2019 2

2018 1

Friends,

#Balance for Better is an all-encompassing phrase which can be used anywhere and everywhere. I am

quite excited with ‘Balance for Better’, as the theme for this year’s International Women’s day. Makes you

reflect with a lot of hope. There seems to be a positive spin to this statement.

Balance drives a better working world. For a moment let us stop fighting for our rights and focus on attaining

a balance. A balance in the workforce, a balance in representation at the legislature, a balance in the

judiciary, a balance in the board rooms, a balance in our household chores… So, it is all about balance. It is

no more our struggle – it is the responsibility of all to strike this balance.

Men are CEOs in most of the organizations. Men have a bigger representation in the legislature, judiciary,

board rooms …. So, let us not make men our adversaries. We need them as our allies to create a Balance.

Several surveys across the globe have proven time and again the capability of women professionals. Men

know it and I am sure will want to create a Balance. Let us enlist their support to make this happen. An

institution can only get stronger by tapping into the full potential of men and women.

Women have come a long way. Today there are more women recruits in the IT world than men. If this trend

continues the day will not be far off when we will have to recruit more men to have a ‘Balance for Better’.

Hey, wait a minute, are we looking at work life balance at home? That should also be ‘Balance for Better’

item. If you don’t watch out, our quest for balance will be in vain. Imagine having to be the CEO and then

coming home to start all over again on our daily chores. Let’s make men our ally and give them their fair

share of the daily chores. Don’t let them outwit us, once again.

Let's all help create a #BalanceforBetter.

Nirmala Gopalakrishnan, President-eWIT

2019 2

eWIT Governing Body 2018 – 2019

Office Bearers

Nirmala Gopalakrishnan President Senior Service

Delivery Manager, Skillsoft

Bhanurekha Condur Vice President Associate Vice

President, Sutherland

Niraimathi D General Secretary Executive Director, Zyvana Integrated Services Pvt. Ltd.

Umasree Raghunath Governing Council Member Program Manager-

Project Services IBM India Pvt. Ltd.

G. Bhuvaneswari Jt. Secretary eWIT Administration

Governing Council Members

Radhika Chandrashekar

Governing Council Member

Director- Business Continuity

Management, RR Donnelley - Global Outsourcing, Asia

Operations

Namagiri Ramesh

Governing Council Member Management Consultant

Latha Ramesh Governing Council Member Management Consultant

G. Rajalakshmi Governing Council Member Director & COO, Cenza

Technologies

2018 3

Governing Council Members

V P Rajini Reddy

Governing Council Member Director,

Swarnabhoomi Academic Institutions

Indira Jagan Governing Council Member

Co-Founder – Value Software

Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

Sudha Gopal Governing Council Member Former Managing Director, Systech

Solutions

Dr. Vidya Durai Head – Academic Initiative Director

BNY Mellon Technology

Amudavalli E Governing Council Member Deputy Manager-Projects, Scope

e-Knowledge Centre

Sweta Jayaram Governing Council Member Program Manager,

BNY Mellon Innovation Centre, Chennai

Madhavi Chilla Governing Council Member Senior Technical Architect, HCL Technologies

Gayathri Sivaprakasam,

Governing Council Member

Assistant Manager, Learning and

Development -Integra Software Solutions

Hema Mohandas

Governing Council Member Senior Director,

Human Resources, Virtusa Polaris

Dr. Christina Augustine

Governing Council Member HR Head, Ness Technologies

2019 4

Governing Council Members

Chitra A R Governing Council Member Research Scholar - Dr.

MGR University Chennai

Ruth Aarthy Asha

Governing Council Member Global Head – HR,

GAVS Technologies Pvt Ltd

Advisors / Special Committee

Usha Srinivasan Advisor Director – Ushas

Vijayalakshmi Rao Advisor Mentor/Business

Advisor

Kalyani Narayanan Advisor Principal Officer/CEO

ICM Insurance Brokers

Rama Sivaraman Advisor

Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer

Polaris Consulting Services limited

Sarada Ramani Advisor CEO, CI Global

Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

2018 5

About eWIT

Empowering Women in IT (eWIT) is a voluntary and not-for-profit forum run by a group of senior women

professionals associated with the IT/ITES industry. eWIT was formed in March 2006 with support provided

by Software Technology Park India (STPI), Chennai.

