The Hindu Business Line : Confident, assertive and successful

"It all depends on how you conduct yourself. If you portray yourself as helpless, then you get treated that way. I strongly believe that if you are clear about your objectives and if your work speaks for itself, people look beyond gender."

With women having demolished almost all professional male bastions, gender barriers at the workplace are fast becoming a thing of the past. Corporate women are no longer the proverbial needles in the haystack. Make a head count and you'll probably find the number of senior women managers swelling — thoroughbred professionals who palm-pilot their careers with battle plan exactitude.

In fact, an increasing number of over-achieving women are proving that when it comes to making the right business moves and keeping their best foot forward in the world of high finance, they have more than just a pretty face to show. They have a confident air about themselves that has been acquired after years of hard work.

Who are these women? What drives them on — just the will to make big money or are there other motivating factors as well? Is it sheer luck or is it a labour of sweat and tears? In short, what does success mean to them and how did they achieve it?

The answers are as varied as the women themselves. However, one common factor is their passion for work. They are totally committed and it can be safely said that their professional lives and their work are all just an extension of their personalities. The only difference is that each woman has a distinct work identity, a different personality, a different work style, and even a different interpretation of the word success.

Seema Luthra

Take, for example, Seema Luthra, the newly designated President and Chief Executive Officer of Galileo India, one of the world's leading providers of electronic global distribution services that connect 46,000 travel agencies to 683 airlines and 52,000 hotels.

Seema, who is responsible for all aspects of her company's business in India, says her 16 years of airline sales and marketing experience has helped her spearhead Galileo's efforts to drive value in and costs out of the travel distribution business.

How does she feel as a woman heading Galileo India?

"Perhaps this question should be asked to men who see me at the helm of Galileo India. I have no gender bias. I see myself as a responsible leader and stay focused on my task, which is to maximise shareholder value," says the woman, who, in her last two assignments, has headed the sales and marketing functions for Scandinavian Airline Systems (SAS) and United Airlines respectively.

But she doesn't think being a woman helped tremendously. "I don't know if I would have been more or less successful if I was not a woman," she says.

Shruti Bajpai

Shruti Bajpai agrees. The Director, Marketing, HBO South Asia, has been involved with the TV channel since its launch and is responsible for conceptualising, devising and implementing marketing programmes. In her three-year stint, she has worked towards steering the channel through its launch and consolidation phase with the objective of establishing — with the viewers, and the affiliates — the franchise of the HBO brand.

In her opinion, women are more sensitive and more dynamic. "Having a woman executive at the top inculcates a sense of balance, intelligence, higher Emotional Quotient level and respect to the management team," she says.

An economics graduate from St Xavier's College, Mumbai, Shruti did her MBA from the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies. Prior to joining HBO she was Brand Marketing Manager at Nestle India Ltd.

Nalini Gupta

Another Mumbai-based corporate too is a high flier in the literal sense of the term. Nalini Gupta has been the General Manager (India) for South African Airways for the last three years. After graduating from Sydenham, she completed her Masters in Marketing Management and then joined Air India where she spent the first 20 years of her career. After a stint at Abacus, she joined as General Manager, South African Airways in 2001. The last World Cup Cricket in South Africa brought out the best in her organisational skills, as it served to highlight the destination in the Indian market and bring in big business for her organisation.

A thorough professional, Nalini has very strong views on women's empowerment. She says real empowerment means you should be able to make your own decisions. "Managements are fast realising that women bring in compassion and team spirit to the workplace. It is not a gender issue but simply a fact of life," she says.

However, when she started out things were different. "Men far exceeded the number of women when I began working. So, for men also, to have more women working with them must have called for some adjustment."

For Latika Thukral, Business Head, Citibank's Auto-Associates Citifinancial Services, empowerment is a critical constituent for building managers and future leaders. "I have always worked in an environment, where empowerment is given to me along with accountability to deliver results. Over the years, I've never felt being a woman I was given extra or less," says the executive who started out with a two-year Management program with ITC's Welcomgroup.

Has gender bias ever hampered the progress of her career? No, she says emphatically. "It all depends on how you conduct yourself. If you portray yourself as helpless, then you get treated that way. I strongly believe that if you are clear about your objectives and if your work speaks for itself, people look beyond gender."

Jyoti Mahendru

Jyoti Mahendru, Vice-President — HR and Training at the Barista Coffee Company Ltd., has also never had to tackle any gender issues. On the contrary, she says, whenever there's a woman leader the team becomes more cohesive and goal-oriented.

"Women have been as successful as men in every field. Today's professional woman is confident and assertive in whatever field she chooses for herself," says Jyoti, who started her career as a Management Trainee with Tata Infomedia (then called Tata Press). She later moved on to Escorts, then Star India and from there she became a part of the founder team of Barista.

