allowing women to work in night shifts from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m., while making it mandatory on factory managements to ensure their security. This move has been widely welcomed stating that it shall boost job prospects of women and enhance workplace gender diversity and that security is anyways provided to women. Ironically, just about 6 months prior to the passing of this Amendment, on May 8, 2015, the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence granted by Bombay High Court to cab driver Purushottam Borate and his friend Pradeep Kokate, who had raped and brutally murdered a 22-year old woman employee travelling in her company’s pick-up cab on the night of November 1, 2007 in Pune. It is pertinent to note here that the Company seemed to have taken all required steps to ensure the safety of its women employees, right from hiring a private cab service to transport employees to and from work, to imposing a mandatory condition upon the cab owner that a security guard be present in the vehicle while transporting a female employee. The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India in its survey post December 2012 Nirbhaya rape incident reported that many women started leaving workplaces early and some even quit their jobs. With due respect to all debates of gender equality, in recent years, the rising 42

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crime rate, particularly violent crimes against women, raises not only fear in minds but justified doubts as to whether our society is “ready” for allowing safe night shifts for women?

Onus on Employer: Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013: Since, according to Sec.2 (o) (v), workplace includes any place visited by employee arising out of/during the course of employment, including transportation provided by employer, the employer is liable if any incident takes place with the woman employee there. Even prior to this Act, non-adherence of conditions by employers attracted penalties and courts have held employers responsible for atrocities on women employees on their journeys to and from work. In 2008, a SC Bench headed by the then Chief Justice of India, stated in a case, where a woman employee was raped and murdered by the driver of a vehicle leased by her employer, that as the head of the company the Managing Director was responsible for the safety and security of his employees.

Present Social Position Globalisation has gradually acclimatised Indian women to work at odd hours and it is increasingly being argued that prohibiting night shifts for women is not a privilege but an impediment to their progress. Merely because the system may fail to safeguard them, to curtail their freedom is being termed as prejudicial. Madras and Gujarat High Courts have

WHAT THE LAW SAYS: Factories Act,1948: Sec.66(1)(b) No woman allowed to work except between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. State Government may allow to work till 10 p.m., begin at 5 a.m.

Shops & Establishment Acts of respective states: State Governments may grant exemption to hotels, IT, Media sectors allowing night shifts for women employees, based on fulfillment of conditions like mandatory provision of safe transport, protection, separate lockers, rest rooms and the like. declared Sec. 66(1) (b) of Factories Act, 1948 as unconstitutional, considering it as discriminatory and against the Fundamental Right of Equality granted by the Constitution. India is on its way to become the skill capital of the world and women form a majority of the work force. What we need is a balanced approach to ensure their safety and empowerment alike. Reforming mindsets from where crime germinates may take time, but expeditious implementation of existing laws can no more be delayed. A vigilant system that ensures safety of all the employees alike is the need of the hour.

manojwad@jswad.in

BLOGHER

HOW TO GET HEADHUNTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA opportunities in every sector!" The organised sector in India is set to create about one million new jobs in the calendar year 2016," Rajesh Kumar, CEO of MyHiringClub.com and JobPortal.co.in said. So, how can you leverage this opportunity to climb the corporate ladder in 2016? Linkedin India Recruiting trends for 2015 report shows that India is the 3rd country where 61% passive recruitment occurs annually. So if only 40% jobs are actually advertised on the job portals and newspaper adverts, how can you get the next job in the company of your choice?

Akshaya Borkar is a Social Media Marketing Educator and Consultant, winner of 2 Stevie Awards for Women in Business 2015, Brilliant Biz Mum Award for Best Web Presence Category 2015, Australia 2015 and Anthill Magazines 30under30 Entrepreneurs Awards Honour List winner.

ndia’s growth along with initiatives like “Startup India”, “Make in India” will create many job

Passive recruitment is not new, however previously employee referrals, internal hiring was prominent way of doing passive recruitment. However since 2010, headhunting right candidates on social media platforms has become the most passive recruitment tactics. According to a recent study by JobVite 73% of recruiters have hired a candidate through social media and 93% of hiring managers will review candidate’s social profile before making a hiring decision. 70% of recruiters plan to increase their investment in social recruiting. While 83% of job seekers are on Facebook, Linkedin which are top social networks for recruiting. So here are list of do’s and don’ts for keeping your social media presence updated to get headhunted for the next position! 1. Keep your profile photo consistent, professional across all platforms. 13% recruiters reject candidates if the profile

images are not professional. 2. Post relevant content on your profiles. 3. If you do not wish to share your personal information to the world, keep your Facebook profile setting personal, so your basic information is only visible. 4. Profanity, negative content is certainly a turn off 5. Many companies find political affiliation as non-attractive. 6. Keep your professional skills, awards and association membership info updated on Linkedin. 7. Use hashtags, keywords, referring tools to gain visibility 8. Follow the potential company’s social media pages and engage with their content where possible. 9. Writing a blog or useful post on Linkedin can also show the recruiter your writing, communication skills along with your industry knowledge making you a thought leader. 10. Network in groups and communities so you meet the right members and grow your virtual network further. After all your Network = Net worth! Beyond all these tips, don’t forget to be YOU! Nothing worse than trying to be someone else to get a new job opportunity which makes you miserable in the end!

