Women in Leadership: Building a world of Diversity and Inclusiveness

Women have been playing a crucial role in every sphere, including science and technology. They have gone beyond general perception and literally touched the sky today. With proper mentorship and guidance, women have the ability to be driven towards excellence.
The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is #BreakTheBias. The goal is to address the existing bias or norm in the society which makes it so difficult for women to move ahead, while also highlighting the importance of a world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination.

Women representation in Tech industry
Technology has had a tremendous and an unimaginable impact on human life. Yet women are currently underrepresented in the tech industry. The need of the hour is to have more of the female gender to facilitate better problem solving ability and increase performance at business level. Despite the huge amount of research and meticulously curated data confirming that companies tend to be more profitable, reputable, and have a healthy growth relationship when they have more women in leadership positions, we still get to see a gender gap in most cases.
Companies like Fortinet, the cyber security company, is committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace based on fairness, equality, and a sense of belonging. The objective at Fortinet is to empower and enable all individuals to reach their full potential. “At Fortinet we are an equal opportunity player and we believe that a diverse workforce benefits everyone. Our focus on diversity is reflected throughout the organization, starting at the highest level, which is why Fortinet is ranked among the TOP25 Tech Companies with the most gender diverse boards. You will find many senior positions being occupied by women in Fortinet whether it is Deputy CISO, VP Information Security, Senior Vice President Marketing, Threat Intelligence and Influencer Communications at Fortinet,” cites Rajesh Maurya, Regional Vice President, India & SAARC, Fortinet.

Indian Inc. in 2021 made gender diversity in hiring a priority area. Not just technology firms, but companies across the board are working towards making their workforce more diverse. A study by JobForHer, an online career platform for women, reported a 300% jump in job postings for women in 2021. The increase is even higher - 450% - when compared with the pre-pandemic period of 2019. Owing to the flexible work models, some experts believe the pandemic has been one of the key factors driving this increase. It is not just about being conscious or aware anymore. Tech companies are quickly moving to put in place policies to amplify the number of women employees at their firms. Prominent tech companies in India said that as of December 2021, they have at least three women in ten employees and are aiming to increase this ratio in the coming years.
In 2022, a change in mindsets at a cultural level is what is expected to bring in some tidings while also encouraging more young women to pursue their dreams.

Start-up ecosystem & women entrepreneurs
Talk about the booming Indian startup ecosystem and linked to this success story is the wonderful journey traversed by women entrepreneurs of the country. India is seeing a meteoric rise in women entrepreneurs. With one out of every 5 startups successfully run by Indian women, they are seen to have the potential to be the biggest force in India’s growth story. Innovative startups have sprung up across the country in which women are heading key positions. Women in leadership roles are increasingly acknowledged as bringing an extra degree of multitasking, empathy, intellect, assertiveness, and determination to thrive in real estate business circumstances.

Sheatwork, a one-stop knowledge hub for women entrepreneurs, unveiled a report on ‘State of Women Tech Entrepreneurship in India’ in partnership with Techarc, a leading technology analytics, research, and consultancy firm. The report highlights that while the number of female students in leading engineering institutes like the IITs has increased from a mere 5% about four years back to 16% now, this is not really translating into more women starting up companies. In fact, going by current trends, India should have more than 200 unicorns (startups with at least $1 billion valuation) by 2025, many of them going public, but this growth story will be primarily led by men.

Interestingly, the report, based on a survey of 2,000 women across India including women professionals, students, start-up founders and business leaders, highlights that almost 48% of women in non-metros are eager to take up tech entrepreneurship as a career option vis-à-vis 23% in metros who would like to pursue their own ventures.

Let’s have a look at some of the top women leaders, who have curated success stories and made a mark in their respective fields encompassing sales & marketing, HR, Engineering and Operations - 

The corporate world has a long way to go before it creates a more balanced workforce

Komal Somani,  Whole Time Director - ESDS Software Solution

“Equal representation right from the helm of things is what ESDS believes in. We believe that equal representation brings different perspectives and delivers diverse solutions that are better at solving clients' problems; diversity of mindset and approach is both the right and good business too. ESDS, as an organization, believes that gender parity can be achieved in business by developing diversity in important positions that have a significant impact on our results and those of our customers and society as a whole.