"In the initial phase, the key challenge was to put systems and procedures in place, attract talent for a company that was only a concept at that stage. Now the challenge is to train, retain, motivate and develop over 550 employees spread across 22 cities and 130 outlets," she says and adds, "Work is no pressure as the organisation has literally been created by our own hands."

Dr Uma Tuli

Dr Uma Tuli is also a doer in the real sense of the word. Though not in the private sector, she is independent India's first non-IAS person to be appointed as Chief Commissioner — one of the most coveted posts, which is usually reserved for the crème-de-la-crème of the bureaucracy. But in April 2001, the Indian Government specially chose Uma for the post of Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, New Delhi.

She doesn't fuss about being the first non-IAS woman to achieve this feat. "If a man can do the job, a woman may even be able to do it better," she says, adding that the modern professional woman is more committed, more dedicated and has the required drive for any challenging job she gets into.

And she should know. She has a three-decade experience of teaching at the Universities of Delhi and Gwalior. She is also the founder of Amarjyoti Charitable Trust, a voluntary organisation working for the rehabilitation of the orthopaedically handicapped.

As chief commissioner she has taken new initiatives that include promotion of inclusive education, ensuring employment and creating a barrier free environment for the disabled.

"As a woman you must clearly know what you can do and most importantly what is the right time to do that," says Uma, who holds a Ph. D and has done her Masters in Special Education. This year, she has been instrumental in holding the Abilympics for the first time in India.

Indeed the millennium has heralded the era of the upwardly mobile women who are occupying important positions. So, how did it all start? Why are more and more women getting into professional colleges and then picking up prized jobs at salaries ordinary mortals can just dream about?

Galileo's Seema feels there are three reasons for the new phenomenon. "The first is the emergence of nuclear families and increasing cost of living. Then there's the corporate realisation that a woman manager is sensitive, caring and committed. And finally, quite simply, India Inc is maturing!"

Shruti of HBO feels that women have the tenacity to balance both personal and professional pressures, which men grossly lack. This gives them an edge over male colleagues. Moreover, she says, "Women are better listeners or sounding boards. They are more mature in handling things and are able to deal with complex issues and juggle multiple priorities."

She attributes the success of corporate high flyers to the ambitious goals they set for themselves. "The Indian woman has come of age. The last few years have seen an increase in the levels of education, confidence and most importantly, ambition in women, who are going all out to claim their rightful place in the corporate landscape. The professional woman has set very high standards for herself. She has changed the way she used to look at herself, and this has changed the way the world looks at her. The days of the proverbial glass ceiling are over!"

However, Jyoti of Barista feels that the reason why more and more women are opting for gruelling schedules and demanding careers is that families have now begun to accept working women and, therefore, they have started exploring job options and emerging successful. Both Seema and Shruti say there is no secret formula for professional success — it's commitment, consistent performance and God's grace. "Don't be afraid to dream big and turn those dreams into reality. Work pressures are a part of the game," is their message to working women.

And it is this corporate philosophy that sets these ladies apart. Management expert Sanjeeb Dasgupta says most of the women who rapidly ascend the corporate ladder are usually the smartest brains in the workplace who work to specific targets. They have a refreshingly imaginative approach to complex corporate problems. Their day starts early and ends late and at times they just come home to slump in bed.

But aren't there any heartburns, no envy when sometimes the wife's pay cheque is bigger than the husband's? Do the husbands take kindly to a wife being more successful than them?

No, say many of these women who are married. With more and more women taking up top end jobs the War of the Roses has receded to the background.

Says Citibank's Latika, "My husband has been extremely supportive and has encouraged me to continue working. We look at life with dual career objectives. We enjoy working and we enjoy de-stressing with the family."

Once considered a problem of men, stress from such high-powered jobs is becoming second nature to some of these high fliers. A 12-14 hour working day, inadequate relaxation and constant travelling leaves them little time for themselves.

So how do these senior executives combat stress?

For Nalini of South African Airways, the perfect de-stresser is a dip in a pool, dancing and yoga. She also enjoys pottering in the kitchen. Despite her busy schedule she prefers to be a home bird. "I try spending as much time as possible with my family as my work takes me away from them very often. My favourite travel destination would undoubtedly be South Africa!"

Adds Latika, "For me, managing professional and personal life is a challenge in itself. Hence, whatever time I get away from my professional life, is spent with my children and revolves around their activities. When my elder son started playing golf, I too took golfing lessons so that I could be with him. It's another matter that he now no longer plays the game and I am still learning!"

HBO's Shruti has an unusual stress point. "Everything is great at the workplace. Personally the only thing that stresses me is the family pressure to do something with my life and settle down. It is very hard to explain to a parent that getting married may be the beginning of life's problems and not the answer to them!"

With inputs from Avinash Kalla, Isidore Mendis and Anurag Yadav

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