Cos shouldn’t treat women returning post maternity as 2nd-tier employees: Vineeta Singh

We, at Adgully, have always saluted and honoured women managers and leaders across diverse fields. Over the years, W-SUITE is a special initiative from Adgully that has been turning the spotlight on some of the most remarkable women achievers in the M&E, Advertising, Marketing, PR and Communications industry.

On the occasion of Mother’s Day this year, Adgully has come up with a month-long special series saluting the Moms of the A&M industry. The series explores how successful women leaders, who are also mothers, are achieving work-life balance, and are also creating an inclusive work environment so that the mothers in their teams can work to their full potential.

In conversation with Vineeta Singh, Co-founder and CEO, SUGAR Cosmetics, speaks about managing work and familhy life, prioritising self-care, how companies can encourage an empower working mothers, and much more.

About how she manage to maintain work-life balance as a working mom Singh said, "Managing work and family life can be tricky at times, but when both these halves mean so much to you, I guess you learn to make things work. Luckily for me, I also have a great co-founder and husband, as well as a fabulous team in place, who help me run the show. I am blessed to be working with a fast-growing, energetic team, which is predominantly women. On most days, this is what keeps me really excited about getting to work, problem-solving with them and building our company together."

While giving tips to other working mothers who are struggling to manage their work and personal life she mentioned, "As a working mom, it is essential to prioritize self-care and find ways to manage your time effectively. Spending quality time with your kids or while working is important, hence always give your full attention to what is in front of you without any guilt. Additionally, always make time for activities that help you recharge and reduce stress. For me, running and keeping myself active is that practice. Achieving work-life balance is an ongoing process, and it’s okay to make mistakes and learn from them. Setting clear boundaries, delegating tasks, practicing time management, and being flexible, are a few practices that can help you maintain a better balance between your work and personal life as a working mom."

Sharing about her “mommy guilt” experience and how she dealt with it, she noted, "Like many working moms, I have also experienced the “mommy guilt” that comes with trying to balance my personal and professional life. I believe that involving your family in your work life by talking to them about what you do, bringing them to events, and asking for their support, helps them understand your commitments and feel more connected to your work. It is very important to learning to say no to commitments or requests that will compromise your work-life balance."

Continuing further, "I remember during the early days of SUGAR Cosmetics when my eldest son was born, there were times when I’d be pumping breast milk, working out, handling office calls, and hoping to not wake my son up. It’s been 7+ years since; SUGAR is now a team of over 3,000 – 75% of which are women – and I’m continuing to do everything I love. I run my company, I’ve run a half-marathon in the 6th month of my second pregnancy and run circles around my children. Women are capable of playing more than one role, sometimes you do find yourself walking into the office with my files in one hand and the baby in another. The juggle is real, but it’s also totally worth it. “Mommy guilt” is real – and dealing with it is a tough task, but it’s important to be patient, gentle, and kind to yourself as you navigate this journey."

About her experience of returning to work after maternity leave and the challenges she faced and how did she overcome them, Singh shared, "Having done this twice over, all I can say is that sometimes the voices in your head judge you more than what any external person will. That question of what is enough? To be a good new parent. To be a good new returning from maternity-break professional. The answers mostly don’t lie in the validations of others, but within ourselves, and sometimes we have to remind ourselves of that."

Change is the only constant, speaking about the changes that are required at workplaces, Singh mentiond, "It’s crucial for companies to prioritize diversity and equity in their hiring and promotion practices. This includes promoting women into leadership roles and ensuring that working mothers have access to the same opportunities as their male colleagues."

When asked about how her life changed post becoming a mother and how has it impacted her leadership style and decision-making as a woman leader she said, "As you grow older, you learn things along the way, but your approach to life as you know completely changes once you become a parent. I believe that being a mother has had a positive impact on my leadership skills. It’s helped me become a great multi-tasker, better at prioritization, more flexible and better at time management. In playing the role of a mother and a leader, I believe that the skills and insights I have gained from both roles have been incredibly valuable in shaping my leadership style and decision-making. The most important things motherhood has taught me is possibly balance, I now completely dedicate myself to the thing in front of me, this way I am able to devote quality time to both family and work."

Sharing about the initiatives that SUGAR has taken to support and empower working mothers at workplace, she said, "Supporting and empowering working mothers is essential to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. At SUGAR Cosmetics, we have 6-month maternity leaves for working soon-to-be moms and flexible leave policies, which allow mothers to take time off to care for their child or children. We are also quite flexible in terms of employees bringing their children to work in case of emergencies, which helps reduce the stress and financial burden of urgently finding reliable childcare, allowing mothers to focus on their work. At SUGAR, we also ensure that mothers are not discriminated against in terms of pay and promotion opportunities. We gladly hire women coming back from maternity breaks; and have a transparent and fair performance evaluation process that evaluates employees based on their skills and accomplishments rather than gender or other factors."

On how can other companies follow suit to create a more inclusive workplace for working mothers Singh noted, "The single biggest reason I’ve managed to survive as a working mom so far is the infinite support at home and at work, where the struggles and fumbles as a parent and as an employee were not judged. For women to replace their infinite guilt with pride, we will need more and more companies to give up the judgment, bring out the encouragement, not treat women returning post maternity as second-tier employees, and of course a lot more flexibility. One of the best global practices that I’ve seen is having child care at work places, it is a great option for working parents who need help taking care of their babies while at work."