CNBC-TV18
launches a new series ‘What Women Really Want’, a show that looks at how
women today are negotiating the interplay between power, money and balance. The
series explores if attitudes towards working women have really changed or if
diversity councils and the like are just tokenisms to mollify women and keep
the old-boys-club intact? Is the 21st century corporation
really thinking of how it needs to change so that there are more than just 3%
women CEOs in the Fortune 500? Because like Christian Lagarde of the IMF
famously said, “If Lehman Brothers had been ‘Lehman Sisters’, today’s economic
crisis clearly would look quite different.”
All provocative questions and we’ve got equally provocative answers from
business leaders, both men and women that we spoke to: Zia Mody, Co-founder,
AZB Partners admits that at 56 she can do little but internalize the guilt
of missing out on her children’s growing up years, Rajshree Pathy, Chairperson,
Rajshree Sugars asks why an ambitious man is cheered on while a lady
with the same flair is thought to be a social climber. Global HR head
at Tata Sons, Satish Pradhan believes that one will start seeing more
women in top management only when managers move beyond stereotypes and give
women the work that their aptitude deserves and Karen Quintos, Senior
VP & CMO, Dell says that ‘having it all’ is a possibility only if
corporations stop placing the ‘motherhood penalty’ on women and leverage
technology to create truly flexible work places that work for both women and
men!
As the name suggests, the series aims to open a dialogue between successful
women CEOs and mid-career professionals struggling with workplace dynamics.
CNBC-TV18’s Executive Editor Shereen Bhan talks to women achievers from all
walks of life, from Chitra Ramakrishna, Joint MD, NSE, Rupa
Kudva, MD & CEO, Crisil, Tessy Thomas of ISRO and
India’s first woman Air Marshal, Padmavathy Bandopadhyay on
what it takes to make it to the top. The show presents what some of the world’s
most respected corporations, P&G, PepsiCo, Intel, HCL,
Deloitte are doing to create equal opportunity platforms and what the
latest academic research from Harvard Business Review, McKinsey and Catalyst reveals
about what women can do to move up the corporate ladder.
Commenting on the special series, Shereen Bhan says, “Over the past
2 decades, there has been a 360 degree change in the attitude of Indian women.
We are seeing more women in leadership positions, and taking on various roles
that were earlier ‘suitable only to men.’ While there has been a definite
change in the dynamics of the corporate world, the issues and concerns faced by
women still remain prominent. ‘What Women Really Want’ is our
way of being perceptive about these issues and finding a resolution. We have
interacted with many corporate super achievers who are women, in our show and
it was quite an insightful experience - both intimidating and inspiring.”
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