A majority of CEOs express the need for greater female representation on boards and in senior leadership, but the crucial question is what tangible actions these CEOs are taking to support and elevate their female colleagues within the organisation.
As Suparna Mitra, CEO, Watches and Wearables Division of Titan Company Ltd, points out, the true measure of progress lies in how women in leadership positions actively work to bring more women to the table and create opportunities for their empowerment.
“Once you get a seat at the table- the real responsibility is how do we pull in more women onto the table. Also, for every woman who’s on the table, if you’re the first woman on the table, the interesting thing is not that you’re the first, but that you will not be the last. And then there will be many more, and then it will be normalised, and people will not be counting the number of women,” she says.
Speaking at Storyboard18’s Share The Spotlight event in Bengaluru, Mitra highlighted how culture of a company trumps everything.
Although, it is very important that commitment and culture is backed up by policies and processes in any organisation. “I left Titan for some personal reasons and rejoined back in 2006. And I was very clear that for me culture trumps everything. The quality of work, the opportunity, the freedom, and the supportive environment,” she shared.
Sharing her own experience and policies made for women well-being at Titan, she also remarked how for her generation of women, one was supposed to put head down and work, expecting one day the work would get noticed- however, that era has changed.
Further, she spoke of her assuming the role of CEO of watches and wearables on April 1, 2020, amid the lockdown- which had its fair share of challenges as businesses remain closed.
Although she highlighted how over the last two years the business has done very well. Titan’s brands have become stronger, network of stores have become bigger and better and products have become better.
Mitra shared the spotlight with Rajeshwari U, who is the head of manufacturing at Titan, Shyamala Ramanan, business head at Mia by Tanishq and Dhanya K, who is Lead at talent management and leadership development at Titan Company.
Rajeshwari shared her experience of how embracing the culture and challenges helped her climb the ladder.
“I thought I would join the IT department, but they put me in manufacturing. I entered the shop floor and saw more than 400 people sitting there. They told me I was the supervisor, and I was shocked. But I embraced the situation and the culture, and handled each challenge with a focus on improvement,” she said. She then upgraded her technical skills.
“When people used to break for lunch, I used to work on the movement and watch assembly. This earned me respect from my peers and subordinates,” she added. Later, Titan promoted her and put her in charge of the pilot assembly for all new products. Soon, she was also tasked with training new manufacturing employees at the company’s Roorkee and Pantnagar units.
“I joined Titan as a supervisor and now I am heading the assembly for watches and wearables, with more than 500 people working under me,” she said.
Ramanan further steered the conversation toward how she has evolved from a functional leader into a business leader.
“From functional to business, it wasn’t very easy, but it’s just that you need to keep an open mind. I mastered what I was good at and developed business acumen while demonstrating business thinking, seeing the big picture and after that, taking risks,” she shared.
She also remarked that, “If somebody is offering you a role which has got slightly bigger than functional to business, that means the senior management trusts you and that is half the battle won. So you need to know when to take that plunge. And once you’ve taken the plunge, what you need to do is learn, unlearn, relearn. Then you need mentors and you also adopt reverse mentoring.”
Ramanan also advised one to stay authentic and vulnerable and balance the EQ with the IQ. And in the midst of it all, never lose track of the customers whom you are serving with the products that you’re working with.
Dhanya concluded the conversation by sharing two cents on the role of human resources in women’s empowerment and what has helped her succeed.
“What has helped me is the nurturing mindset that comes fairly naturally to women. Also, at various occasions, I have brought in a certain higher degree of emotional intelligence and empathy to the employee groups.