Why do we need more Senior Women in Industry?

Women criticize other women but do you know women will not flourish as much as we wish them to grow in the industry to thrive equality if women do not stand by another woman.

All successful and ambitious women like us, who think unconventionally have one thing in common. You would have experienced a hard time finding a female friend who resonates with your beliefs and goals while studying or at work.

Friendships from Girls Squad to the only girl in Guys Squad.

When I was in school I had a group of 9 girlfriends who were my pillars and anchors. I did not have a single guy friend. When I started my bachelors in college, I started having more best friends as guys than with girls. While studying masters, I had all my friends as guys who were my strong support system with even fewer friends who were female. I am not saying I loved hanging out with guys more than girls. When I was a kid it was almost the opposite, I hate talking to guys which is almost opposite now. While friends do not require a gender check, but just for the sake of thought why did my friends who were women declined as I grew up. Why did I feel they did not understand me, my goals and views?

I started my first job in Hyderabad at Tata CMC, India. I was the only girl in a team of 15 people and I went along well with everyone. My first job in the USA after masters at San Jose State University was at Intel. Up to this point my mind accepted the fact that I can go along only with guys looking at my past 10-year history. My mom always told me “Ishwaki you are very lucky to have such a great support group of friends all your life” With all the love I have for my friends, I missed so many times to find someone who can resonate with me who is a woman.

Finally, I met her!

At Intel, I started my full-time job in a team of 3 women(including me) and 3 men. I never felt that I or any other woman was ever treated unequally. In Fact, I perceive one of my teammates and my mentor whose name is Divya (2nd in the photo from right and 1st one is me :D) as a superhuman. She is smart, intelligent and she can multi-task to a level I can only dream. Even though she is a mother of 2 kids, a 3-year-old and a 6-year-old, she does not compromise her work at all. She is full-on in her zone when she works, along with taking care of her family. Hey, if you think I don't want a family at all, because I don't want myself to be stuck with family and work. I have seen her work with full throttle and also aware of all the latest series on Netflix, Bollywood movies, latest songs, latest news and she is the one who enjoys and has fun in everything she does. She does not compromise on anything. Surely she adjusts and has been managing everything together. But let me tell you for a fact, whenever I need help, when I am stuck, I go around and ask many other people but I might not get an answer. But when I ask Divya I am confident that she would nail it down every time. Sometimes just like we humans forget when someone suddenly asks us anything. She is at the top of every question my manager would need to know. She always has a great presence of mind.

While this was her academic qualities and skills which I mentioned, she is a beautiful soul too. She listens to me whenever I need help, even though it may not be work-related. She is like a sister who takes care of me when I break down and also when I am vulnerable during the uncertain times of my life. She also advises to take one day at a time, when I am stuck and cannot see anything ahead in my life. She always shows me the perspective of being positive in one of my worst situations without being judgemental. Many times she has given me rides to work and back home where we talk about work, shared insights of life. We shared our frustration and happiness together.

She taught me that asking questions is not stupid. You can ask questions as many times as you want. She taught me that when you are stuck in critics and politics at work, back your argument by data. When I discussed my issues with her, while she empathized with my agony she kept me grounded all the time by always suggesting to me what I can do to improve irrespective of the situation I am in. Whenever she gives me feedback, I never feel less of myself. Instead I always feel that she cares for me and whatever she says I trust her because I know she wants me to improve all the time. She wants me to succeed as much as I want. All my days of working at Intel are my secret blessings ;)

Why we need more women to support, mentor each other to succeed?

You feel I am lucky, No doubt, I am. But the point I am trying to make here is let's assume if I and a friend who is a guy start our career at the same time and I don't have any senior women in my team or any of my mentors. A senior man will always keep a distance from me in his communication. While for my guy friend he can go hang out with his senior teammate who is a guy, have a beer with him, and can create a rapport with any man present around him. While a woman will always face a ceiling and no man or woman at different seniority levels will hangout as easily as they would with same-gender out of the society we are in. If I would not have had Divya, I would surely have missed out on so many learnings and insights in my career. I would not be able to hang out with a senior man just like I did with Divya, he would not have been so comfortable to have rides with me to work and back as Divya did. Even today, a manager who is a male having a woman as an employee keeps distance from her. But when a junior guy comes in, he suddenly gets very friendly and warm compared to the woman who has been in his team for years. Hence after 2 years even though I had the same starting point as my guy friend, it is very likely that I would have lost my traction and speed to the level I have learned today. Why? Because I am a woman.

I am very fortunate to work in a company where there are so many women at different levels of seniority who have helped me in different domains and skills required for work. So, why do women not achieve the same level of experiences and learnings in their career path? If women help, support, and back each other, I don't see any reason why women can't grow as much as men do.

While Pepsico CEO Indra Nooyi talks about sisterhood ceilings showcasing that woman do not help other women as much or Sheryl Sandberg talks in her book 'Lean in' about the need of women in leadership and what are the challenges women usually face in the industry. There is one article which talks about this as well.

I know you might not get so lucky as me to have a senior women who can guide you, but when you become capable can you be that senior woman for some Ishwaki to make her feel lucky just as I do?

Let's start building the ecosystem around us where we support and help each other. Because Together we can.