face /AkshayaBorkar

WOMAN AT WORK | MAY 2016

BOOKSHELF

SPRINT: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days by Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky, Brad Kowitz

Courtesy : goodreads.com

The three design partners at Google Ventures describe a unique five-day process for solving tough problems using design, prototyping and testing ideas with customers. A practical guide to answering business questions, Sprint is a book for groups of any size, from small startups to Fortune 100s, from teachers to non-profits. It’s for anyone with a big opportunity, problem, or idea who needs to get answers today. The book is wonderfully designed and packaged to convey direct information. It's refreshingly straightforward with checklists in the back. The book is packed with interesting anecdotes, lessons learnt, and lots of other tips that will help you run your own Sprints.

WOMAN AT WORK | MAY 2016

BUYING IN: The Secret Dialogue between What We Buy and Who We Are by Rob Walker Buying In delves into the attitudes of the global consumer in the age of plenty. Walker carries the reader on a frenetically paced tour of senseless consumption spanning from Viking ranges to custom high-tops. This book has vast social implications, far beyond the fields of marketing and branding. It obliterates our old paradigm of companies (the bad guys) corrupting our children (the innocents) via commercials. He shows that in our shattered, scattered world, powerful brands are existential, insinuating themselves into the human questions ‘What am I about?’ and ‘How do I connect?’ His insight that brand influence is becoming both more pervasive and more hidden and that we are not as self-defined as we like to think–should make us disturbed and vigilant.

With Peoples Democratic Party leader Mehbooba Mufti taking over as chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, the number of women Chief Ministers in the country has gone up to five. The other chief ministers are J Jayalalithaa (Tamil Nadu), Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), Vasundhra Raje (Rajasthan) and Anandiben Patel (Gujarat).

Credit:gadgets.ndtv.com

Credit:ndtv.com

A two-month-long campaign against liquor by the women of Kacchabalee village in Rajasthan's Rajsamand district ended with almost the entire village voting to shut down the local liquor shop in their gram panchayat. Of the 2039 people who voted, 1937 - which is nearly 94 per cent - voted to shut down the liquor shop.

Credit:ndtv.com

WOMEN IN THE NEWS

Lalita Prasida Sripada Srisai , 14 , is the youngest recipient of the NDTVL'Oreal's Women of Worth Awards. Prasida, a young scientist has received the award for developing a cheap method of cleaning waste water, which uses waste corncobs as a key ingredient.

WOMAN AT WORK | MAY 2016

Credit:sports.ndtv.com

Reliance Foundation Chairperson, Nita Ambani has been named the most powerful businesswoman in Asia by Forbes, leading a list of 50 women leaders from the region that includes eight from India. SBI Chairman and Managing Director Arundhati Bhattacharya has been ranked second on the 2016 'Asia's 50 Power Businesswomen' list.

Women voters registered a higher polling percentage than men in the first phase of elections for 65 assembly constituencies in Assam.

NETSETTERS

Courtesy: ted.com

Barry Schwartz: The way we think about work is broken

Bill Gross: The single biggest reason why start ups succeed The founder of leading technology incubator â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Idealabâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, Bill Gross, has incubated over 150 companies in the past 20 years. His belief in the power of startups to change the world aroused curiosity to understand why so many failed despite taking the rights steps. After an analysis of various important factors, in this talk he reveals the one factor that determines the success or failure of a start-up, a revelation that surprised even him. Gross uses rhetorical questions and humour to portray his point of view. He supports his case by citing the examples of well known start ups.

WOMAN AT WORK | MAY 2016

Barry Schwartz studies the link between economics and psychology, offering startling insights into modern life. Lately, working with Ken Sharpe, he's studying wisdom. Building on the theories given by renowned economist Adam Smith and anthropologist Clifford Geertz, Barry explains that the very shape of the institution within which people work creates people who are fitted to the demands of that institution and deprives people of the opportunity to derive the kinds of satisfactions from their work that we take for granted. And that human nature is much more created than it is discovered. We design human nature by designing the institutions within which people live and work.

WOMAN AT WORK | APRIL 2016