Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, the executive chairperson of Biocon and Biocon Biologics, said on August 30 that the bio-technology company is targeting to achieve gender parity by 2030, as part of its efforts to create a more inclusive and balanced workforce.
“When you talk about gender parity, it’s not just the percentage of women working in organizations. It’s about ensuring parity in pay and promotions because what you really need to see is how you promote women and get them to play bigger leadership roles,” Shaw said at Storyboard18’s Share The Spotlight event in Bengaluru.
Shaw said that it is important for organisations to ensure that they create equal opportunities.
“In this day and age when we have to actually think about compassion, empathy and EQ (emotional quotient), I think having more women in the workplace makes organisations much better. When you have women in boardrooms, it makes the board stronger and more effective” she said.
Storyboard18’s Share The Spotlight aims to provide an opportunity for India’s business and brand leaders to share their spotlight with women in their ecosystems who have charted their paths and have inspiring stories to tell, offering insights into their journeys and the challenges they’ve overcome.
Shaw shared her spotlight with three people at the event – Biocon Biologics chief operating officer Rhonda Duffy, Biocon Biologics global communications head Seema Ahuja, and Shaw’s personal assistant Latha Sharma.
“I must add that I have many women in the organisation who make me very proud and who play an important role in the organisation. Many of them are in leadership roles” Shaw said.
“In terms of the overall organisation, I guess I am not quite happy with the percentage of women in the organisation. It’s a little over 30 percent, though many parts of our organization have 50 percent parity, like in research and many other divisions” she added.
These efforts are aided by recent changes in government regulations, Shaw said.
“For a long time, we could not get women into manufacturing jobs because there was a regulation where we couldn’t get women to work second and third shifts. When you have those kinds of regulatory restrictions, it’s very difficult to give women those kinds of roles. Fortunately, the government has changed those regulations in the recent past, and so we are consciously working on creating all-women teams in certain parts of our manufacturing” she said.
In February 2023, the Karnataka legislative assembly passed an amendment to the Factories Act of 1948 that allows women to work night shifts at factories.
Shaw recalled that when she started Biocon, she was very keen to help women to pursue career options, especially scientists.
“When I started as a woman entrepreneur 46 years ago, I can tell you that the spotlight was entirely on me, and I used to find it odd that every time I went anywhere, I would be the only woman,” said Shaw. “However, when I did start my company, I could share the spotlight with many people who joined me in my journey. I had a number of women who wanted to do something in the area of science,” she added.
Shaw said she started Biocon as a biotech company driven by a set of objectives. One of them was to be a science and research-driven company. “I found that a number of women scientists and researchers were very happy and keen to join me in my journey,” she said.
“When I fast forward to today, we are seeing a number of women leaders, not just heading companies, but also playing leadership roles in organisations,” Shaw said.
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