What does it take to build a dream and diverse workspace for women? Watch our panelists, N Mahalakshmi, Editor of Outlook Business, Arundhati Bhattacharya, former chairman of SBI, Dipali Goenka, CEO and MD of Welspun India Ltd., Apurva Purohit, former president of Jagran Group and Avani Davda, MD of Godrej's Nature Basket talk about the need to have gender neutral work places.
#PanelDiscussion #DreamWorkspaces #Women #Business #OutlookBusiness #OutlookMagazine #OutlookGroup
#PanelDiscussion #DreamWorkspaces #Women #Business #OutlookBusiness #OutlookMagazine #OutlookGroup
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Talking from talking about entrepreneurship ladies and gentlemen, let's move on to another subject
00:05 Which is very important for every working woman in this room
00:09 Workplaces as far as workplaces are concerned
00:12 You'll agree with me when I say that we need to welcome diversity of gender and gender specific needs
00:19 Is it an added effort?
00:21 Surely is but is it worth it?
00:24 Well, it's worth every minute that we spend in fact many studies show that the more
00:30 Diverse the employee pool the more innovative the organization this evening ladies and gentlemen to share with us
00:38 Insights on what does it take to create a dream?
00:42 workplace for women
00:44 Let me first call on stage output business editor and Mahalakshmi who will moderate this discussion
00:51 With a very August panel ladies and gentlemen, let's welcome her with a warm round of applause
00:56 Thank you for joining us
01:01 And keep those claps coming as I invite our power panel for this evening ladies and gentlemen former chairman
01:09 State Bank of India the country's largest public sector Bank
01:13 Andhra Pradesh
01:20 See oh and joint managing director of Westmin India one of Asia's largest home textiles producer
01:28 Nepali going car
01:30 Joining us on the power panel is president Jagwan percussion one of India's leading media houses a pool
01:48 And we also have with us managing director gold rage nature's basket India's
01:54 Pioneering food destination from the country's oldest conglomerate. Please put your hands together for Avani Dada
02:01 Ladies please take a seat and my luxury over to you
02:17 Thank you so much ladies for joining me for this beautiful discussion around women at workplace
02:24 This topic has definitely gained some currency over the last four five years
02:29 maybe a decade and
02:32 a lot of companies
02:35 have
02:38 At least in the last four five years made a lot of effort to make
02:42 Changes at workplace to ensure that it is more congenial for women
02:48 But at the same time what is disheartening is that data shows that women are
02:54 dropping out of workplace at a very uncomfortable pace and
02:59 predominant reason being lack of support system a lot of
03:03 mothers dropping out because they are in comfortable financial positions no longer have to really slog and if one
03:10 Person were to quit the job it might as well be the woman
03:13 so
03:15 my own
03:17 Experience in working as a journalist for the last 20 years. I have always believed
03:23 That this is an issue that needs to be resolved at home
03:28 Rather than at workplace
03:31 so women dropping out of
03:34 You know work is really
03:37 Home issue rather than a workplace issue, so what am I getting wrong here?
03:44 Because most most people don't seem to agree
03:46 So I must tell you a lot of people here I
03:56 Have factories where I mean it's textile factories. They're very very male dominant
04:03 But as you spoke about home, you know what we did we partnered with an NGO
04:10 Where they trained not just the women what the men
04:14 Because the women would get up at 4.30 to make the food
04:18 Take the children to school and then come to work and then get back home and do everything else
04:24 so here we actually made men also multitask with the women and respect what the women were doing and
04:31 Proud to say today. We have around 25%
04:35 Women at our factories and at our workplaces as well
04:40 absolutely
04:41 That's I think I think a very rare example of
04:43 Organization that actually works on meant to be better supporters of women at home
04:51 But also the peers I would say I'm just interjecting because you know what a woman needs is respect
04:56 So whatever you might talk about women empowerment we might talk about a lot of things, but it's also about
05:04 The peers respecting I think it's a mutual respect in that kind of a workplace. That's highly important as well. Sure
05:11 Well, you know, I don't think it's the home alone
05:16 Yes, of course, you know there have to be changes on the family front
05:21 Because women are still the primary caregivers and to that extent they feel
05:27 Responsible whenever something comes up that needs their presence and women being women they feel very
05:34 Sort of you know, they feel drawn to both sides and they feel bad if they feel that they are
05:41 shortchanging either the office or home and because of this huge kind of
05:46 Pulse and pressures that they are under they often decide that they would rather not be under such a stress and they give up one
05:54 Or the other so the fact remains yes, the home is definitely something where you need more support
06:00 But you need support in the workspace too. And
06:03 This is another example I've given in a few other occasions
06:07 You know a lot of my young
06:10 women colleagues they were going for platform jobs meaning they were going for jobs in say areas like HR and training and
06:18 you know not jobs that were operational in nature and
06:23 Automatically what happens is especially when you're junior if you're not doing operational jobs your promotion prospects get hampered
06:31 So I in fact asked in one such gathering that why is it that you are spoiling your career?