eWIT was formed with the vision: “To be the preferred forum for interchanging of ideas and for

pioneering initiatives so as to unleash the potential of women and drive their growth in the IT/ITES

industry” with specific objectives of:

Expanding the women workforce at all management levels and sustain and flourish

Enabling women to tread the career path by equipping them with necessary skills

Facilitating women’s quest for a better ‘work – life’ balance in IT/ITES Sector

eWIT currently has corporate members both large and small such as HCL, Virtusa-Polaris, Cognizant, RR

Donnelley, Sutherland, BNY Mellon etc, many academic institutions and several individual members. We

work with other not-for-profit organizations like Computer Society of India, SPIN Chennai, TiE, ISACA and

Prajnya for conducting programs that are of specific interest to women in IT.

Over the last thirteen years, towards achieving the above mentioned objectives, we have undertaken the

following:

1 We have been conducting programs and workshops to train women on various topics of relevance

to them, apart from regular networking events that enable women from the industry to interact for

knowledge sharing and exchange of ideas

2 The eWIT Excellence Award competitions, held annually to encourage young talent enjoy wide

participation. Our Anniversary events, usually held in March, are hugely successful and we are

happy to say that today, every company associated with eWIT is perceived to be a woman-friendly

organization.

3 Vaapas, our Return-to-work initiative help women resume their career after a break. We help place

women who have registered in our database.

4 Our Academic Initiative reaches out to women students and faculty. We network with Colleges /

academic institutions across Tamil Nadu. Senior women associated with eWIT conduct interactive

sessions, give lectures on topics of interest, and give motivational talks to encourage them to take

up careers in IT and also explain industry practices.

5 We undertake research studies to understand the expectations women have from companies with

regard to women-friendly policies, support infrastructure etc. We also study what companies have to

offer and try to knowledge-share for the larger benefit of all our member companies.

6 eWIT is being invited by corporates to initiate and provide a thrust to their women empowerment

programs. We not only present industry best practices but also research and make

recommendations on specific women-friendly policy related issues like flexi-time etc. Please check

out our website www.ewit.co.in for more details.

Organisations find that eWIT’s intervention can help in two ways:

To help them understand the best practices in the industry in the area of gender inclusivity and

implement them where relevant.

To interact in a neutral manner with a cross-section of women employees to get an unbiased

feedback on their expectations and identify areas where further improvement could be brought

about in the company’s women oriented policies

You can visit our website www.ewit.co.in to find more detailed information about us.

2019 6

eWIT Annual Membership Details

Category Classification of Members Annual

membership fee (Rs.)

Number of employees eligible to attend all

eWIT events

A Corporations with > 50000 Employees 35,000 10 members

B Corporations with > 20000 and <= 50000 Employees

25,000 10 members

C Corporations with > 1000 and <= 20000 Employees

15,000 6 members

D Corporations with > 500 and < 1000 Employees 7,000 3 members

E Corporations with > 100 and < 500 Employees 5,000 3 members

F Corporations with up to 100 employees 2,500 2 members

G Colleges 2,500

2 members (Lecturers, HOD, or anyone from management other than students)

H Individuals 500

I Life Time Patron Membership For Individuals 5,000

J Sponsor Members

Sponsor an event

Depends on the number of employees, same as Category A - F

eWIT membership would entitle the members to attend all the regular events free of charge.

Some special events may be charged depending on the trainer involved. eWIT corporate

members can nominate more women for these events by paying an extra amount as specified.

Payment can be made either as a crossed A/C payee cheque or a demand draft favoring

‘Empowering Women in IT’ and mailed to:No.6, Kalakshetra Avenue 2nd Street, Thiruvanmiyur,

Chennai 600041, Ph: 044-42120706 indicating the name of the organization and the contact

details in the covering letter.

eWIT Corporate membership makes ALL their women employees eligible to become members

of eWIT automatically without any additional payment. However, only when an individual

registers in eWIT’s website, her membership gets activated.

