The W-Suite|Most women don't initiate wage negotiations: Sangeeta Chacko

With a rapidly evolving business and economic landscape there is a dire requirement of fresh thinking, new skill sets, greater flexibility & adaptability, more collaboration as well as the ability to think on one’s feet. 

Diversity in the workforce has become a necessity today, and more so in the leadership positions. It can’t be denied that women bring a high level of creativity and empathy while solving problems and handling crises. Women leaders bring to the table a different level of dexterity. 

AdGully’s ‘The W-Suite’ series features interactions with influential women leaders in India, who share some deep insights on what being a woman leader means in India’s business landscape, the mantras to succeed, achieving work-life balance, pay parity and much more. 

With over 24 years of proficient experience in the marketing and communications arena, Sangeeta Chacko, Head – Corporate Communications, Percept Ltd, has handled a diverse range of portfolios spanning Advertising, Marketing, Brand Communications, Public Relations, Events & IP Management, Licensing, Retail, Publishing and Business Development. 

Over the past 2 decades, she has had an illustrious career with many leading global organisations, including Ogilvy & Mather Advertising, The Walt Disney Group, Travel Corporation India, Abacus Distribution Systems, and Kuoni Travels. 

She joined Percept Ltd in 2006 as Head – Corporate Communications, where she set up the Corporate Communications programme for the entire Percept Group spanning 15 diverse Group Companies in the Entertainment, Media, Communications and Intellectual Properties space. 

An International & National award winner, she is featured in the prestigious ‘Marquis Who’s Who In The World’ 2014, 2015 & 2016 Directories encompassing biographies of renowned achievers from around the world. She has been conferred with the esteemed the ‘World Women Super Achiever Leadership Award’ in 2017, the ‘Bharat Excellence Award’ and ‘Rashtriya Mahila Gold Award’ in 2014, the ‘Outstanding International Business Communicator Award’ and the ‘Rashtriya Nirman Ratna Award’ in 2013, in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the Communications arena. 

Chacko is an avid Blogger and is currently working on her first book entitled ‘Bridges and Barriers’. 

What defines a woman leader in today’s ecosystem?
Leadership today should not be defined by gender, but by an ability to lead successful projects and enterprises that prioritise profit, drive employee welfare and generate a positive impact on society. A female leader should not just be satisfied with having a Board seat, but demonstrate and highlight the strengths and value she brings to the seat with her unique perspective and diverse experience. 

Why do you think a smaller percentage of women than men reach the top of their professions?
A key reason why women are struggling to break through the glass ceiling is due to the fact that the differences between the genders are not yet fully understood or appreciated. The male versus female upbringing, cultural pre-conditioning and neurobiology make for huge differences in women’s approach to solving problems, communication style, decision making, values and focus vis-a-vis the contrary male behaviour pattern which has typically dominated leadership levels for decades. Many female leaders place a great importance on empathy and consensus-building, which are still viewed as weak and defeatist strategies in the corporate boardroom by men. Women also bring authenticity and wholesomeness into the workplace as a basic essential for their fulfilment and success, but men still view full transparency (personal or professional) at work as weak and undesirable traits. 

Another important point is that many women compromise on their careers as life, family and work priorities clash fiercely. One must remember that women are still performing a lion’s share of domestic and child rearing responsibilities even when both spouses work full time. The work-life balance gradually becomes a fantasy and many women opt out of leadership roles that naturally bring travel and long hours away from home and family. Unlike men, women only view their career as a slice of their life pie. If made to choose between a 24x7 career and home, most women will chuck up a demanding career and ambitions for their loved ones. 

Do you think women leaders are still scrutinised as much for style as for substance?
Unfortunately, women leaders are still analysed and dissected for style as much as for substance, and even evaluated against one another, therein trivialising their role and value they bring into the workplace. Power dressing is a troublesome contradiction that indicates conformity and risk aversion versus adventure, confidence and innovation. While many women leaders tactically use style as a strategy to consolidate their status, express their credentials and enhance their likeability quotient, it can also backfire if style is not supported by substance and results over a period of time. 

I personally believe that a confident, powerful woman leader must break out of the fears and conformity that led to the era of conventional power dressing in the 80s to reflect her own personal sense of style and confidence, therein driving greater public focus on the many issues, challenges, achievements and vision that she brings to the workplace. 

Do you think the leadership effectiveness of women is higher than men? Why?
Women are natural born leaders due to their instinctive nurturing capabilities such as inspiring others, developing and motivating teams, relationship bridge building, collaboration and teamwork. Women are great listeners – an excellent quality in a leader. They also share a genuine passion for working with others, exchanging ideas and coming up with effective win-win solutions. Women leaders also display accessibility, not just being physically available, but having an open heart and mind, and a genuine level of support and compassion for their colleagues. Person growth is a vital component of female leaders, and this focus on personal self development makes them more self-aware and display an unusually high level of emotional intelligence. 

