Women of Vision: Nine Business Leaders in Conversation with Alam Srinivas

Alam Srinivas

Description

A 2012 McKinsey study found that women hold a mere 5 per cent of boardroom positions in Indian firms. If India has to emerge as a real economic superpower in the 21st century, she has to harness the growing women power, grant them a greater role in the nation-building process and chalk out a clear ballot-to-boardroom path for them. However, there are a few women who have fought against all odds to occupy the corner rooms in Indian companies. Women with Vision profiles successful businesswomen from diverse backgrounds: (1) World-class managers (Chanda Kochhar and Naina Lal Kidwai); (2) First-generation entrepreneurs (Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Zia Mody and Ekta Kapoor) and (3) Inheritors (Anu Aga, Shobhana Bhartia, Priya Paul and Priti Paul). In a face-to-face interview with the author, each icon shares her journey of how she battled male-dominated hierarchies to shatter the glass ceiling and set up successful business empires through grit, determination, hard work and merit. Their stories, also narrated by their family members and colleagues, highlight their conflicts, challenges, perils and promises. These personalities can truly inspire a whole generation of women to fight their way through the corridors of corporate power while juggling their many responsibilities at home.

Sujets

• Women in Business
• Lettres et linguistique
• managers
• Women
• Woman
• Economics
• Board of directors
• The Women
• Business
• Forbes
• McKinsey & Company
• India
• Entrepreneur
• Management

Informations

• Publié par: Roli Books
• Date de parution: 02 janvier 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9789351940449
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

OTHER TITLES BY ALAM SRINIVAS
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IPL an Inside Story: Cricket and Commerce (Co-authored with T.R. Vivek)
OTHER LOTUS TITLES
Adi B. Hakim

With Cyclists Around the World
Rustom B. Bhumgara


Jal P. Bapasola
Ajit Bhattacharjea

Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah: Tragic Hero of Kashmir
Anil Dharker

Icons: Men & Women Who Shaped Today’s India
Aitzaz Ahsan

The Indus Saga: The Making of Pakistan
Amarinder Singh

The Last Sunset: The Rise & Fall of the Lahore Durbar
H.L.O. Garrett

The Trial of Bahadur Shah Zafar
Hussain Zaidi

Dongri to Dubai: Six Decades of Mumbai Mafia
Imtiaz Gul

Pakistan Before and After Osama
Kiran Maitra

Marxism in India: From Decline to Debacle
Kuldip Nayar

Beyond the Lines: An Autobiography
M.J. Akbar

Byline
M.J. Akbar

Blood Brothers: A Family Saga
M.J. Akbar

Have Pen will Travel: Observations of a Globetrotter
Maj. Gen. Ian Cardozo

Param Vir: Our Heroes in Battle
Maj. Gen. Ian Cardozo

The Sinking of INS Khukri: What Happened in 1971
Madhu Trehan

Tehelka as Metaphor
Masood Hyder

October Coup: A Memoir of the Struggle for Hyderabad
Monisha Rajesh

Around India in 80 Trains
Nayantara Sahgal (ed.)

Before Freedom: Nehru’s Letters to His Sister
Peter Church

Added Value: The Life Stories of Indian Business Leaders
Preeti Monga

The Other Senses: An Inspiring True Story of A Visually Impaired Woman and Her Road to Success
Rajika Bhandari

The Raj on the Move: Story of the Dak Bungalow
Salman Akhtar

The Book of Emotions
Shrabani Basu

Spy Princess: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan
Vir Sanghvi

Men of Steel: Indian Business Leaders in Candid Conversations
FORTHCOMING TITLES
George Michell

Monuments, Sites and Museums of Southern India: A Guide
Iradj Amini

The Koh-i-noor Diamond



Photo Courtesy:
ICICI Bank: Pg. 20 Thermax Ltd.: Pg. 32 Hindustan Times: Pg. 46 HSBC India: Pg. 62 AZB & Partners: Pg. 76 Biocon: Pg. 86 Apeejay Surrendra Group: Pg. 98
Photo Credit
Getty Images: Pg. xiv
Lotus Collection
© Alam Srinivas, 2013
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission of the publisher.
First published in 2013
The Lotus Collection An imprint of Roli Books Pvt. Ltd M-75, Greater Kailash II Market, New Delhi 110 048 Phone: ++91 (011) 40682000 Fax: ++91 (011) 2921 7185 E-mail: [e-mail] Website: www.rolibooks.com Also at Bengaluru, Chennai, & Mumbai
Layout: Sanjeev Mathpal Production: Shaji Sahadevan Cover design: Sanchita Jain
ISBN: 978-81-7436-934-5

Dedicated to the women
who shattered the corporate glass ceiling,
and to the millions of girls
who were killed in their mothers’ wombs.