2018 7

Governing Council – eWIT Trivandrum Chapter

Office Bearers

Tina James President 3E IT Solutions

Radhika Viswanathan Vice President Allianz Technology

Anne Soumya Secretary Adecco

Aditi Radhakrishnan Treasurer Mitara Consulting

Sindhu Varma Media a& PR Consultant Lanista

2019 8

Calendar of eWIT events for the year 2018-2019

eWIT 12th Anniversary - #PressforProgress at Savera Hotel on April 20, 2018

eWIT Celebrated 12th Anniversary with a Call to “#PressforProgress”. eWIT has been serving as a premier

forum for exchange of ideas and pioneering initiatives to harness the potential of women and their growth in

the IT industry. #PressforProgress was chosen as the theme for the event keeping in line with the theme of

International Women’s Day 2018. With over 300 IT professionals both men and women along with eWIT’s

partner organizations, the event was well attended.

With the World Economic Forum’s 2017 Global Gender Gap Report findings telling us that gender parity is

over 200 years away, there has never been a more important time to move from the rhetoric and do a reality

check on what is happening here in India, especially in the IT and technology sector. In the last twelve years

of eWIT’s existence, we have made a strong case for focusing on the share and sustainability of women.

While companies seem committed to making the workplace gender neutral and bringing about gender parity,

the progress made at the ground level just does not seem good enough. Why are women not experiencing

the benefits of inclusivity? Stereotyping, making wrong assumptions about women, unconscious bias- are all

these mind-set issues limiting the potential of women.With this background #PressforProgress the theme for

this year’s eWIT celebration assumed greater significance. Several speakers shared their thoughts and

were unanimous in their view that women must unshackle themselves and #PressforProgress.

Ms. Uma Ratnam Krishnan, Co-CEO Barclays Global Service Centre, India was the Chief Guest of the

event.A lively panel discussion with four speakers of repute, namely, Mr. Amardeep Devadason, Senior

Vice President, Operations at RRD, Mr. Subir Chakravarty, Associate Vice President, Regional Head,

Sutherland Technologies, Ms. Vidhita Kher, Senior Systems Engineer, BNY Mellon Technology Private

Limited, made the audience ponder over issues of women empowerment and the way to #PressforProgress.

The panel discussion was moderated by Ms. Padmini Sharathkumar, Chief Marketing Officer, Intellect

Design. This was followed by a Q & A sessions.

eWIT Excellence Award for the year 2018 was given away under several categories.

A eWIT Souvenir was also released during the event.

Nirmala Gopalakrishnan, President–eWIT and Senior Delivery Manager, Skillsoft delivered the presidential

address. She summed up the various events conducted by eWIT through the year. While speaking on the

event theme ‘#PressforProgress’ she reminded everyone that this theme is relevant not only to our work life

but also to our life outside of work. She reminded women to challenge statements that limit women and

constantly work on barriers that hold up women’s progress.

eWIT Panel Discussion on ‘Empowerment is more than Education’ at STPI Auditorium, on 19thJun 2018

Clearly, for empowerment, just education is not good enough. If it were, why would women who are highly

qualified, working with the latest of technologies, interfacing with global clients and earning reasonably good

salaries want to be ‘empowered’?

Speakers of this session were: Ms. Kirthi Jayakumar- Peace Activist, Artist, Lawyer and Writer, Founder,

Red Elephant Foundation, Ms. Jayashree Suresh- Research scholar, Educationist, Ex-Dean, Faculty of

Management Studies, SRM University, Professor, LIBA, Ms. VinodiniSudhindran- President, Association for

Non-traditional Employment for Women (ANEW), Mr. Sujith Peter- HR Business Leader, Infosys Chennai &

Founder & Managing Trustee - Maatram Foundation

This eclectic mix of speakers from varied back grounds, spoke about their experiences and shared some

thoughts on when empowerment can be successful.

The session was moderated by Ms. Vijayalakshmi Rao - Advisor, eWIT

2018 9

eWIT Session on ‘Top Skills Needed for Digital Transformation’ held at GAVs Technologies on 2nd August 2018

As the technology landscape is fast evolving, Organizations & Professionals ought to be prudent enough to

adapt themselves to the dynamic ecosystem. One has to pick up the latest technologies and undergo

transformation to create a competitive advantage and to stay relevant. Speakers were subject matter

experts in the ‘business’ of driving Digital Transformation for their respective organizations / clients and end

users.Real life case studies on organizations that have gone through this transformation were also covered.