ESDS as an organization attempts to makes sure that when it comes to maintaining the right balance in the hiring process, we pay attention to minute details like using neutral language in job descriptions. Across industries, organizations can provide organizational training through the HR or inclusion specialists to curb unconscious or even confirmation biases that may become a significant problem. These days another generally adapted notion is involving a more diverse set of people in the interview process as candidates usually like to see their voices well represented in an organization. I believe that it is high time that people should be conscious of any gender imbalance in any industry.”

 VMware goes beyond gender and focuses on competent individuals with great potential

Roopa Raj, 
VP, Head of IT, APJ and Global Head of Engineering, SaaS Transformation - VMware
 

“Our strategy has always been to bring people from diverse backgrounds to work together and solve the most critical challenges that the industry faces with the help of technology. VMware offers one of India’s largest return-to-work programs, VMinclusion Taara, an initiative that seeks to upskill women on a career break  by providing free technical education and certification courses on network and data center virtualization, cloud management, and automation, and digital workspace technologies. We also offer Nakshatra, a six-month paid return-to-work program for women to help them restart their careers. 
I believe that conscious efforts made by organizations and communities towards hiring, nurturing and retaining women talent in tech have been a key success factor. At VMware, we go beyond gender and focus on competent individuals who have great potential and a strong drive for excellence. Our diversified workforce is what makes VMware a great place to work. The VMware culture—one that appeals not only to millennials but to top talent across the generations—is based on a set of shared values best expressed through the acronym EPIC2: execution, passion, integrity, customers, and community.”

IBM enjoys a legacy of 110 + years of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
 

Prachi Rastogi 
Diversity & Inclusion Leader - IBM Asia Pacific

“IBM is one of the best companies for working women, not only in India, but across the world for the past couple of years. With our 110 years + legacy of doing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at IBM, we are not at that stage where we are concerned about how to get women at any level. But we are now working towards getting gender balance at the top decision making positions, which really matters for us.  Because at the end of the day, if we have women at the top, only then will you see that the culture really changes for good and it fosters an environment which is great for women too. It is very clear to all of our employees, especially leaders and managers that there is zero tolerance for bias when it comes to hiring, promoting or retaining or taking any decisions with regards to retention of any of our employees, especially people from diverse constituents like women, like LGBTQ people, or people with disabilities.
Secondly, we do a lot of training sessions, which are informative programs, workshops, drama sessions for equipping our managers on how to engage with women who are going through different phases of their life. This helps in bringing awareness to the unconscious biases that we have. Thirdly, we do a lot of career enablement programs for high potential women, because it's very clear that there is no compromise on hard work and great performance.”
 

We women were chosen to bring the diversity of thought and unique strengths to the table
 

Belinda Jurisic
VP Channel, Cloud and Service Provider Strategy & Management - Veeam

 
“This year’s theme Break the Bias is important and timely because it’s time to speak up. Really speak up. It’s about finding opportunities to use your voice to affect change. We can all do this. You may not get it right every time, but you will learn every time you speak up. And then, when you start to see things changing because of what you’ve said, embrace it and own what you have asked for.  International Women’s Day is a reminder to celebrate the role women play in industry and to support and learn from each other. There are markets I work in that I can be myself and then there are somewhere I have faced criticism based on my approach. Often these are criticisms that a man wouldn’t face in the same situation. And so, as a woman you must have strength to stand your ground. There is a quote that I love, which is, ‘don't try to be a man, it's a waste of a good woman’. We were chosen for a reason, to bring that diversity of thought and our unique strengths to the table.”
 

Diversity of talent is the key to the success of Tata Communications
 

Ina Bajwa 
Sr. Director, Human Resources - Tata Communications

“At Tata Communications, we believe that diversity of talent is the key to our success. People of different genders, backgrounds, skills, and perspectives enable us to anticipate and respond to changes in our industry with agility and address our customers’ evolving needs more effectively.

