The Reason Why
By Aabha Bakaya, Founder & CEO, Ladies Who Lead
I’ve grown up studying across 13 schools in several cities across 4 continents, gaining invaluable exposure into a myriad of cultures and behaviour. I’ve worked across 4 major news networks in India, seeing different forms of leadership and collaboration. I have hosted live stock market shows to evening primetime news, call in shows for investment advice, an auto show, a luxury show, a startup show, and several talk shows. Diversity is my strength. I don’t think it’s necessary for anyone to do any one thing, the world is full of possibilities today, and we should all take those chances to succeed to gain fulfilment.
During my twenties in Delhi, I realised I was one of the few among my peers who actually worked. After social gatherings and occasions, I would be the only one going to work in the morning, and in my mid-twenties it got worse as my girlfriends were moving into a different life phase – of getting married, setting up their homes… and yes… lunching! My priorities seemed vastly different, not that you can’t do both, but I didn’t see anyone attempting to do both. They mainly picked family life. So that made me in those days, an outlier.
During my thirties in Bombay, I lived the life of a self-sufficient, cosmopolitan, working professional, along with several such dynamic people from around the world, who are now lifelong friends. We worked very hard, and we also celebrated life together; going for roadshows and concerts, secret dinners, impromptu getaways and new experiences. We were always looking to learn everything about everything, be the first to experiment with new things, and definitely thought of ourselves as trendsetters!
During those crucial years in my career, I found that for professional networking, there were very few avenues for someone like myself. Most of the many businessmen I knew were part of existing club lounges. And their families were part of old gentlemen’s clubs where in any case none of us growing leaders had access. Women leaders engaged with select industry associations with cohorts for women, which had set admission criteria to join, including your business size and net worth. There was no way to join or be heard at these forums.
So while I was engaging with literally all key business leaders through my work, I couldn’t access them in a different setting, because of lack of any form of access to these elite clubs. It had already become apparent to me, through the few casual meetings, which I had the opportunity to conduct, that building these relationships was critical to my growth in the industry. Forming these bonds of trust, led to leaders sharing their insights, being available for an interview at a moment’s notice and to being your cheerleaders in public forums.
Around this time, I met with women powerhouses – both professionals and entrepreneurs – who were thirsty to meet like minded women. The ask was for inspiration, for peer – to – peer exchanges, for cross industry networking and collaboration. We took a pun on Ladies who Lunch and came up with Ladies Who Lead, I made a logo online, spoke to a friend who owned a co-working space and set up our first conversation – with Zia Mody.
It was a huge success. Women came from all over the city to meet Zia, the original powerhouse, and she brought her mother with her. Zia was deeply emotional that day. She spoke about bringing up 3 kids while always working and how she looks back at the time she can’t get back with them, but she had to manage her own professional challenges to succeed as a woman in her field.
I spoke to a few peers, and we thought of another concept, where we bring together diverse leaders for an intimate meal together and to celebrate each other’s journeys and milestones. We brought together Manisha Girotra (Moelis), Schauna Chauhan (Parle Agro), Namita Thapar (Emcure Pharmaceuticals), Kainaz Messman (Theobrama), Sonal Singh (Christie’s) among others. And these intimate get-togethers became our first few Soirées.
We then received interest from corporates to amplify themes they were looking at, to build diversity in their organisations. They wanted to be part of the conversations of today and, be seen as progressive. We curated several roundtables with corporate leaders on topics like mental health, enabling safe spaces, and growing equality in the boardroom. We saw men also attend and engage in these conversations, as stakeholders and supporters.
Our first conference included a mix of networking, workshops, and panels and was held in Bombay in 2019.
During Covid, with some free time to think, and with the advice of a few friends in the startup ecosystem, I officially registered Leading Ladies Network Pvt Ltd. in September 2021. I had decided to take on the mission to share the network & curation access, and the knowledge that had been accumulated, with more and more aspiring women leaders, who simply needed confirmation of their ideas, the tools to sharpen their skills and tap into a network with resources to help them succeed. I looked to my immediate network of leaders to be part of it and show the way, being known personalities, constantly learning and growing, and valuing the power of building these relationships. These leaders became our founding members who have been instrumental in building the culture and ethos of Ladies Who Lead.
My Co-Founder and friend of many years, Aditya Ghosh, came on board in December 2021, with the joint mission and vision to create immersive learning and networking opportunities, and to expand the growth potential we saw in a growing population of women leaders. Aditya’s mentorship and his expertise in building businesses of scale brought gravitas and focus to our mission. And together, we continue to grow from strength to strength. In our 3 years, we have now reached 1000+ members and, built strong communities in Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore. We continue to reach many more leaders through our online &. offline activations across cities.
We envision a world with an increasing number of women in leadership positions, building big businesses, and influencing change. We see ourselves as enablers; an integral part of their journey to success. With a growing circle of powerful decision-makers and trendsetters, we can co-create the future, and not continue to follow the same old norms or patriarchal bias. We should all be in a position to choose our destiny, and our way forward, and lead the way in our sphere of work.
I have always believed that we should be the masters of our destiny – choosing it, shaping it, and growing it. And pave the way for others to join us in this uplifting journey.
Fabulous women should always forge the path for other fabulous ones.
Together we will be Ladies Who Lead.