The Speakers were: (1) Mr. Srinivasan Sundararajan, Technology Advisor, GAVS Technologies Pvt Ltd (2)

Mr. Sunil David, Regional Director ( IOT ), AT&T India and (3) Mr. Aravindan Chandrasekaran, Director,

Sutherland Global. Ms. Bhanurekha C, Vice President, eWIT moderated the discussion.

eWIT Quiz Time held at Ascendas Building, Taramani, on 7th September 2018

Everyone enjoys either taking part or watching a Quiz program. Irrespective of age or position, a brain

teaser is a welcome change from the routine for everyone. Challenging the grey matter is the best way one

can unwind or get renewed energy. QUIZ time, a 'fun event’ was organized by eWIT for women and men.

Quiz Masters were: Ms. Latha Ramesh, GC Member, eWIT and Ms. Kalyani Narayanan, Advisor, eWIT.

QUIZ Time was received very well by all the teams and audience. RRD Team won the first prize which was

a cash award of Rs.9,000/-.

eWIT Role Model Series and Book Launch at Sutherland Global on 19th November 2018

Mid-life is a challenging phase particularly for career women when they have to a play a balancing act of

managing several aspects of personal and professional lives. Many of them drop off the radar especially in

their forties. They often need to take a mid life career break, introspect and then resume their career

journey, if at all. The reasons for this phenomenon have been analysed in the book, “The New Plan A”and

some insights drawn from published literature. The key decision points around mid-life for a working woman-

namely - the impact on the immediate family, realigning financial goals, managing finances and planning for

the next step are also covered in depth. The authors’ have based it on their personal experiences.

Dr. K. Rajeshwari, Associate Professor, Great Lakes and Dr. Geetha Ramanathan, AVP, Murugappa Group

spoke about what women can do to re-equip themselves during a midlife break and whatkind of

interventions will be helpful in her getting back to work.

eWIT Workshop on Life Skills at STPI Auditorium on 7th December 2018

Ms. Usha Ramakrishnan, Director, Global Adjustments Foundation spoke on the Life skills. The talk focused

on the importance of Self esteem, Happiness, Optimism and Resilience for anyone particularly women to

have a healthy and balanced life.

eWIT Panel Discussion on ‘Leadership Development in the Digital Age’ at Alumni Club, Anna University, Chennai on 29th January 2019

The millennials are stepping into leadership roles much earlier than their predecessors. The changing

Leadership development trends were addressed by the panel. They spoke on How to design an effective

Leadership program and arrest Leader derailment. The panel consisted of Ms. Meenalochani Kumar, Senior

Principal – Executive Leadership Programs and Talent Development, Sutherland Global Ms. Archana

Ramanakumar, Vice President & Head of Global Delivery– Life Sciences, Cognizant Technology Solutions

and Ms. Sowmya Ramanathan, Independent HR Consultant.

The session was moderated by Ms. Nirmala Gopalakrishnan – President, eWIT

2019 10

eWIT Governing Body members spoke in different events

A talk on Work Life Balance at WSquare was delivered

by BhanurekhaCondur, Vice President eWIT in May ‘18

Orientation programs on Prevention of Sexual

Harassment and Women Safety were conducted

for students of MIT, Chromepet by eWIT GC

members over ten days in Sep ’18. Dr. Vidya,

eWIT GC Member conducting a session.

Nirmala Gopalakrishnan, President, eWIT spoke on PMI

conference on Reskilling Workforce & Inspiring

Millennials: Cornerstone of Success in November ’18.

Latha Ramesh, eWIT GC Member delivered a talk

on Virtual Learning Environment for Research

Scholars of Lloyola College, Chennai in Mar ’19.

Bhanurekha Condur, VP eWIT spoke on

#BalanceforBetter and kicked off the Women’s day

Celebrations at GAVS Technologies in Mar’19

2018 11

Vijayalakshmi Rao participated in a Panel Discussion on

#Balance for Better on 8th March 2019 at BNY Mellon,

held as part of their International Women’s Day

celebration. Spoke specifically on Influencing Behavior-

how women can influence behaviors of other women,

peers, management and men, towards women, in order

to mobilize more and better opportunities for

themselves and for other women.

Ms. Umasree Raghunath, eWIT Treasurer receiving

Women Achievers award .

Ms. Umasree Raghunath, eWIT Treasurer was

invited as the 'Guest of Honour' to inaugurate

the State Level Tech Symposium "Cyborgzz'

at Alpha Arts and Science College, Porur

Chennai on 2 Mar 2019.

