“Obstacles do not block the path, they rather create it” – Priti Rathi Gupta

Q. As a Woman Leader, how challenging has it been for you to succeed in your chosen field?

Financial services is a male-dominated field, where the incumbent service providers and large majority of the users are men. Amongst the businesses, that I set up and led, Commodity Futures, was a “men-only” and largely unorganised sector. This has been by far my biggest challenge, as going to Agricultural Mandis by a woman was quite an exception.

Professional success can be achieved by passion, hard work, building the right skills, and self-belief. And women need a double dose of all these to succeed professionally. Shattering a glass ceiling is not just a phrase.

Q. How have you been able to convert obstacles in your career path into opportunities?

“Obstacles do not block the path; they create the Path”.

I believe all successful businesses are built on the back of a unique problem that they solve. When you see the world through this lens, then obstacles look like opportunities. Being a woman in this domain gave me the advantage of designing products and services for the underserved category. Lxme, a financial platform for women, was born out of the latent need that a woman could only identify.

As a woman, I have also got the opportunity to represent my organisation on various business boards, councils, and associations. It is now a well-known and accepted fact that women bring diversity in skills and higher Empathy and Ethics Quotient.

Q. Tech industry is dominated by male leaders. How women can excel, assume leadership roles, and make a mark for themselves?

Women in Tech is now a rising phenomenon. To further propel it, these are a few steps that should be taken:

1. Women should mentor and create diversity in the teams they lead.
2. Gender equality in any field is a conversation that must include men too. The fact that women bring along with the required aptitudes, emotional intelligence even in the products that we build is a marked differentiator. Men in leadership positions should strive for gender diversity to enhance quality as well as productivity.
3. Women in this field need to constantly work on two areas, Upskilling and Networking. Finding time for these is a must.

Q. How can we create a culture of inclusiveness and diversity at a workplace?

The following has worked for me while building organisations:

The first step is for organisations to recognise the enormous benefits that inclusivity and diversity bring to the business. Innovation, holistic customer service, and product designing are some outcomes that add to the bottom line of the company.

The cultural ethos of any organisation flows from the top and should percolate right to the bottom rung of the organisation. Leadership and executive teams should be created with diversity in gender, religious, race, and age.

Honouring and acknowledging varied employee needs, cultural and religious practices are effective HR tools that any business can incorporate. Respect and equality are non-negotiable protocols.

Building effective and clear communication channels to make the workplace safe and harmonious have always helped.

Building a multi-generational workforce keeps the organisation agile and evolving, particularly in creating diversity. The young are always more idealistic. For the millennials and the Gen Z, equality is a given norm.

Q. Which is one woman personality you admire the most and why? Your message to the aspiring Women Leaders?

Sheryl Sandberg is on top of the list. A woman in Tech, with an innate sense of empathy, who has created a woman-to-woman peer organisation.

To aspiring women leaders, I would like to say that nothing is perfect, but imperfection is an opportunity. We, as women, have been gifted with unique qualities that make our lives, workplace, and world a better place. Go, use these qualities abundantly.

“It is a well-known and accepted fact that women bring diversity in skills as well as higher Empathy and Ethics Quotient. We, as women, have been gifted with unique qualities that make our lives, workplace, and the world a better place. Go, use these qualities abundantly.”