06:37 Why are you not going to these rural branches that you have to do?
06:40 Why are you not becoming branch managers because that's going to give you the right experience
06:45 And I always thought it was because they were shirking this kind of work and then one of the girls
06:51 She spoke up and she she told me ma'am. It's not like that
06:55 The problem is when you post us into these villages, we can't find a place to stay
07:00 So I was quite amazed
07:02 I said why shouldn't you find a place to stay and she says well because nobody is going to rent out a house
07:08 to a single woman it's in these villages that's the kind of situation you have and
07:14 Then it occurred to me that this was a problem that I had never even anticipated or tried to address
07:21 So next step that we did was we tried to address this by taking a house in the nearest Taluka town
07:28 It would normally be a four four roomed house
07:31 And I would have eight girls staying over there mess together
07:35 And they would be sent to the nearby eight villages in order to finish this assignment
07:40 It worked hugely in the sense that a lot many more people started going out for operational assignments
07:47 And not only that these are all young girls
07:49 So most of them told me that they had a whale of a time staying together away from the families
07:54 So the fact is you know there have to be certain changes in workplace as well
07:59 You have to be sensitive as to why women are either dropping out or not taking up the challenge and these changes
08:06 Necessarily must be at the workplace as well
08:08 Would you not agree that since you talked about
08:11 banks because every three years bank
08:14 employees do
08:16 Get transferred and a whole bunch of women
08:19 Forgo those transfers even if they are promotions because they want to be with the family they want they're concerned about their kids school education
08:26 But you look at army or air force every three years they transfer. It's okay
08:30 You know they can have those jobs and women are willing to play that support role
08:35 But when it comes to their own jobs
08:38 They just give up happily give up their career not just give up grudgingly give up the carrier
08:43 But he happily give up their career well that you know again
08:46 I would say that you know the women themselves are not pushing the envelope enough
08:50 Because I know women in the bank who have army
08:55 spouses and they have managed to
08:58 Still manage in the sense that they have arranged in such a manner that the bank
09:04 Transfers them to the place where their spouse is going and we have been quite considerate in these matters
09:09 So I don't really think you know it's
09:13 Totally the
09:15 Organization's problem it could be the particular person's problem
09:19 But having said that you know at the end of the day
09:22 From what these transfers are a pain they are a pain for men and women alike let me tell you even men
09:29 Hate going away to some other new place, but again those who have taken up these transfers
09:36 Most of them have prospered
09:38 I believe that you know challenges are there
09:41 For a person to take and each and every challenge if you face them well it actually contributes to your career rather than
09:49 detracts from it
09:51 How much of the women at workplace
09:54 Dropping out problem is really women's issue and how much of it can be really resolved by organizations
10:03 I think to ensure that there is diversity
10:07 It's really a triad that has to work together and the triad consists of the organization at the one end
10:14 The woman at the other end and the men in her life at the third end right and I would give currently the best marks
10:21 out of all in this triangle to the
10:23 Organization because in the 30 years that I've been working I've realized that you know when we first started working
10:31 Diversity was seen as a CSR initiative
10:33 So you got that one woman on as tokenism and said okay
10:37 I've done my job to encourage diversity in these 30 years
10:41 Organizations have realized that there is an equation between diversity and profit
10:47 There are enough studies that tell us that GDP increases
10:51 families income increases obviously and
10:53 organizations
10:55 Innovation increases its margins increase its long-term shareholder value increases the moment there is an increase in diversity
11:02 So organizations are really going out of the way and I would say that in the last decade the amount of change an organization has
11:09 Made whether it is in the policies whether it's an ensuring reservation whether it is in flexi timing
11:14 Whether it is in paternity maternity benefits. They've done a very good job