Sarada Ramani Past President and Advisor eWIT

was awarded Innerwheel excellence award and

recognized as an Outstanding Entrepreneur of Inner

Wheel District 323 by Association of Innerwheel

clubs in India. The award was presented to her

Smitha Pingale President association of Innerwheel

Clubs of India on 23rd September at Vijayawada

eWIT GC Member Ms. Jamuna Swamy

addressed SRM students on Information

Security on 1st March 2019

2019 12

Sarada Ramani as part of Innerwheel club of Chennai

Thiruvanmiyur along with eWIT has been conducting

"Rubella awareness campaign" in various IT

Companies which enables women to prevent their

children to be born without birth defects

eWIT GC Member Ms. Ruth Aarthy Asha was

one of the panelists in a conference jointly

held by NHRD and Madras School of Social

Work on Man vs Technology on 22nd Jan’19

on the topic HR Impact on Family and Society

Kalyani Narayanan and Vijayalakshmi Rao moderated

a Panel Discussion on Partnering for Progress on

19th March 2019 at LatentView Analytics. The

discussion centered around seeking and providing

various kinds of support for work life balance and

career related issues.

2018 13

Events by eWIT Trivandrum Chapter for the year 2018-2019

My Baby is Healthy – Parenting Session

Tailored for young parents, the session helps address

the common concerns around the healthy growth cycle

of babies, dietary plan and immunization schedules

parents need to be aware of. The Q&A time with the

pediatrician is highly informative as it revolves around

live examples and case studies which young first time

parents bring up for discussion.

One day training on Professional Etiquette

eWIT has piloted a one day intense workshop on

Professional Etiquette for employees in IT industry, which

was attended by 30 participants from various companies

across the campus. The program focuses on corporate

etiquette, cross-cultural etiquette and equips participants

with simulative sessions on dining etiquette. With the

overwhelming response to the training, eWIT is geared

up to conduct regular sessions on this topic - customised

modules for companies as well as open sessions for all -

in the coming months.

Come Back to Career – C2C Meet

eWIT associated with Prayaana in their initiative to

bring women professionals on a career break, back to

work. Come Back to Career – C2C Meet 2018 on 27th

June 2018 in B-Hub in Trivandrum has seen more

than 100+ professionals on career break participating

in the workshop networking with the Corporates and

Stakeholders, to explore options to re-boot their

career. This is a critical intervention program that can

support women professionals who had to opt for a

sabbatical from work due to some life event.

Partnership with ICTAK

eWIT has entered into a community partnership

agreement with ICT Academy of Kerala recently for

collaboration in the areas of IT/ITES, life skills and

related fields. eWIT aspires to support women

professionals from the our network who are seeking to

re-enter the workforce or to upgrade technical skills for

career advancements by associating in ICTAK's

training programs. ICTAK currently imparts Information

and Communication Technology skills to the youths of

Kerala and strives to improve their employability

opportunities in the Industry.

2019 14

Interactive session on Breastfeeding

Interactive session on the benefits of Breastfeeding,

held today at CCHub the child care initiative by eWIT

Trivandrum. Expert panel included Dr. Abhiram

Chandra (SUT hospital), Dr. Radhika & Dr. Uma (SAT

hospital), Dr. Anju Deepak (PRS hospital). Session

saw active participation by new and expecting working

mothers for tips on breastfeeding methods and best

practices

Business Analytics Workshop

eWIT together with Trinity Skill Works and

GTech conducted a workshop on Business

Analytics at Technopark on September 26th,

2018. The sessions were conducted by Arjun

Nair—Director Learning experience Great

Learning and Vinod Venkatraman—Director-

Technology, Great Learning. The session gave

an excellent insight to women in IT who want to

explore Business Analytics career path and

women who are on a break and looking to

come back to an amazing career. The session

was attended by more than 230 participants.

Sheroes Summit

eWIT members were part of the 6th edition of Sheroes

Summit held in Thiruvananthapuram at the UST

Campus This year the theme was building

communities.

2018 15

Future Ready—Community program

eWIT launched an initiative in keeping with its

commitment to give back to the Community which is

intrinsic in its target for 2018. This program titled

"Future Ready" was a 32 hours bridge program for

the children of the Support Staff of Technopark. The

program also envisioned mentoring and providing

support to participants to approach companies in

Technopark for employment.

