Give women space to shine and break down gender bias: Anshita Mehrotra

We, at Adgully, have always saluted and honoured women managers and leaders across diverse fields. 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. In the refurbished series, we seek to find out how women leaders have been managing their teams and work as well as how they have been navigating through the toughest and most challenging times brought about by the global pandemic.

In conversation with Adgully, Anshita Mehrotra, Founder, Fix My Curls, speaks about why diversifying the way companies reach their customers in important, breaking down gender bias at the workplace, and more.

How do you think the role and scope of women leaders have widened in the current market ecosystem?

I believe today women have definitely paved their way into getting bigger and better roles with the help of increased accessibility & reduced barriers of entry for starting a business, or even getting equal pay. Women now find themselves aiming for higher roles while knowing they will be supported in those roles by their peers, which perhaps even 5 years ago wasn't as likely.

What has been your major learning from the pandemic period?

All forms of media rise and fall, and you must build a base on every platform if you want to survive in a time of crisis. Whether it is Instagram, Linkedin, or Email, all forms of media will have a period where they will do very well for you or your brand, and times where they will incur massive downfall too. As a brand and a brand owner, I understood that this uncertainty means that you need to have access to your community in a minimum of 3-4 platforms and methods and not rely on one area of engagement. Diversifying the way you reach customers is so important, and time spent in the pandemic when most people couldn't go out, but could shop online or learn online, pushed us to diversify on every online platform. Now, out of the pandemic, people want to see you outside their screen! Another challenge in itself.

What is your mantra for maintaining a successful work-life balance in the new normal? According to you, what makes women the best in crisis management?

My personal mantra is to draw a boundary and stick to it. There will always be more and more work to do! Work never stops if you don’t want it to. We can make more work for ourselves all the time, but our personal lives deserve this time and effort to create a good foundation for us to do well at work. I think women have empathy, and this empathy makes us the best during a crisis because we act from a place of understanding.

What are the five most effective leadership lessons that you have learned?

• Your team/ employees do not have to like you, but rather respect you.
• Tell the truth, it builds the best foundation for you & your team.
• Take feedback even if it's hard.
• Build people to be good people, not good managers, the latter happens on its own.
• You can never know everything, so don't! Learn from those around you instead.

Gender sensitivity and inclusion in the new normal – how can organizations effectively encourage and groom women leaders in challenging times?

Give women space to do the work, and they will groom themselves. Most women find it difficult to speak up and own their brilliance, because they aren't given space to do so growing up either, and the workspace is where they can truly shine. I do believe gender bias causes many preconceived notions about how a woman may be at work or what she may need, so a workshop to break down these biases and help men be a pillar of support instead of the opposition will help everyone achieve their goals.