11:18 Now we come to the others, which is the women and the men and I would give
11:23 lower marks to women because
11:26 honestly, I have seen and I've worked with hundreds if not thousands of women and I
11:32 See successful women and women who give up and the difference between them is not in any special talent or skill or
11:41 Opportunity or mentorship the successful women got the difference is that they worked
11:47 Tremendously hard they just did not give up and it's very very hard
11:52 You know when you have small kids who are crying and the guilt you're feeling when you're leaving your baby home
11:57 And she said mama, please don't go to work mama. Please don't go to work the guilt that you feel
12:01 Equally you go to office and as Arun Dutty she said you you want to do your best and
12:07 That's a lot of hard work and a lot of women give up they give up not because they're not talented
12:13 They just give up because they don't want to persevere persevere through that hard phase of their lives and it's easier
12:19 It's easier to sit at home, but I would give the worst marks to the men in our lives
12:24 unfortunately
12:27 Unfortunately, it is still a fact that who you marry is the single most important career decision. You will take because
12:34 Because the support you get
12:39 Is the single most life decision you make but I agree with you. It's a more important career decision
12:44 Unfortunately as mothers and as senior women. I don't think we are doing a good job of bringing up our sons, right?
12:51 We bring them up to be Raja beta to be given their food on a platter to be fed hot chapatis
12:56 And we bring up our daughters to take care of them
12:59 So when they grow up they see the working women see and that's the pressure
13:03 They feel that I have to be there to make hot chapatis from my husband and also go and do a great job
13:08 And I think that's the challenge that all of us together have to overcome
13:12 sure, Avani
13:14 I think it's a privilege to have an August panel apologies. I have a very bad cough
13:23 So if I get a coughing bout, please excuse me. I
13:26 love the way she
13:29 triangulated the life of a woman and the men and the organization and I totally agree that
13:35 Organizations have done very well. I think whether it's Tata's or you look at
13:38 International companies go through it or the companies that have I've I've had the honor to work with
13:43 but I just very strongly believe that I
13:48 think there's something wrong with the upbringing of all of us in the room if we squarely believe that
13:53 Hard work or the men in our life decide our destiny
13:56 I had the fortune of having
13:59 My mother her name is Kusum. She had a degree and an admission to MBBS
14:04 Which she gave up because she was in love with my father
14:07 She chose not to be a doctor
14:09 But to be a homemaker and for the longest time growing up in India and in Mumbai in a middle-class family absolutely cosmopolitan
14:17 I never thought for a minute that an
14:20 Organization or the man in my life is going to decide my destiny and I'm telling you the honest truth. I think I worked hard
14:26 I have a lot of passion work is not my identity, but I want to achieve what I want to achieve
14:32 So if I were to turn the conversation, I think it is the locus of control being inside
14:37 I don't think any choice about who you marry and all regard to the women on the panel
14:43 But today's young people don't even want to get married. I work with 20 year olds
14:48 With MBAs with buddy stars and stores in nature's basket a lot of people who work
14:54 Marriage is not on the cards. So I don't think the man you marry is going to decide how your career or how your life
15:00 Is going to progress? I think it's women and more than hard work. I think women have to stop playing the victim
15:06 I never felt guilty about leaving Param in the in the care of my mother-in-law
15:12 Because I was confident that she was great and I made it very clear to her that I love her and she has to love
15:18 My child. Yes, I was blessed and married to a good family
15:21 But I never felt guilty because going to work is going to give me mental sanity
15:26 It's going to give me the happiness and make me a better mother
15:29 About career choices and transfers. I think in 2016
15:33 I had a great opportunity to work with an international company move to Seattle. I had everything on a platter
15:39 private education for my son amazing financial package visas everything and when I look back and have
15:47 Conversations on forums like these or personal conversation with friends
15:51 I don't blame my husband or my son for not moving with me
15:55 I think I came to the realization that I won't be set up for success if they don't come with me and it's not worth it
