Vanitha Narayanan, Senior Global Executive & Board Leader at AIMA Aspire’s WomenSpeak
The whole concept of a woman taking up official/leadership roles should not be overhyped, but there should be a neutral approach to gender equality, said Ms. Vanitha Narayanan, Senior Global Executive & Board Leader at AIMA Aspire’s WomenSpeak.
AIMA Aspire had organised its 2nd WomenSpeak Session on the theme- ‘Leading Women: Taking Gender Out of The Game’. Former Chairperson of IBM India, who played a critical role in enabling the company’s global missions and evangelising its brand and solutions, a pioneer of many causes having worked with a male bastion of the Tech Industry and yet invariably standing out, Ms. Vanitha Narayanan, Senior Global Executive & Board Leader rightly qualified to deliberate the Session on- ‘Leading Women: Taking Gender Out of The Game’.
Ms. Vanitha Narayanan firstly chronicled her professional journey. She said that having taken Liberal Arts as her subject of specialisation, to be in the Tech Industry was something she had not anticipated. However, when she did take on the role, it occurred to her that leadership should be “gender agnostic and not gender-specific”. Like any other professional, she had her share of challenges as a woman, but she devised a way to not only come out of them but learn something to take it forward in her career life.
Ms. Vanitha Narayanan also said that when a woman joins an organisation in a leading role, she should not be referred to as a “woman leader” but just as a leader, besides adding that “you’re either a good leader or a bad leader”, leadership has nothing to do with being a male or female.
The theme of the Session was made more meaningful when she shared an analogy about the criteria for a monarch. The attributes in the list criteria included; authentic, resilient, committed, loyal, flexible and more. And none of these attributes are “gender specific” she further mentioned. At the time of the coronation of the Late Queen Elizabeth II, “gender was totally overlooked” and the focus was on the role’s adaptability and essaying the role. And that is what the approach of the companies should be, she said.
Also broaching the subject of reservation or quotas, she was of the view that the whole system of quotas is an unfair setup, as in the process talents could be lost. It could also indirectly be setting up someone for failing to perform if they are appointed through a quota and not through an official process of hiring. Companies should specifically hire resources on the basis of talent and skill, she affirmed.
Lastly, she said that “where you come from doesn’t define where you end up” emphasising the importance of hard work. Reiterating the point that she had started her deliberation on, she said that roles/leadership should be “gender agnostic”. The whole concept of a woman taking up official roles should not be overhyped as “she is being appointed on the basis of talent and not because she is a woman”. A neutral approach to gender is what she advocated.
Watch the full Session- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY3iXfGGHZU
