Nothing is easy, unless someone has an intent and attitude to do it
Published on : Wednesday 08-03-2023
Neelam Singh, Practice Director at Quadrant Knowledge Solutions.
What does International Women's Day mean to you?
I feel that womanhood is not something that can be celebrated just in a day or for a day. But just like we celebrate our birthdays, anniversaries, or festivals to mark the importance of certain days in our lives, we celebrate Women’s Day to realise how much women mean to the society. It is a day to celebrate our being, our achievements and feel blessed to be a woman.
What are your career aspirations? Did you have an aspiration to follow this field already at an early age? What was the source of inspiration?
In life, I have always been clear about what I do not want to do. I aspire to be the best in what I do.
Though marketing does not come intuitively to an Engineer, I was very passionate about pursuing it. Passionate to an extent that after 15 years of experience, I went on to pursue my Masters in Business Administration from Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. My source of inspiration among women leaders has always been Indra Nooyi.
Compromise – what does it mean to you in your professional life, and in your family life?
It’s an alternate word for prioritising according to me. It’s not just women, but everyone prioritises. If I have a very successful career and I am rising from one pedestal to another, there are people in my life like my husband, kids, parents, parents-in-law who would make compromises (prioritise me over their needs), and I also do the same. For me there is no difference between a professional and personal life, I just play a different role at different points in my life.
Yes, I agree that women have other responsibilities and there is a natural body clock which is very active at the time when the career is equally demanding. But to me it only means that you need to run faster at some points in your life, so that you can prioritise playing a different role at other points in your life.
In everyone’s life there are negotiables and non-negotiables in terms of values. As long as your non-negotiables are kept intact, the rest does not matter.
Are there professions which are easier for women to pursue? What makes the other professions more difficult?
Nothing is easy, unless someone has an intent and attitude to do it. Some professions may be more demanding than others in terms of time and presence, but I think that is a personal choice. Teachers, nurses and social working communities are mostly female dominated, but that is because of the nature of the job that demands passion, perseverance and devotion to social causes, a mindset and not too much based on gender.
How did you experience work from home – as a boon or as a burden?
I think it was very situational and personal. Work from home during Corona was difficult, primarily because we lacked human meeting, personal touch and seeing each other in the eyes. Working from home being a boon or burden is purely dependent on who you are talking to. A new mother, who is trying to balance out everything, would want to work from home more often to take care of the baby, save time on travel and still be equally productive. It’s again about prioritising it right.
Have you ever missed a career opportunity or promotion due to multiple demands on you as a female? If yes, were you able to voice your thoughts to those who mattered?
No, I have been blessed to have peers and managers at work and a supportive family at home to not let me face this. But I have seen men complaining about women moving at the top purely because of diversity reasons. I believe competency and hard work do not have a gender.
In what way is today's workplace better than at the turn of the millennium with respect to gender issues?
Today’s professional environments are accommodating new mothers, longer paid and maternity leave, work from home and flexibility among some things to facilitate and recognise how important women and their role is both at work and at home.There are a lot of trainings and courses organised at the workplace to curb the issues and bring more sensitivity.
Why do we need more women in leadership?
Women are very organised, disciplined, and empathetic. They run organisations/businesses like they would run their own families. In today’s times leaders need to be more humane and emotionally intelligent, than just pure money-making machines.
What progress have you seen on gender equality in your life and work?
We have come way ahead from what I have seen my grandmother, mother and myself and the coming generation facing in terms of gender biases. The situations are no different in professional and personal life. My manager would have faced similar issues at work like my mother or mother-in-law at home. Women at work would have faced even more difficulty in balancing out, because at that time expectations from women was to look after their home as a priority #1 without any support from other members in the family. The face of our society is changing significantly, as we train men to respect women, and train women to respect themselves.
Share a women's empowerment moment that inspired you.
We women are self-empowered, and I am amazed to see how and where we draw our inspirations from amongst our colleagues, friends, family, and acquaintances. Though there are many women around me who inspire me, I would like to call upon my maid who is the sole breadwinner in her family of five people. Her commitment and honesty amaze me. I have seen her going from a waste picker in my society to now being a cook at 5 different homes. She does a lot of philanthropic activities for the people in her village. After she came to Bangalore, she got at least 15 people into jobs in the city. To me that’s very commendable, and a great example of women empowerment.
How would you describe yourself in just three words?
Hardworking. Committed. Honest.
Neelam Singh is Practice Director at Quadrant Knowledge Solutions. Neelam has twenty years of experience mainly in the field of Market Research and Advisory. As Research Analyst she tracked top competitors in the supply chain management segment. Neelam worked for Oracle, ARC Advisory Group and Trianz. She has been a speaker and panelist at various industry forums.
Neelam has a B.E (Electronics) from Nagpur University. She has a certification from American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS) certification in production and inventory management (CPIM). She also holds an MBA from Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB).
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