16:02 So I think transfers children's schools whether your husband will find a job or will his business move is all an excuse
16:09 I think women have to face look into the mirror every day and be clear of what you want
16:16 So my mother often used to tell us that I could have been a doctor
16:20 I could have raised both of you with maids. I could have earned a lot of money
16:24 And I would have felt great. But when I when she looks at her life today, she has raised two beautiful daughters
16:30 She's had an amazing partnership with her husband. She's happy
16:33 Sadly, we lost my dad last year, but she said I will have the same regrets or the memories anybody
16:39 So whichever path you choose
16:41 I think the ground rule is know what you want and secondly have the balls and the guts to say what you want
16:48 Whether it's to the man at work whether it's to the women at work whether it's the people at home
16:53 I think if you stick to the basic principles, I think we don't need to give grades to organizations
16:59 We don't need to pander to the government to make it easy for us. It's up to us
17:07 Avani I'm very envious of you. You said you don't suffer guilt pangs. I do and a whole bunch of women do
17:13 There was something very beautiful that Zarina Skruvala one of our women of worth last year had said
17:20 The beautiful quote and it really stayed with me. She said
17:24 What we women do is we let men be men and we want to be super women
17:31 so my message from all of you and something that all of us should really take away is that
17:36 let's
17:38 Not try to be super women
17:40 Let us also just be women and pursue whatever we want and not face so much guilt at work at home
17:47 And life will be pretty sorted
17:49 so
17:51 Coming back Deepali. I think each one of you if you can just share your own personal journey and
17:58 How your career I mean through your 20-30 years
18:03 How has your how have you really managed your personal and professional life? What were the dilemmas you faced?
18:10 What were the challenges you faced and how did you really get to where you have got?
18:14 So I must share my journey. I started as a home. I was a homemaker. I
18:22 was a homemaker till my girls were 10 and 7 and
18:26 that's the time I I wanted to start working and
18:32 So I just got into the roots of working at what I needed to do
18:36 Like looking into purchase looking into administration I started my brand spaces in 2003
18:45 and
18:47 2010 I got into the textile business and
18:50 That's when the world woke up and said hey, you know a woman heading a textile business. It's big deal
18:57 I mean is well-spent serious about what they are looking at
19:00 But I honestly believe
19:02 That first of all, I must say to the panel and I think I totally agree
19:08 Behind every successful woman, but there is a man and for me
19:14 I think my partnership has been my true partner my husband because he supported me all the way through
19:21 And
19:25 So when I when I started at Wells fund in the textile role, I just got into the ground the complete shop floor
19:32 I was at the textile mill. I was learning how the spinning was done
19:36 How was cotton bought how how my customers were at the other end?
19:40 Luckily for me the other side the customer was a woman. So for me that really worked very well and
19:46 I I must say that for my daughters. I have two young women and
19:54 They inspire and aspire to be like me
19:57 Honestly, I think for the Millennials they would how did you tell me? What was the secret?
20:02 What drove you to make that change number one?
20:04 to
20:06 You know at some point switch from being a happy homemaker to actually getting into business whole time
20:12 What was what was that one point? What was he thought?
20:15 So for me, I've actually seen my mother work when you know
20:21 When I was a kid and that was something that I took away being a Marwari
20:25 Girl, I got married very early
20:28 To the extent I did my education post I got married
20:32 So for me, I just couldn't sit at home. I had to do something and for me
20:38 Always it has been a constant journey to evolve and learn
20:43 so
20:45 Learning is never enough for me and evolution is never enough and that has been a journey for me
20:50 And that's where my journey began and I constantly have taken that in my stride to go ahead
20:56 Ma'am what you've had an absolutely stellar career and
21:03 I'm sure you faced a lot of challenges and dilemmas
21:07 Especially being I mean in a banking career like we spoke earlier the transfers and getting right to the top
21:15 What were those challenges and dilemmas and how did you resolve them for yourself?
