Ghazal Alagh, who is the co-founder of Honasa Consumer, maker of Mamaearth brand, and a shark from the inaugural season of Shark Tank India, recently recounted her meeting with Smriti Irani, Union Cabinet Minister for Women & Child Development and Minority Affairs, who is also an MP from the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency.
Taking to social media, Alagh shared three key takeaways from her interaction with Smriti Irani, the politician, former actress, and television producer.
In their encounter, Smriti Irani underscored the pivotal life stages prompting women to exit their professions – marriage, motherhood, and children’s board exams – stressing the significance of employer assistance during these periods. Reflecting on her firm’s policies, Ghazal noted that at Honasa Consumer Ltd., they have successfully preserved nearly all employees throughout these critical junctures. “At Honasa Consumer Ltd., we’ve proudly retained almost 100 percent of employees through these life stages”, Ghazal stated.
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Smriti Irani emphasised that although there has been advancement in women’s involvement at the grassroots level due to increased enrollment and college graduations, the main obstacle persists in attaining adequate representation in corporate settings, particularly in leadership positions.
Lastly, during their discussion, Irani emphasised a key insight as the third takeaway. She noted that despite the autonomy of numerous women, important financial decisions, including investments, are frequently entrusted to men, whether they are spouses or fathers. She underscored the significance of altering this perspective and encouraged women to spearhead the effort in bringing about this change. Alagh spotlighted the takeaway, saying, “For many independent women, core financial decisions like investments are still made by men (spouses/fathers). This mindset needs to change, and we women must lead this transformation.”
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Alagh said, “I must admit, I’m a total fangirl of Smriti Irani Ji’s grace, intellect, and charisma. Her deep understanding of core issues and structural solutions is remarkably strong. More power to her!”