In this initiative, eWIT was joined by Faith InfoTech

India Pvt Ltd whose Director and CEO, Mr. Saji

Joseph inaugurated the event on Oct 22nd, 2018

together with Tina James, President, eWIT

Trivandrum Chapter at Cochin Hall, Park Centre.

Future Ready—Felicitation

The Future Ready Convocation event marked the successful completion of the 32 hour bridge program.

Mr. Hrishikesh Nair, CEO of Technopark, Trivandrum presided over the event, and awarded certificates

to the program graduates.

The Future Ready initiative intended as a "thank you" gesture to the unfailing support of the Technopark

support staff, was done in collaboration with Faith Infotech Academy Technopark Expert professionals

and trainers from various companies in Technopark took part in this initiative by volunteering their time,

providing training and mentoring support to the students in the pilot batch.

Self-defense session

eWIT in association with Kerala State Sports

council organized a self-defense karate

session for the women work force of

Technopark. Kyoshi VV. Vinod Kumar, who is a

7th degree black belt holder and his team,

came to conduct the session.

2019 16

Women’s day celebration 2019

eWIT Trivandrum had a series of events organized for this women’s day. We had a women focused blood

donation camp, a wellness camp for women, WOW carnival, which was an exhibition-cum-sale by women

entrepreneurs from different fields. There were variety items like handmade jewelleries, bottle arts,

handmade indoor decors, clothing, designer wears and cake and food stalls.eWIT conducted an onstage

presentation on this year’s UN topic: Think equal, build smart and innovate for change. 13 teams from

different organizations participated in the contest. There were award nominations for Man of the year,

Woman of the year and Woman Entrepreneur of the year categories.

The final day had a grant event—key note address by Dr. Shashi Tharoor, symposium on Women’s day

theme by eminent panelist, followed by award ceremony. The panelists for the symposium were

SujaChandy, Managing Director, Nissan Digital India, Latha Nair – Delivery Centre Head, IBS India, Monica

Gandhi – Chief Financial Officer, Allianz Technology, India, Marco Valsecchi - Country Manager and

Managing Director, Adecco India, Arun P Varma – Director, RRD, Technopark, Tina James, President

eWIT Trivandrum. The moderator of the symposium was Amar RajanDirector and CEO Mind Carter,

Psychologist.

After the symposium awards for the titles and the onstage presentations were given off. Women achievers

from various filed were also recognized and honored. The indoor events were followed by a band war

where 6 bands from within Technopark competed with each other for the title of band of Technopark.

2018 17

A TRIBUTE TO ALL WOMEN IN IT

2018 18

2018 19

2018 20

eWIT Excellence Award 2019 – Paper Contest

eWIT conducted “eWIT’s Excellence Award - 2019”, a Paper Presentation Contest, to unleash the

potential of IT/ITES woman professionals, to showcase their talent and expertise in their respective areas.

Candidates from various organizations had registered to take part in the contest and sent in their papers

from which the eminent panelists had evaluated the papers and short listed top 5/6 papers each in topic for

oral presentation.

The topics for this year contest are:

1. Are you future ready?

2. Measurable Outcome

The oral presentation for both the topics was held on 16th March 2019 at one of the eWIT’s corporate

member’s office, RR Donnelley. The event had a healthy and tough competition amongst the 5/6 short listed

candidates each topic and the event was teeming with ideas and conversation. The panelists gave

suggestions and ideas to candidates for improvising their presentation.

The following candidates emerged as winners taking away the first and second place respectively.

Quality

Winner Ms. Sharaniya Premkumar, Thoughtworks Technologies, Chennai

Runner-up Ms. Madhumitha Prabakar, Thoughtworks Technologies, Chennai

Technology

Winner Ms. Aarthi Parthasarathy, RR Donnelley, Chennai

Runner-up Ms. Anita Geofrey, Thoughtworks Technologies, Chennai

Special Mention Ms. Richa Mittal, Verizon Data Services, Hyderabad

The winners in each category will be rewarded with a cash prize of Rs.10000 and Rs.5000 for the first and

second place respectively.

eWIT extends cordial appreciation for the support given by all the members, and participants in making this

event a grand success. Especially, eWIT also thanks RR Donnelley for hosting the event and hospitality

extended by their team at their premise.

