Call them boundary pushers, path breakers or game changers: An increasing number of successful women are coming forward to help aspiring female professionals and budding entrepreneurs shed their inhibitions and move up in the work force.
Recognising the significance of 'paying it forward', they are structuring and directing several mentoring programmes that help groom mid-level executives for leadership positions.
These agents of change are poised to turn a new page in the history of women's empowerment.
"Today, we have so many successful women like Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Indra Nooyi, Chanda Kochhar and Arundhati Bhattacharya, etc, to look up to. When they share their stories of struggle, they automatically motivate many minds," says VLCC Group Founder and Mentor, Vanadana Luthra.
Sarika Bhattacharyya, Co-Founder of Biz Divas Foundation, agrees.
"When Debjani Ghosh, MD – Intel South Asia, spoke about her journey to the top at the recent Global Mentoring Walk 2013 held in Gurgaon, she inspired every woman who was present there. 'If she can do it so can I' was the common thought. Now that is how mentoring helps to inspire change."
POWER OF MENTORING
Be it a walk, meet or seminar, various channels are now being created to help women across the world connect, share experiences, and support each other to have a voice at the table.
"These meets open up avenues of bonding and networking for working women, which were traditionally never there. They open up your mind, you get new ideas and learn how to deal with professional obstacles. It's a two way path where you teach and learn at the same time," declares Stuti Jalan, Founder & Managing Editor, Crosshairs Communications.
Women who have seen success earlier on are ideal to advise on how to address challenges and navigate through similar obstacles in the career path.
"Mentoring is a critical path to leadership because power expands the moment it is shared. It enables emerging women leaders to gain confidence and skills to thrive as leaders and thus transform many lives around them," explains Alyse Nelson, President and CEO of Vital Voices Global Partnership, an NGO working towards training and empowering emerging women leaders and social entrepreneurs around the globe.
WOMEN FOR WOMEN
Any woman who broke the stereotypes and overcame biases can inspire others to follow in her footsteps.
Shahnaz Husain, the Founder & Managing Director of The Shahnaz Husain Group of Companies recounts how the country's first woman Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi motivated and encouraged her to take Ayurveda to an international platform.
"Once she asked me if I was selling these products outside India and I said, "No. Outside India, nobody is aware of Ayurveda."
To that, she said, "It's nothing like that."
"She suggested me to take part in the 'See India' festival, which was going to be held in London. To my surprise, not only the products were a big hit, I was able to expand my business exponentially," she remembers.
One of the biggest deterrents in a woman's career is self-doubt; the fear of not being able to do the balancing act. Seeing other women carry both their personal and professional responsibilities with elan helps burst this bubble of self-doubt.
Actor and entrepreneur Shilpa Shetty Kundra agrees. "When I need some mentoring on the balancing act I turn to my mother. From assisting my dad with his business to helping us with our homework while also doing the chores, she has set a great example for us," she declares.
CHANGING TIMES
As the number of women holding C-positions in the male-dominated corporate world is rising, the companies are also not shying away from introducing women-friendly policies.
"Tata Group's 'Second Life' programme is for women who wish to come back to work after a sabbatical. Clearly, the career break in the bio-data doesn't draw question marks anymore," says Amrita Chowdhary, Country Head & Publishing Director of Harlequin India.
She further adds that a lot of credit for the change in mindset also goes to the second generation women entrepreneurs, who are striving for gender diversity in the boardroom.
In addition, mentoring is also being extended to emerging entrepreneurs. British Council India has introduced a 'Young Women Social Entrepreneurship Development' programme in partnership with Diageo Foundation, which aims to identify young women trainers and improve their capacity to train women entrepreneurs.
"There is a need to create more platforms where women across all sections of society can connect and encourage each other to take the leap," says Baroness Usha Parashar, Deputy Chair, Board of Trustees, British Council.
(Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/)