21:19 Well, I think you know, the challenges and dilemmas are too many to finish in a space of three minutes
21:25 but
21:27 If I can just tell you, you know one little thing that I really and truly did
21:31 Throughout my life is that I really believed in collaborative work whether it be in the office or it be at home
21:39 So, you know, I had good teams and teams necessarily don't mean teams at work
21:45 They also been at home at home. I didn't have any in-laws or my parents who stayed with me
21:51 So necessarily my team were friends neighbors
21:54 Spouses of colleagues so anybody the caretaker who worked for me
21:59 So that was my home team and my home team had to be so strong
22:03 That even if I was not there I was my absence was never felt
22:08 You know, somebody said about salt, you know that you never notice it when it's there
22:12 It makes things tasty, but you notice it the moment it's absent women have to be exactly the opposite
22:18 Nobody should notice if you're not there
22:20 But when you are there, you should value add in such a manner that the notice you are there
22:25 If you can do that
22:27 If you can do that, I promise you you can manage both family and work equally well
22:35 Sure lesson number two. Let's be the salt
22:38 So
22:40 Again I think the two pointers that I would like to just leave behind and is you know
22:48 One you cannot give up
22:53 Life will
22:56 throw its own set of challenges to both men and women and
23:00 We can spend half our time saying life has been unfair to me and now look how it has been fair to men
23:06 But it's not true. It's been it it is equally fair and equally unfair to both men and women
23:12 It depends on us as to how we pick up whatever
23:16 opportunities or challenges that are thrown away and what we make out of that and that is the only difference between
23:21 success and and
23:24 Failure and the other thing for the message for all young girls is that it should never be a choice in your mind
23:31 It is not about either or and that's how you know
23:34 I recognize that through my life
23:36 It was never I never never for a moment
23:39 It came to my mind that I should either have a family or have it was always and I want both and then
23:46 Life helps you and you y'all help yourself make it happen. It has to be at every stage and
23:52 Sure
24:01 I think I've not had so many years. I think about six fifteen sixteen years that I've been working
24:07 I think what's helped me is
24:09 really
24:11 Talking to you know, a lot of women about leadership and about humanity. I think in all this gender diversity and
24:18 Career management and work-life balance. I think somewhere we seem to have lost the thread that we're all human beings, you know gender is one
24:27 Just the way that God has made us. I think we don't think differently or we don't act differently from when I think we are all
24:34 Human beings at the end of the day and as you think of your career or your entrepreneurship journey
24:39 While you will be managing resources. I think the key resource you have to manage is people and
24:43 For the life of me. I can't understand why we you know fight this entire diversity piece at work because
24:51 50% of our customers in any business is a woman, right?
24:55 So you have to find a place you have to find a way to work with them because if they are not
25:00 Decision-makers then obviously your businesses are not going to do well because they don't have that diversity
25:05 I think coming back to what has worked for me in my life is very simple human values of authenticity
25:11 Yes, everything should be an and I'm known to be extremely selfish self-centered sometimes very greedy and you should be that
25:19 I think there is nothing in the world at least that my parents taught me or
25:24 Colleagues peers mentors have said you should want everything that you want in life
25:28 But you should have the courage to tell people what you want and fight for it
25:33 It's not just about hard work or about choices
25:35 But telling and I think the conversation really is do we shy away from that the reason I don't feel guilty about leaving Param today
25:43 He has a holiday for this week as he starts school next week is because he knows this is important to me
25:48 And this is who I am
25:49 So you don't have to feel guilty if you don't make a hot full car and I am sure that
25:54 90% of the future working women are not going to make full cars because you will have a robot doing it or you're going to share
26:00 Those responsibilities with your partners
26:02 But I think having that courage to see it without the guilt neither organization policies nor government
26:08 No such forums are going to teach you
26:10 I think you need to sleep every day very peacefully telling yourself what you want and then going after it and
26:16 If I look at my career, I think at several stages even when I was
26:20 expecting
26:22 To Arun that these point I think at that stage
26:25 I had a fabulous opportunity to be a sales manager of a hotel the P&L size is about 450 crores
26:31 Run it and the position of director of sales in one of the luxury hotels of the Taj is fantastic
26:36 And I didn't take it up because I was expecting I was probably in my first trimester
26:41 I didn't take it up because my father-in-law had cancer at that time, right?
