Techies all and loving it

What is it like for women working in a sunrise sector like IT? Here, five women who have made it big talk to Geeta Padmanabhan on how they balance priorities.

March 05, 2011 04:14 pm | Updated March 11, 2011 08:45 pm IST

Jessie Paul,  Managing Director, Paul Writer

Jessie Paul, Managing Director, Paul Writer

This is a bit of a surprise. India now has the world's largest number of professionally qualified women. We have more working women than any other country in the world, handling everything from laser scalpels, blinking cockpits, nextgen software, farm equipment to the steering wheel of a city bus. From assigned roles as teachers, nurses, fish packers, telephone operators and administrative assistants to acquired ones as Principals, HR heads, Directors, Vice-Presidents, MDs and business owners, they have inched up in status and added up to their pay-cheques. They are stepping into the formal economy, happily knocking down cultural goalposts on the way. Working outside the home is no longer a whim, an adjustment or a necessity — it is a means to self-worth and growth, a way to resist being pigeon-holed, micro-managed, slowed down, and ignored.

One area where this is apparent is the IT industry, where the 30- 40 per cent women aren't likely to join their Swedish sisters in protesting disparity in wages with men. They grew up in the self-help age, oozing confidence rarely found in their mothers' kitchens. They want mobility, meaning and the “next best thing” in life.

Getting all that can't be easy. Once there, how do they cope with the “burden of greatness”? Does pursuing company profit mean missing out on personal time, deleting “life” in the balance sheet? Where does family sit in the work-life equation? How do digital-age women access direction and contentment? Five women take their eyes off gadgets to answer.

“My family would say right now my ‘work-life balance' is skewed to work,” admitted Vanitha Narayanan, Managing Partner-Global Business Services, IBM (India/South Asia). “But earlier in my career, I had to strike the balance when my daughter was young. The barometer I used was to ensure that the main priorities were addressed.” Major life events determined where she spent her time. Rina Vivekanandan, MD, RevenueMed, Thiruvananthapuram did find “juggling between office and home to make time for my sons totally challenging. My sons needed me to be there and my boss and I were busy trying to grow the company.”

Coping strategies

So you develop coping strategies. You plan and prioritise. “Don't consider work-life balance a problem, but an issue that needs to be managed,” said Vijayalakshmi Rao, Director and COO of Scope e-Knowledge Center Pvt. Ltd. She “managed” by taking a four-year break for her young kids and returning after setting up a support system of cook, driver and other help. “Day-to-day needs or long-term focus, planning helps,” she says.

Sunita Rebecca Cherian, GM, Talent Engagement and Development, Wipro Technologies, hasn't yet discovered a magic potion, but does follow a few guidelines. Treat work and home demands equally, she said, and manage time smartly. “I take as much care to clearing mail ahead of office hours and planning for important events at office as I do to ensure my daughter is ready for her school van. I also keep the last half hour flexible, and carry work into my commute; one gets a lot of time driving to and from work.”

“The balance shifts between office and home depending on career and life stages,” said Jessie Paul, MD, Paul Writer, a firm she founded after years as CMO, Wipro's IT business and Global Brand Manager, Infosys. It's hard to be super-successful at two things at the same time, she knows, “so you choose a role that eliminates friction among your commitments. You take care of the variables: the commute, household help and time for yourself.”

It helps to have a doting husband and darling kids. “I have been blessed with very understanding children who would stay up to spend time with me,” says Rina. Bonding is strong, and the day's events are discussed at the family dinner. “My sons are my best friends.”

OK, straight aces for home-office management. But given the tight schedules, where's the time for personal pursuits, de-stressing, me-alone activities? “Difficult,” rued Viji, nodding at the need for hobbies “for self-development and rejuvenation.” She has hit a winner though, in associating herself with Empowering Women in IT (eWit), a voluntary forum that allows her to network with friends and industry peers. “Very interesting and enjoyable,” she says.

I carry the no-hobby guilt, says Sunita, who just can't find the time. “When I do, I'll fit a hobby into my day, just as my husband fits cars into his.” Jessie wrote a book, No Money Marketing, which took around 18 months to complete. That crowded out her week-ends, but “Wipro was generous enough to allow me to take a couple of months off.” She was a long-time, online, late-night scrabble addict, but now focuses on social media activities. Can't ask for more.

Family time is all Rina and Vanitha need. “Once I'm home, I'm with the children,” says Rina. When she's not travelling with family, Vanitha catches up political news, reading and cooking – real and on TV (“I miss Food Network in India!”). So where's the time for exercise bikes and executive spas? “Workouts and me are distant cousins,” confesses Sunita. Her company sends reminders for M-check-ups, daughter chides if she slacks out on personal grooming. “But these are important for any professional – man or woman.”

Not very different from you and me, are they? So how did they get past the glass ceiling? No glass ceiling in IT/K-industries, not in middle, senior levels, brags Viji. “There are enough job openings, there's a hiring spree.” She joined Scope eKnowledge Center for part-time work, and look where she's now. “You need commitment in terms of time and effort.” Vanitha stepped into the U.S. with an Indian MBA degree and no car/work experience. “So I walked to the closest mall and started as a sales clerk.” That didn't exactly fit into her American dream, but it “taught me to integrate and adapt to American society.” Determined to be the best sales clerk, she learned to study people, listen well (shopping for “need” or “want”?) and guide them to a positive shopping experience. “These skills probably helped me for my sales role at IBM.”

Sunita dismisses glass ceiling as the silica of imagination. “It's something you create when you want to rationalise your sub-par efforts, your non-achievement. One has to dream, and make that dream important. The rest will follow.” The career pyramid does taper at the top for women, Jessica acknowledges, but doesn't blame the glass ceiling for it. “I had bosses who encouraged me to aim high, and an organisation that provided the environment to experiment and grow.” Standing on that platform, all she needed was clear focus to identify the niche to excel in.

Going after dreams

“I pro-actively chased my dreams, I knew it wouldn't be handed over to me,” says Rina. She found the right mentor, expanded her professional network, built the company's reputation, trust among clients, rapport with employees and enlarged industry contacts. In the middle of all this, she updated herself “on emerging trends in all aspects of personal and professional life.” That's following B-school lessons to the last full-stop!

Does it take a philosophy? “You have guilt not when you don't do something, but when you don't try hard enough,” says Sunita. “I give my best to whatever I do. And if I get a pang sometimes, I believe it's lot better to make a change for the future rather than get ulcers over the past. The trick here is to surround yourself with happy people at work and at home. That's therapy for happiness.”

Rina has this bit of advice: Be assertive and persuasive, have a strong need to get things done and be willing to take risks. Be empathetic and flexible. Be strong in interpersonal skills. That is for bonding with various sections of people in the professional arena. Read situations accurately, take information in from all sides/directions. Above all, be principled about values that really matter.

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