High school was a place to try out all my interests and make great friends. I used to participate in almost all the activities. My mother encouraged me to participate, she didn’t mind me not winning. Apart from her office work and responsibilities at home, she took the time to write me essays for my elocution, find songs for my solo singing and practised with me until the time I started writing and singing by my own. I learnt to put in effort not matter what and that being busy is never an excuse. If my mother could do all this, I can do too.
If money was no object, what would you do all day?
I’d be travelling all over the world, meeting people, singing and writing all about the different things on my way.
What advice would you give to a 5-year-younger you?
Competition is all about the fact that it motivates you to do your best. Treat your competitors as your allies, they made you work harder. You don’t always have to prove that you are better than others. Everyone has their limitations.
How do you think women are better equipped to deal with problems as compared to men?
I think it is in the very nature of a women’s role. She can be a team lead in office, a homemaker, an advisor, a protector, a planner and a confidante, all at the same time. It takes a great deal of physical and emotional strength to be all this. A woman constantly learns, adjusts to her surroundings and can deal with multiple things simultaneously. Men, on the other hand, are focused species. Sometimes a man’s ego comes in the way of taking a decision for greater good. In the face of a problem, a woman can look at multiple perspectives and see the bigger picture more easily than a man.
Many IIMs and other b-schools award extra points for being a woman. What is your take on that? Do you propagate the concept OR Have you faced any backlash for the same?
I believe that a candidate should be given the opportunity based on what he/she has done not what he/she is. Studies show that women have been proven to be great managers but studies also show that most men are quicker at math than most women are. Instead of giving free brownie points, perhaps the candidates should be tested on rare qualities like creativity, resilience, mental strength, empathy, etc. which are qualities of great leaders.
Name one incident that you encountered where someone told you, you couldn’t do something because you’re a woman.
A major industrial giant visited my college in undergrad to offer internships. I cleared the written test but everyone told me that I needn’t even prepare for the interview because the company does not take girls due to the nature of the job. I prepared anyway and I was only one among a batch of 102 electrical engineers to be offered an internship.
I was told that I couldn’t do business because a business is not a women’s job. I was told to continue with the desk job that I had, with the decent pay, sitting in the air-conditioned office. Instead, I joined an MBA.
Anyone, anytime can break the stereotypes.
If you are out on a date, do you prefer to pay yourself? If you insisted that you want to pay for yourself, how did the other person react?
I always pay for myself. I was earning and I didn’t feel the need to depend on any guy’s money to feed myself. The other person was clearly surprised but respected my choice.
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