The supreme qualities that give female leadership an edge is the burning desire to debunk stereotypes by persistently demonstrating their merit, taking initiative and accepting complex challenges, displaying integrity and honesty, and ensuring that their teams also act with integrity, and above all, driving for wholesome results that are beneficial for all stakeholders. 

Women leaders in the 80’s and 90’s and women leaders today - what are the key differences? And what are the things that haven’t changed much?
The gender inequality gap across multiple parameters has certainly reduced over the past four decades, so that’s great news for women in the workforce today. While women leaders both then and now displayed the same skills, capabilities, values and aptitude, the external environment was very different in the earlier years and may have stunted many opportunities for women to rise in their careers in the 80s and 90s. The millennial women are however taking massive strides and turning the tide in their favour with higher education degrees, a greater level of freedom and global exposure, and a fair vocal demand for wage equality, training opportunities, success and growth in the workplace. Women today are also ensuring that their male counterparts share an equal load in the family work responsibility, therein attaining a fair chance to put in more hours at work and prove their mettle. 

Technology has been the greatest game changer that has further equalised opportunities for women today. With data and information available at your fingertips on the go, flexi time and work-at-home becoming popular across leading organisations around the world, women now have a greater chance at achieving work-life balance as also a fair shot at climbing the career ladder. 

Another positive shift in the recent years has been the fact that companies and governments themselves have started recognising the unconscious bias and acknowledging the presence of gender inequality in the workplace. This, in turn, has led to many proactive board decisions and laws passed that empower more women to attain the adequate support and right opportunities to put them on track for the top roles. 

How do you maintain a balance between career goals and family responsibilities? How frequently do you have to sacrifice one for the other?
I was fortunate to have an amazing role model from the start – my Mother. A true ‘Shero’, she juggled work-life and so much more effortlessly, and this became a great learning curve and guidepost for me as I stepped into the workforce. Discipline and Focus became my dual foundations as I juggled roles and responsibilities simultaneously. The ease and access of Technology obviously helped in this journey. 

I also made some very deliberate choices about the opportunities to pursue and let go at different phases of my life in order to enable a healthy balance that suited my environment, family and lifestyle. It was a matter of carefully combining work and home so as not to lose myself, my loved ones, or my traction on the corporate ladder. I am also extremely grateful to have received both a supportive family system and workplace that combined to help me manage the two worlds seamlessly. 

Do you think pay parity exists in our corporates today across levels? What about pay parity at the leadership levels?
Pay parity does exist across the globe across all industries, sectors and levels. An important factor that contributes to this wage gap is the gender leadership gap. When women are largely shut out from positions of power, they are also automatically shut out from higher incomes and financial stability. Fortunately, many companies today are turning the wheel and implementing programmes to support female employees, but in spite of promotions, management and leadership training, mentoring, flexible schedule options for childcare - the nagging pay gap issue still persists. 

Surprisingly, the wage gap widens as women advance in their careers. Unfortunately, most women do not initiate wage negotiations, and when they do, they ask for less than their male counterparts. This could be happening because when women rupture stereotypes and do the unthinkable by initiating aggressive negotiations, they ‘pay a higher price in the long run’ than men for doing so. 

What would be your advice to women aiming for the C-suite?
Getting into the C-suite takes a lot of discipline, dedication, hard and targeted work. It’s also important for women to change their mindset. While most women find it difficult to be self promoting, it will become vital to reach out, engage and network. Don’t let your insecurities, doubts or fears hold you back. One certain way to gain respect, credibility and increased chances of landing a seat in the C-suite is to volunteer and serve on the Boards of non-profit organisations, start-up companies, industry or professional associations and leading community groups. That will certainly add lustre to your portfolio and make you a much sought after and valuable asset in the Boardroom. 

What, according to you, are the 3 important lessons new women leaders need to learn?
Take Risks Early On In Your Career – The earlier you take on calculated risks and challenging assignments in your careers, the better. This allows you to shoot up the corporate ladder and gain personal leverage much faster, so that by the time you start a family you will have both the professional standing in the industry to negotiate your terms as well as adequate time and financial resources for childcare. 

Be Relentlessly Curious – Read and research zealously on many relevant topics and areas spanning your scope of work. Find smart people in the domain you’re pursuing and study their write-ups, views, speeches and tweets to master your knowledge as also develop your own unique point of view. The best leaders are not only knowledgeable across a vast array of topics, but also ultimately take decisions from their own personal viewpoint and experience. 

Change is the only Constant – Embracing change enables you to become fearless, grow the business and help the company remain relevant and competitive. Don’t be fearful to learn from others, kill outdated products and strategies, forge new alliances and seek innovative unorthodox ways to solve old issues.

Advertising
@adgully

News in the domain of Advertising, Marketing, Media and Business of Entertainment

More in Advertising