“Women leaders have been acknowledged as voices of reason amidst the Covid crisis”

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 M&E, Advertising & Marketing, PR & Communication 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.

Anika Parashar, Founder & CEO of The Woman’s Company, is a powerhouse of a woman, and her company’s name is synonymous with several brands focused on women’s care and health. She comes with more than 20 years of experience. She has earlier worked with organisations such as Mahindra & Mahindra, The National Childbirth Trust, BSKYB, Channel 4 and Old World Hospitality, among others.

In an exclusive conversation with Adgully, Anika Parashar speaks about the role and scope of women leaders in the post-pandemic world, gender sensitivity and inclusion in the new normal, maintaining a healthy work-life balance and more.

How do you think the role and scope of women leaders has widened in the post-pandemic world?

Since inception, women leaders have frequently found themselves in a gender bind society, be it as leaders of a country or in a corporate setting. Thankfully, with a growing understanding of how successful women leaders can be, their future is more promising than ever. The pandemic has taught leaders of tomorrow that nothing can stop the women entrepreneurs from claiming their positions of prominence and marking their right place with confidence, determination, and authenticity.

These past 2 years have proven that countries led by women leaders seem to have been particularly successful in fighting Covid-19. This particular period has been disruptive and transforming; where the transition of working from home was considered as an essential element to ensuring business continuity has been recorded. At the same time, it has also put working women in a unique situation, many of whom have seen personal and professional boundaries blurring, and as a result, felt stretched and stressed. Women leaders have been acknowledged as voices of reason amidst the coronavirus crisis with their approach to incorporate empathy, compassion, and alliance before making vital decisions concerning businesses. Their ability to listen, process, and implement new practices to adapt to the changing environment has been recognised across the globe.

The rapid transition to digital, an uncertain economic landscape, charting unknown waters, working from home – how have you been navigating during the COVID-19 times? How are you maintaining work-life balance in the new normal?

The current downturn in the economy and the pandemic both make this a very challenging time to have launched a new business and the business has had its fair share of challenges. Right from the delivery zones being locked down and opened up with a little warning to building relationships with partners, manufacturers, and agencies over Zoom. Then finally creating and keeping a team motivated to BE a team without having the on-ground interactions for months at a time! There is one thing that I have learned about myself, it is that it takes a lot for me to be distracted off course – I believe in TWC and I do believe we will definitely make the impact that we have envisioned.

It is particularly difficult to find a balance between personal and professional during such a time with kids at home, household responsibilities merging with work, and literally life and work having blurred lines, but I think we have to be intentional about achieving it. The alternatives lead to overstressing, burnout, and an undermining of our physical and emotional health, however the goal is not to achieve perfect balance, but to actively and continuously cultivate a healthy work-life balance and that is what I have always tried to keep in mind while cultivating my vision for this company and playing my roles at home.

Multiple studies have shown how women leaders performed better during the COVID-19 crisis. According to you, what makes women the best in crisis management?

When the pandemic forced women in India to work and learn from home, the women force took on a greater share of the responsibilities – right from sitting with their children during their online classes and taking care of household duties. During this time, women felt more pressure to work consistently and feel burnout plus exhaustion. I think the need to put men against women in leadership or the workplace needs to be measured carefully as both are now playing similar roles everywhere. There are now multiple genders that have been acknowledged globally, and each gender is different and each category is unique. There are men who excel at home and women who are sharks in the workplace. Women are equally content without a partner or children and many men feel incomplete without either.

For years there has been social conditioning, expectations set about how each gender should behave, perform and what they should excel or succeed at. We were forced to re-assess and re-examine every aspect of our lives with health uncertainty and businesses suffering losses basically, the entire workforces have had to be laid off, change modus operandi and redefine themselves. Businesses that survive or thrive during crises are led by leaders (of any gender) who have a strong EQ and adaptability to manage and nurture change. The ability to think creatively and out of the box is crucial during the crisis as sometimes entire visions need to be altered to ride through the storm; these traits are not limited to one gender but inclusive of people across all genders.

What are the five most effective lessons that you have learned as a woman leader?

Today’s women are much stronger and more reliable than they were portrayed in the past. Being a woman is my strength and for me, my target group – women or third gender – brings me closer to understanding them by the brand, what makes them tick and their unfulfilled wants, which in return improves my end result of both products and engagement.

Every human being should be treated with respect and being a woman leader along with a mother has taught me to nurture and look after my team. The Woman Company’s team is engraved with a razor-sharp focus on the end goal with a touch of kindness. Everyone has a story and a little bit of love and appreciation can break down the highest walls.

I request people to be themselves, no one needs to try to be like anyone. To be an effective leader is one-of-a-kind reflection that one can impart on the world. I believe in letting each one do their part and I will do mine. Trying to emulate another leader makes you a less potent version of yourself and instead learn to pick up various traits that you admire in other leaders or organisations to compete for the best version of yourself.

We should never apologise for what we truly mean, but this doesn’t give us the right to hurt the people around us. As a woman, we are driven by guilt and tend to apologise at home, with friends, family, workplace, and eventually we don’t even realise what we are apologising for – so don’t apologise unless you’re wrong and live without guilt.

Lastly, there is always something to learn from everyone you meet. I’ve seen most times that I’m not the smartest in the room – perhaps the most stubborn, the most organised, but not the smartest. Over the years, I’ve learned to be okay with that. There is no ego in asking questions and help as leaders are not supposed to know it all, but learn to not repeat their mistakes.

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

While we are still far from an equal man-woman ratio in businesses, it is heartening to see an increasing number of women occupying top spots across industries. While women do start their careers with the equal ambition to men, as they hit their 30’s and 40’s, they find themselves at a fork in the road needing to choose between work progression and their family life. Whilst this is slowly changing, there is still a lot more adjustment required to make way for women to comfortably straddle both worlds.

A lot of corporates today are providing strong support, through office crèches, flexi-time options and recognise that empowering women to take care of both ends of their responsibility spectrums gives them access to a potent workforce with dynamic skillsets – these need to be expanded upon. Additionally, for women who have had to take a break to cater to their families, training, coaching, and mentoring could be provided to help them bridge the gap between when they left work and when they are ready to come back to work.