One of the key approaches to breaking bias is through constant education on being aware, and regular listening opportunities with employees. We do regular pulse surveys which provide a safe channel for employees to share the improvements they would like to see in the workplace, policies and practices. In addition, we also run an annual survey where we seek feedback on all possible dimensions of working from the employees, and the results are viewed holistically, and action plans are put in place to introduce relevant changes. Our Global Part Time Work policy, Work from Home Policy and Caregiving Policy in conjunction with LEAP (Life Event Assistance Program) are the result of some of the feedback received from the listening channels, which today help employees balance their personal needs and professional responsibilities at the same time.”
 

Pure Storage believes in encouraging representation of diverse groups of people
 

Rimi Das
Head Of Marketing, India Region - Pure Storage

“For Pure Storage, we look at talent holistically and not merely from a gender perspective. We believe in encouraging representation and participation of diverse groups of people. This includes not only people of different genders, races and ethnicities, abilities and disabilities, religions, cultures, ages, and sexual orientations, but also those with diverse backgrounds, experiences, skills and expertise. 

We have seen the benefits of a diverse workforce translate into record earnings for the company. We definitely still have some way to go but we have made important strides. We cannot let up on education and awareness but once companies see the benefits of a diverse workforce, they will never turn back.”
 

Unconscious biases can cloud judgement when making hiring decisions

Ruchi Bhalla 
Country Head - India Delivery Centers and VP, Human Resources (Asia Pacific), Pitney Bowes

 
“One of the most common biases at the workplace is that people often look to hire candidates who are ‘like them’. Unconscious biases stem from personal beliefs, stereotypes, and experiences, and if not checked, they can cloud judgement when making hiring decisions. To mitigate unconscious biases from the hiring process, Pitney Bowes India launched ‘Blind Applications’ for candidates applying for jobs, allowing them to omit details such as gender, age, caste, religion from applications. 

Leaders need to be cognizant and stave off prejudices by identifying them within themselves, their teams and make conscious efforts to minimize interference in daily conduct.”
 

Securonix making progress in promoting gender equality across all technical profiles

Vinny Sharma
Marketing Head - Securonix

“We at Securonix believe that providing an inclusive environment to our employees is critical. Apart from the active and passive hiring processes, we have established multiple communities within existing teams based on different skill sets. Today, women across all industries are driving phenomenal growth and development. Having a gender-balanced team is our utmost priority even on the senior level. We use performance-based metrics for appraisals and promotions to keep a check on any gender discrepancies and ensure gender parity in leadership positions. In addition to this, we also participate in various diversity-based women hiring forums and career fairs to hire more female talent for our organisation. 
When it comes to the technology industry, women are generally regarded as the second-best option for various engineering roles in any organisation. However, we are making progress in promoting gender equality across all technical profiles. Women are excelling in all fields, including technology. Hiring female candidates is no longer limited to managerial positions, but is also expanding into various technological roles. I think the onus is also on ‘us’ because these prejudices are not going to go away easily. As a leader in the tech space, I can say from experience that it is a difficult journey but if you are confident and decisive, you can make your way.”

Vertiv’s vision is to hire more people from traditionally underrepresented groups 
 

Dipti Singh
Head, Marketing & Communications, Vertiv India

“Right from recruiting the best talent from top institutes in India to nurturing them into individuals that contribute to our organization significantly, women are a critical part of our company’s growth. Women leaders are present across several business functions at our organization, including key decision maker roles, to drive innovation and change. Inclusion at decision-making levels enhances the confidence, visibility, and empowerment of women and enables a 360-degree approach to management. We have been witnessing a consistent rise in recruitment of women at higher positions, while creating an inclusive and diverse work environment.

At Vertiv, we believe we are at our best and most innovative with a diversity of viewpoints and perspectives. Our vision is to move  well beyond the processes already in place and to recruit and hire more women and people from traditionally underrepresented groups.  Education and skills are taken into consideration, but also a desire to learn and grow in our organization. This approach has helped us go beyond gender-biases and get some of the most amazingly talented women on board, some of whom have helped us shape our future business prosperity.”
 

