Through your experience at Ladies Who Lead as well as your network of female professionals across the country, what would you identify as the biggest systemic or structural challenges for women in India?

We know that the highest drop-off rates for working women is when they have to stay out of the workforce during the process of childbirth and child rearing. But, of late, we’re seeing more organisations make a concerted effort to help women transition back into the workforce. We’re also seeing more women who are willing to return after becoming mothers, even among women who’ve been away for five years. There’s no doubt that we have a long way to go, but what is becoming clear is that there are policies looking to make a change. 

But in terms of systemic or structural challenges, I’d say that what we’re missing is a drive to take those policies forward. Women aren’t always aware of their options, and even if they are, sometimes you need a bit of a push, be it from your family or your employers. Just having something in the fine print isn’t enough. You need personnel on the ground who’ll help women in coming back to work as well as in other ways, such as flexi work.

‘It’s taken for granted that men will network… when a woman does it, questions are asked’

In a lot of conversations with women achievers, one point that keeps recurring is that there are not enough women in decision-making positions across industries. What is your take on this?

I don’t know if there’s a single, foolproof solution for this. I know a lot of women who are taking up independent courses on leadership, be it on how to become a better director or handling issues of corporate governance. But another thing that can really help is networking. Women, on average, don’t network, certainly not as much as compared to men. When you talk about networking to women, many of them say that they don’t have time for social activities. But networking isn’t just socialisation, it’s meaningful engagement. Men do it all the time, be it at golfing rounds, cigar clubs or whisky sessions. It’s taken for granted that they will. But when a woman does it, questions are asked about why she is taking the time out to socialise, more so for women who have children. Moreover, sometimes it’s just about asking someone for help, like we do at LWL, where our members have full freedom to ask any leader they meet for time to sit down and engage. It’s those engagements that often make a difference when it comes to leadership.

‘For a woman in a boardroom, there’s still a lot of bias in terms of how you should dress, how you should speak…’

What do you think are the exclusive skills women bring on board as leaders, which are rare or largely absent in men?

Women are definitely more empathetic. Earlier, it wasn’t something that was valued properly, but it’s changing now. Women can sometimes be more productive because of their attention to detail and their tendency to break down something complex into several simple stages and departments. There are mixed reports on the risk factor and whether women make better risk-takers. But I think on the whole we’re still a while away from women being able to entirely embrace their femininity without it having an impact on their perception as leaders. When you enter a boardroom as a woman, there’s still a lot of bias in terms of how you should dress, how you should speak and how you should command attention. 

‘As of now, India is still very much a television market’