Contents
Introduction
Ekta Kapoor Queen of Soaps
Chanda Kochhar Super Banker
Anu Aga Woman with a Conscience
Shobhana Bhartia Paper Tigress
Naina Lal Kidwai Dominant Deal-maker
Zia Mody High Priestess of Corporate Marriages
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw Master Brewer of Success
Priya Paul and Priti Paul Artist Entrepreneurs
About the Author

Introduction
W omen participated in huge numbers in the Indian freedom movement and after Independence a few achieved immense political success. But the country has lagged behind in socio-economic legislation related to them. For instance, it took 65 years for the Lok Sabha to pass the bill on sexual harassment at work on 3 September 2012. The move came 15 years after the Supreme Court defined sexual harassment and 14 years after the National Commission for Women circulated a ‘Code of Conduct for Work Place’.
However, we still do not have specific laws to address the broader issues of gender bias that confront women within the sanitized and gleaming walls of India Inc. At job and promotion interviews, many are asked if they would get married or have children in the next 1–2 years. If their answer is yes, they are most likely to be denied the opportunities they deserved. It is an unwritten code that women are unsuitable for jobs that require physical effort, hectic travel and late hours.
It is possibly the right time to change such mindsets as statistics hint that gender discrimination is rampant across Indian workplaces. In a 2012 survey of 1,500 senior managers and research of 744 stock market-listed companies in Asia, McKinsey & Company concluded that women comprised 5 per cent of boardroom positions in India, which was lower than China (8 per cent), but higher than South Korea (1 per cent) and Japan (2 per cent). Both the US (14 per cent) and Europe (average 10 per cent) were ahead of Asia (8 per cent).
The Global Gender Gap Report 2011 by the World Economic Forum, ranked India at 113, which was worse than its position (98) five years ago. The study considered parameters such as economic participation and opportunity, education attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment to capture the ‘scope of gender-based disparities’ among 135 countries.
On the factor related to economic participation and opportunity, India ranked 131, which was higher than China (50), Nepal (121), Bangladesh (118) and Sri Lanka (102). Pakistan (134) was ranked over India. The report stated, ‘In particular, the persistent health, education and economic participation gaps will be detrimental to India’s growth; India is lowest ranked of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) economies featured in the Index.’
Clearly, the fruits of economic prosperity that have stacked up in the rich- and middle-class homes during the two decades of economic reforms may rot if India does not take initiatives to empower women. If more women are not represented adequately in corporate boardrooms, corner rooms and office cubicles, the India growth vehicle can hurtle off its track and the benefits may leave almost half of the country’s population out in the cold.
Fortunately, things are improving, albeit slowly. There is a move to reserve 33 per cent of government jobs for women, which may be extended later to the private sector. A 2012 survey by global HR firm, Mercer, found that gender-related issues were the main priority of Indian companies when it came to their overall diversity and inclusion efforts. While 61 per cent said that they had programmes to mentor women employees, 55 per cent maintained they pursued family-friendly policies. The future initiatives of the majority of the Indian participants included developing skills to prepare women for leadership roles.
The expansion of the Internet and the frenetic growth in sunrise sectors have thrown up more opportunities for women. These trends have shattered the myth that women cannot work with technology. The rise of mother entrepreneurs in India is another indicator of the gender-friendly changes.
In an article by Rhonda Abrams ( www.dailycomet.com ), Dell’s Chief Marketing Officer Karen Quintos said that Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network, which includes members from India, was a part of the corporation’s global business and moral imperatives to look more carefully at women as employees, entrepreneurs and consumers. ‘Women are making up more of the decision makers and buyers… Those corporations that embrace diversity, whether age, gender, geography, experience, succeed,’ she added.
•
The idea for this book, which was commissioned by the publisher who wanted a manuscript along the lines of Men of Steel (profiles of successful Indian businessmen), evolved out of these thoughts. How can one juxtapose the contradictory trends of women emancipation, especially in India Inc., which have accentuated in the reforms era? At one level, the anti-women stereotypes continue to grip the corporate psyche. But, simultaneously, women have unshackled themselves to rapidly climb up the business ladder. In 21st century India, there are more women entrepreneurs, CEOs and senior managers than ever before.
A good way was to focus on the women of economic reforms; the rare breed that broke the socio-economic chains, rode the merit wave and reached the top in a post-1991 world that was fast transforming around them. They took their chances, seized the new business opportunities and implanted their ideas for everyone to sit up and notice. They saw the future and confidently strode ahead. They blazed paths that other women with similar dreams and aspirations could follow.
This book includes profiles of nine CEOs and entrepreneurs, who belong to varying backgrounds. Chanda Kochhar and Naina Lal Kidwai are world-class managers who grew up in middle-class families. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw is a first-generation entrepreneur, as is Ekta Kapoor. The four inheritors, Priya Paul and her sister, Priti, Anu Aga and Shobhana Bhartia, hail from rich business families. Zia Mody is a combination of sorts—her father, Soli Sorabjee, is a renowned lawyer, but she has set up possibly the largest legal firms in India.
The sequence of the profiles gives you a feel of the spectrum of the personalities. As you tread from the first chapter on Ekta, the youngest woman on the list, to the third one on Anu Aga, the oldest with grandchildren, you sense the similarities and differences. Then you shift the focus to an unlikely inheritor—a daughter taking over the newspaper business of a Marwari family. Towards the end, you have warm conversations with Kiran and the Paul sisters.
Insights about the person behind the professional were ferreted through exhaustive interviews with the protagonists and/or their colleagues and family members, conducted between end-2009 and mid-2012. The personalities not only talk about their aspirations, s