26:44 And I wanted to be there for him because if he left us and I would miss that so the choice I made is yes
26:51 I don't want to take up that kind of a taxing job, but believe me after I came back
26:56 I took back I took an even more taxing job. So you're right running away from operational responsibility
27:01 I think don't even do that
27:02 Don't waste your time doing stuff because they are soft skills or because you want to kill time between nine to five
27:07 I think then it's fine. The organization should be unfair to you because you're not being fair to yourself
27:12 So if you're ambitious you want to get something you want to achieve something just go ahead and do it
27:18 And I think as I as I look at the last three years of my life and you know the time I've spent in Godrej
27:23 You know when I see both the promoter families and I look at women working all around
27:29 I think the conversation is far beyond maternity leave far beyond flexi hours. All of this is a hygiene at Godrej one
27:37 I don't know how many of you have seen our campus
27:39 But that is a given and every woman and every graduate you talk to they expect it
27:45 This is the way of life for the future workforce
27:47 But what makes it different is are you courageous enough to have conversations at work?
27:53 Are you open about what you want to do with your life?
27:56 I think we need to focus on that having that conversation at home
27:59 With the men or women or whichever partner you choose to and at the organization
28:04 So that's two bits about me about humanity and authenticity. Thank you so much. We're just running out of time
28:11 Maybe just a couple of questions from the audience if anybody has any questions to ask
28:15 Is there a mic?
28:23 (Pause)
28:39 Greeting everyone and thank you Outlook business to call us in an August company and have be a part of such a great discussion
28:46 I had a question in mind that
28:49 While we are talking about women equality and organizations doing so much for women
28:53 Then why as women we want reservations?
28:57 in any of the organizations we should have like
29:02 Government is giving us in government jobs. We are having reservations for women
29:09 We need to stand in we want separate queues
29:12 For women to buy tickets or something like those
29:16 So why are we doing that if you're talking about women equality, then why can't we just stand?
29:22 with men and
29:24 Take opportunities. Why do we need reservations?
29:28 What are your thoughts on that?
29:31 so, you know
29:33 It's very easy to sit in a room like this and say why do we need reservations?
29:39 Oh, let us have the courage to fight and let us have the courage to have conversations and talk
29:44 But if you go out in the real world, you know in the last
29:48 30 years since diversity has been talked about so much actually women participation in the labor force has gone down
29:55 It used to be around 52 percent and worldwide. It's now at 48 percent at middle management levels across a
30:04 Large part of the world and specifically India. There are only 15 percent
30:08 middle manager
30:11 Managers who are women at senior levels. There are only five percent. Okay, so you look at a battle
30:16 That has been going on for 30 years and the answer is that the pyramid has not changed. It's 30 15 5
30:23 So at that moment is the moment that man has to start
30:26 Asking questions and of course, I encourage women that we must
30:30 Speak out for our rights and we must ask for anything but something has to change in the world for
30:37 4000 years men the society has been patriarchal rules are made by men
30:43 decisions are made by men when they look for people to
30:47 To be in a part of a board they look for men because they are people like themselves, right? So you have to force
30:54 Something to change and that change can only happen if there are reservations now
30:59 I don't encourage reservations as a long-term solution because then what will happen is that you will encourage me
31:06 Bureaucracy to rise but as a short-term
31:09 Catalyst solution because otherwise what happens women just become invisible
31:14 Men don't reach out and men unless you force women to men to hire women it will not happen
31:22 So I think reservations are important as a short-term measure
31:26 Thank you so much
31:32 So I'm here with a bunch of 20-somethings and couldn't relate to most of the other
31:38 You know pointers that were being discussed about family and things like that
31:42 My question is to anyone in the panel not particularly at someone if you look back at your 20 year old self
31:50 What is that one thing that you would tell your 20 year old self if you look back right now and any advice to us?