Balancing the hiring process is about giving equal opportunity
 

Rinki Jain 
Account Delivery Head – Infogain

“As women, our position in the organization should not be defined by gender, but by merit, credibility, and competence. There are women in senior positions across roles at Infogain.  
In the tech industry, we have many offshore clients, which also means working in different time zones, long or odd hours. There is no doubt that I can manage it and my responsibilities. At Infogain, there is due recognition based on merit. We have an ecosystem that supports and works to provide equal opportunities for employees to grow in their respective fields, irrespective of gender. As a human-centered organization, Infogain provides you with a supportive environment and platform to highlight your skills, prove yourself and take it from there. To me, balancing the hiring process is about giving equal opportunity, and that begins at the screening stage, while shortlisting profiles. As a manager, I have observed this at all layers. It is an organizational ethos; we hire women employees for any open role. The only criteria are meeting the qualifications for that role and by merit. There should be a transparent discussion on roles and expectations during the hiring process, and if for any reason, a female candidate wishes to decline for some reason, let’s not make any conclusions or brand people based on gender.”
 

Aeris understands that better results are achieved when a diverse range of voices are heard
 

Shweta Berry
Head of Strategic Alliances - Industry & Academia, Marcom, Sales Enablement and CSR Divisions, Aeris Communications, India

“In my opinion, even after so much gyan around equity, diversity and inclusion, biases, especially at the unconscious level still exists in the system. There is a strong need to make the management and the employees realise these unconscious biases, especially the stereotypical ones that impact women, specially abled and LGBT. Merit and performance should be the deciding factor for promotions and pay hikes. In my opinion, we need to change the myopic perceptions and promote equality today for a sustainable tomorrow. Everyone’s equal participation is vital to stability, helps prevent conflict, and promotes sustainable, inclusive development.
 
At Aeris, we work hard to include those who might not otherwise be able to participate with the help of ‘Internet of Things' worldwide reach. Crucial choices about everyone getting equal development opportunities must be made. This entails creating a fair and impartial working environment for all. We recognise that better results are achieved when a diverse range of voices are heard."
 

Barco believes that equitable workforce is imperative to ensure generational diversity
 

Jayati Roy
Director HR -Barco India

“Since its inception, Barco, as an organization, is known to be extremely focused on work-life flexibility and while we focus on high quality work, we ensure that employees are able to perform well while maintaining an optimal balance in their personal and professional lives.  This has helped a lot of our women employees grow and continue with us for a longer period of time. We also try to provide a daycare service within the office premises itself, so that the employees who are new or even young mothers, are able to take care of their children and be stress-free while contributing at work. 

Barco firmly believes that an equitable workforce is important and it is imperative to ensure generational diversity, gender diversity, and so on. While generational diversity would automatically happen with low attrition, a conscious effort is required to ensure gender diversity and a comfortable workplace. With gig work becoming a reality, we expect more women to consider balancing work and life and I think the message is very simple. Organizations need to support young women in taking on larger roles and, in tandem with the government, create policies and processes which encourage women to enter the STEM field and join the technology space.”
 

The semiconductor sector is demonstrating a strong desire to increase diversity and inclusion
 

Radhika Chennakeshavula
Senior Director-IT, Micron India 

“At Micron, we have been raising — and will continue to raise — the profile of women in engineering within the semiconductor industry. Increased representation of underrepresented groups is one of our six FY21 commitments to diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI). Micron invests in many programs to engage girls and young women in STEM to feed the early talent pipeline, not just for Micron but also for the entire semiconductor industry. Through the Global Women’s Mentorship Program, Micron’s global female leaders are making a difference around the world. They have provided mentoring to more than 100 female students from 35 universities in 11 different countries. In India, Micron’s talent acquisition team is recruiting recent female college graduates in IT for our technology and products group and DRAM engineering group. The Micron Women’s Leadership Network (MWLN) is an employee-led and volunteer-driven group focused on strengthening the leadership, engagement and voices of women at Micron. It is Micron’s first and one of our largest employee resource groups, with more than 4,000 members. This community of women and allies fosters mentorship opportunities across the company, including the Women Innovate (WIN) program that provides hands-on innovation experience towards its mission of increasing female inventor participation and fostering an inclusive innovation culture.”
 