Our sincere thanks to the following panelists and judges for the support and guidance to us to make this

event a great success. We look forward to your continued support for our future events.

Are your future ready?

1 Ms. Suman Gopalan Chief Human Resources Office , Fresh Works

2 Ms. Amudha Jayaprakash Vice President and Testing Head, Intellect Design Arena Limited

3 Ms. Ruth Aarthy Asha Global Head - Talent Management

Measurable Outcome

1 Mr. Ramesh Krishnamurthy CTO, Indium Software

2 Mr. Chandrakumar Raman VP & Head of Corporate Quality – CSS Corp

3 Mr. Kumaran M Sundaram Manager - Project Management Services, IBM

2018 21

Articles of Winners (Excellence Award 2019)

Measurable Outcome

"Aarthi from RRD Chennai presented a paper on “Measurable Outcome” about a framework to operationalize “Robotics

Process Automation” (RPA) projects. This fundamental yet comprehensive hand-held tool/blueprint was created with the intent

to capture the end to end lessons learned during the operationalization of capabilities in house, capitalize the role of a PM to the

fullest potential and to exhibit higher success rate with fewer pitfalls on project outcome. The framework approach, even though

was created to materialize RPA projects, several aspects undeniably apply to any new and/or project expansions across

verticals, market segments, line of businesses and emerging areas of new capabilities. The very rudimentary principles of the

framework will help any evolving organization transform from its existing stable state of operations which is focused, normalized

or planned to an optimum/capable state of being organized, improvised and visually productive from the perspective of

operational/business/delivery center of excellence in its entirety. In a unique discovery phase one will be able to put to test and

realize that the components of this framework are malleable to upgrades and customization to many an opportunity in the

outsourcing industry, that is growing globally and that which is community based. The paper presented was an all-inclusive

representation of the various components of the framework and encompasses an overview and insight in understanding an

organization’s operating view, business outcome indicators, mission road-map, estimation of timelines, ideal team structure,

operationalization methodology, risk management, impact assessment process and standard documentation procedures that

outlines the purpose, instructions to use Lean and Six Sigma tools in a consistent manner. The framework is competent to

make the operationalization process explicit and governing to the insiders so that they are able to subscribe to the idea and

have a distinct outline right from the start of the project until the end."

Aarthi Parthasarathy Winner – eWIT Excellence Award 2019

Are You Future Ready?

This paper provides an insight of how an individual can be future ready in the fast moving industry. The process of testing an

application end-to-end manually is the most tedious job of any Quality Assurance Engineer. Manual testing skills had been the

only core quality which was seeked as the main criteria to hire an individual for Quality Analyst job. As the world started moving

at a fast pace, the era of Automation began to rule. At one end, it eases the job of a tester by replacing the repetitive manual

work, but on the other end, is Automation replacing her and posing a threat to her job? In order to overcome this fear, we need

to do Proactive Upskilling, analysing the seismic shifts in technology, domain specialisation and contributing to open source.

Future-proofing one’s career is not complete without upgrading human skills such as problem solving, dealing with ambiguity,

critical thinking and having a long term vision. From attending conferences, workshops, tech talks to presenting in them lies the

evolution of one’s career growth. In order to be Future Ready, One needs to have a long term vision - What do I want to be

after 5 years or 10 years from now? What is my ambition in life? Does my vision align to my goal I want to achieve in life? How

do I achieve them? What are the steps that I can take in the next few months which will have an impact on my future journey?

These are some of the questions everyone needs to ponder on and find answers for themselves. Once we have a clear vision,

we will automatically find ways to achieve them and make ourselves ready for anything. Smartphones, smart homes, smart

cities means smart skills, smart jobs, and smart industries. There is an ocean of opportunities before us, it all depends on our

potential to select the right one and measure our readiness factor for taking it up. If you have that confidence then - Automation

can replace jobs - But Definitely NOT YOU.

Sharaniya Premkumar Winner – eWIT Excellence Award 2019

2018 22

Interview

Interview with Ms Vijayalakshmi Rao (Viji) Mentor, Business Advisor, ex-COO, Scope e-Knowledge

Center.Viji is deeply committed to the cause of women’s education, empowerment and entrepreneurship.