31:56 Millennials, you know something that we should I don't know keep in mind going forward
32:01 Wow your advice to your 20 year old self
32:05 the one thing only I think that I tell myself that I should have done more is
32:10 Probably got a few more degrees and you know got the stamps that I really required one thing about the Millennials
32:19 I'll tell you is that you've really got to be on your toes
32:21 Regarding the way you keep learning and evolving
32:25 Today's day and age things are changing so fast if you get off the learning track you are definitely going to be left behind
32:32 So learning and learning on a daily basis is a must
32:36 Never ever forget that. I have two young girls like you and
32:41 I always tell them
32:44 What you do you should love and do it with passion and believe in what you do
32:50 I think this is what I tell them and that's what they take away
32:54 Thank you. Thank you so much. Can I ask a question now? I'm just representing Ficky ladies organization over here and
33:01 I think it is pretty much established through various studies whether it is by
33:07 World Economic Forum or
33:11 McKinsey or all of these organizations
33:13 that it is not a hygiene factor now, but it is a
33:19 strategic value that women are there in decision-making process at board level because
33:24 50% of the population the world over is
33:27 comprises of women and you cannot leave 50% of the population out if you have to develop and
33:33 women have come to that level today that
33:35 we have enough pool of qualified and competent women and
33:40 So coming from there that since the study already proves it and we don't have any more
33:46 questions to be raised as far as this aspect is concerned, I'd like to ask that
33:51 How much important according to you because you've already been in senior leadership roles at the board level Arundhati
33:58 and Deepali leading her own
34:01 You know, she's from a family owned organization all in very powerful positions Apoorva and Avani as a leader
34:09 So I'd like to know that what according to you is the importance of mentorship and sponsorship
34:15 that there are more women not like as in case of Arundhati that in 200 years of
34:21 SBI we finally see a woman chairperson. So whether is it going to take another 200 400 years or
34:29 Women are going to pull women up and whether it is since you belong to the corporate sector
34:36 I have a question there and I have a question to the politicians also of the country that
34:40 Why they are not mentoring more women to come into the parliament by we are only 11% in Parliament the women
34:46 Why we should not be more and is there a big big role that women leaders have to play over here?
34:51 No, you're absolutely right. And I think a mentor and a sponsor are both required in women's lives
34:58 You know, both are very much required and as for SBI
35:03 There is already a woman MD who will be eligible for chairman when this current chairman
35:10 Retires, so it's not going to be that long. Don't worry
35:12 I just want to quickly say one thing on this particular since you brought it up
35:17 It's at the current pace of change
35:20 It is going to take a hundred and eight years for things to become equal a hundred and eight more years
35:26 So, how can we fast forward this change of course sponsorship and mentorship?
35:30 But even more important and this is like wow and platforms like wow
35:33 But even more important is the role that each one of you play it is believed that women and young women
35:40 will aspire
35:42 To be different and to reach out if they see women role models around them
35:47 Each of you needs to go out of this room and be a role model in her own, right?
35:51 Thank you add one small thing
35:56 For me at Wells fund my door is always open for all the girls there
36:01 They can walk in any time and they know that I'm there for them. So is that it's at all levels because
36:07 from
36:09 My number I mean at Wells fund definitely when I started there were 8% women and today I have
36:16 25% women and that's also in the workforce and in the senior leadership. It's around 30% women
36:23 Thank you, that was a lovely discussion I really enjoyed it and I hope all of you guys enjoyed it too. Thanks
36:36 Ladies that's what we mean by power panel. Can we have a huge round of applause for this August panel?
36:43 And
36:47 I'd now like to request miss Mahalakshmi to kindly present
36:50 mementos to our panelists as a token of our appreciation
36:53 mementos courtesy in deosa
36:57 (Presentation of mementos)
37:22 All right, ladies and gentlemen one more huge round of applause
37:25 Thank you so much. Ladies. Thank you very much. Miss Mahalakshmi for
37:30 moderating that amazing conversation
37:32 [BLANK_AUDIO]