BEING WOMEN | Women bring a softer, more human focus to advertising: Leo Burnett's Ajeeta Bharadwaj

While women often tend to underplay their role in the society, its days like this that epitomizes and the "true role that they have been playing for centuries."

Ajeeta, who works as Executive Planning director at Leo Burnett Advertising, is of the view that it's about women taking a moment off to mentally acknowledge and salute the different roles that they play in their professional and personal life.

"Often women tend to underplay their contribution or their success for that matter, so it's no wonder that the people around them do likewise. Similarly often women don't extend the same support and courtesy that they would have appreciated in their own life; to other women," she explains.

"To my mind, women's day is reminder for you to celebrate and support yourself and women like you," she adds.

While we admit the fact that women, over the years, have successfully managed the dual responsibility, but Ajeeta would tell you "anyone who's actually done this knows that it is anything but "effortless'."

"It's usual to read of women "effortlessly juggling' career and family. There is a certain amount of discipline and rigour involved, and it's important that this should at no point overshadow the joy of being a woman.

"Having a Women's day is a reminder of the big and small joys of being a woman. It's like a wedding anniversary can technically be celebrated on any day of the year, but you pin down the one day when you can acknowledge and celebrate the fact that you have something special going. Women's day reminds you to be grateful and happy for being a woman," says Ajeeta.

The increase in the number of workingwomen could well be a positive sign in the future. For one it shows how our society has evolved from a male-dominated one to a relatively a more level-field so that the productivity can be doubled.

Especially in fields like advertising, media, where one-on-one interaction rules the fact as to where the company is heading.

"I think women bring a softer, more human focus to advertising. Because they are conditioned to think about other people since childhood, they intuitively try to solve the business problem by getting the human angle right. They are better at understanding and calibrating emotions, so their solutions tend to be more holistic," Ajeeta explains.

"And of course when it comes to FMCG products, it helps to get a glimpse of the woman, the wife, the mother, the executive concealed beneath the "consumer'. So having a woman on the team is more often than not a good idea," she adds.

Not surprisingly she too was drawn to such an industry, which is open to change and not so rigid unlike other professions.

"My entry into advertising was an accident. But there are two things that have kept me hooked. The first is the fact that you never fall short of mental stimulation. You never get a chance to get bored. It's like sitting with a book of puzzles -- there's always an interesting brand puzzle or an interesting consumer puzzle to be solved. And then once you have solved it, it leads to a great creative answer, so it's immensely satisfying.

"The second reason is that this is an extremely flexible, open industry to work in. Ultimately it comes to the individuals that you work with, but inherently the atmosphere in an advertising agency is less defined & rigid and more open to change. So the learning never stops, and that itself is a great payoff," she explains.

Ajeeta is of the view that the representation of women in all sectors is a must and specially speaking about her career path, there has been a healthy mix of both the genders.

"I think the participation of women in advertising is very healthy at least as far as the top 10 agencies are concerned. In Leo Burnett the fresh batches of interns coming in always have at least as many girls as boys -- if not more.

"So women entering advertising is a trend that is well on track. But even today one doesn't see too many women in the top management posts in advertising. It's just mirroring the trend across other fields, but I hope this is a trend that will change in the future," she adds.