Diversity, equity and inclusion creates a respectful society that values individual differences
 

Latika Roy
SVP, Commercial Banking and Corporate & Investment Banking Operations - Wells Fargo India & Philippines

  
“Awareness is building across domains, including financial services operations where I work. There is a conscious drive to build awareness of the need for equity. Additionally, the proven efficacy of diversity as a clear advantage for companies is also driving focus on inclusion. While there has been progress in creating equitable workplaces and workforces, there is a definite need to carry forward the momentum that is building, to achieve true equity and inclusion. In my personal opinion I would say the full force of the change is yet to come. Some industries do better than others on this front, and some geographies do it better. We have seen that development indices are far better in countries that have more equitable societies. Diversity, equity and inclusion creates a more respectful society and a culture that values individual differences and leverages diverse backgrounds, skills and perspectives. In my personal opinion and from my 25-year experience spanning Investment Banking and Capital Market operations, I think that focusing on these two areas will help – one, building a pipeline of diverse leadership at the mid-level, so there is a ready pool of talent that can be mentored and groomed for senior roles, and two, making the working environment truly inclusive with focus on work-life balance for everyone, including flexi hours, maternity/paternity benefits, crèches, etc.”

Opportunities are wide open for everyone at ManageEngine without any bias

Rajalakshmi Srinivasan, director of product management at Site 24x7 - ManageEngine

“From hiring to training talent, our policies and philosophies are unique. We respect and nurture individuals' capabilities, and the company culture plays a major role in retaining the best talent. In the IT industry, new technologies are always emerging, and it's important to provide a platform to upskill individuals. In that sense, our company provides plenty of room for upskilling and the freedom to experiment with new technologies.

Individuals are trusted, so they take ownership and are responsible for their work. The sense of job satisfaction derived from such an environment goes a long way in creating a sustainable path for the best talent.

Women play an equal role in our organisation, and opportunities are wide open without any bias. However, women's needs are a little different from men's. The open and inclusive culture of the organisation helps women transition from team members to individual contributors, and vice versa, seamlessly, helping them match their male counterparts in their skills and careers. Motivation and guidance from upper management and other senior mentors encourage women to take up senior roles.

Bridging the imbalance is an ongoing journey. Though we've progressed to some extent, there's still a lot of room for improvement. The effort has to come from both sides.” 

 The representation of women in STEM-related opportunities is increasing year on year

Anupama Kadambi, Chief Experience Officer - GOFRUGAL 

“At Gofrugal, we believe in giving people freedom and empowering them to learn, innovate and execute their ideas. We provide equal opportunities in hiring from different backgrounds, with a great emphasis on attitude, listening skills, and self-learning capability. We encourage them to learn every day, own/drive a learning plan for their growth. Because of this continuous upskilling, we have 15-20% of women as coaches/managers. 30% of them are less than 25 years old. We aspire to increase this because diversity inclusion is not about age or experience, but skill defines growth.

While the representation of women in STEM-related opportunities is less, it is increasing year on year. Today there is a lot more encouragement and opportunities for women to enter science/tech/engineering/math fields. Women are more vulnerable when they enter the mid-30s or late 40s when they take a career break for the family. Women struggle to get back as they lose their confidence slowly, not aware of how and what to skill up. At Gofrugal, we encourage such women who have had a career break, with a strong desire to restart, willing to learn, and can start work part-time with a minimum of five hours a day.”

MediaTek takes all possible steps to ensure gender parity and equal opportunities

Rituparna Mandal, General Manager, MediaTek Bangalore

“MediaTek is committed to creating a sustainable employee base and we invest heavily in the growth and development of our employees. We follow a two-pronged training programme involving internal training modules and associations with external teams. Moreover, MediaTek offers internal e-learning platforms and technical training sessions for employees across the board, enabling them to upskill themselves, in addition to providing leadership training sessions.

 As an equitable workplace, MediaTek takes all possible steps to ensure gender parity and equal opportunities, irrespective of gender. Our performance rating system is completely based on merit and execution output, and this has no gender in the evaluation equation which definitely helps create a level playground for all employees and this is mostly true across the tech sector.  Since the last few years, the tech industry has become conscious of the gender imbalance and decisive steps are being taken to remedy this and boost diversity. We’ve seen great progress towards gender equality, with women progressively being recognized as change-makers. While things are changing slowly but surely, there is still a tremendous need to bridge the gap and empower women employees. Many organisations are taking initiatives to foster gender equality and diversity by empowering women in several ways.”