She is an Advisor & Co-founder of Empowering Women in IT (eWIT). She is also an Advisor to ‘Association

for Non-Traditional Employment for Women’ (ANEW), an NGO that trains and finds placement for under-

privileged girls.She is associated as a Mentor for entrepreneurs with several forums including ISB

Hyderabad and IIT Madras.She also mentors mid-level executives to take up leadership positions.

<-Latha Ramesh interviews Vijayalakshmi Rao ->

Here are her responses to Latha Ramesh’s questions.

What does #BalanceforBetter mean to you? How do you see better balance, bettering the working

world?

Viji: #BalanceforBetter is an overarching theme not just specific to women.When we say a balanced world is

a better world, we are addressing societal and organizational issues. There are enough research studies on

women empowerment and gender parity to show that having a balanced world is a social and economic

imperative; so if there is a balance in the environment and in everything that we do, we are better off.

Even at a personal level, ‘Balance for Better’ is such a wonderful mantra. For instance, if I am able to strike

the right balance between my own aspirations and the expectations that I and my loved ones have of myself,

it would help me lead a better and more fulfilling life!

Opportunities for women seem to have increased manifold over the last decade, but not the

outcome. There seems to be a gap between the two. Can you comment on this?

Viji:I agree that while a lot of work has been done with respect to improving opportunities for women, the

outcomes in terms of career sustainability, have not been commensurate. Women continue to pull back or

drop out at mid-career levels. Women need to be focused and as I said earlier, balance aspirations and

expectations better and strive for leadership positions. Even if a steady climb up the corporate ladder is

difficult there are so many opportunities that the gig economy and the social sector have to offer. There is so

much, we women can do if we are serious about making an impact. I have my hands full even after getting

out of an active corporate life!

What more can organisations do to reduce the gender gap?

Viji: Truly, we have come a long way, from what it was thirteen years ago when eWIT began its journey.

This is substantiated by research; the percentage of women in IT/ITES has increased. Organisations in IT

and ITES industry have done really well, be it infrastructure or policies or implementing what was mandatory

like maternity, POSH etc. Even if we go by the kind of questions that come up during our anniversary or

some of our other events, we know that organisations are listening. That’s a great environment for women to

be in. It is a great time for women to stand up and speak up not just for themselves.Earlier, if she said, “This

is the problem I face”, now she needs to move to the next level and speak up for others; say something like,

‘this is the problem my women colleagues face or even some men face’. That will take us to the whole issue

of #BalanceforBetter.

Organisations, on their part need to look at a more rigourous implementation of gender inclusivity initiatives;

there are still many roadblocks.They need togo granular, measure outcomes and address issues like

stereotyping, unconscious bias etc.

2018 23

Large corporations invariably have more women and as a result have to necessarily implement

woman-friendly policies. What about SMEs and Start-ups? How can we ensure that they take more

women?

Viji: Most often, the statistics published about gender,covers large corporations and there is very little data

about the percentage of women in smaller organisations. I am inclined to believe that they are quite low.

SMEs and Start-ups face multiple business problems and including women in their teams with mandatory

POSH and maternity policies,is seen as another challenge. They claim that they donothave

adequatebandwidth. These organisations are totally missing out on the benefits, women could bring in

perhaps, without even realizing it.As it happened in IT, shortage of good quality, talented resources will lead

them to recruiting women.

But when it comes to women entrepreneurs,it is not the same. The percentage of women entrepreneursis

growing quite exponentially, not onlyglobally but also in India. Women are also breaking a lot more barriers,

getting into areas which are quite male dominated, doing very innovativestuff,and are also getting

funded.They are recruiting more women and also socially, giving back a lot more than their male

counterparts.That is one big driver of change.If the SMEs and the other entrepreneurs actually see these

kinds of changes being driven by women entrepreneurs, they too would get motivated.

Ultimately, start-ups and smaller companies must realise that adding women can bring in diversity in

thinking; their creative, analytical skills and multitasking abilities being big strengths to organisations. Once

that realisation comes, these companies will start driving the change.

How are the experiences of women entrepreneurs brought to light? Are they publicized?

Viji: Most of these things don’t come out, in research or in forums.They are anecdotal. But eventually, these

changes will be captured. It may take a little longer but already articles and books are being written about

successful women entrepreneurs. .

There are a number of forums for women entrepreneurs which did not existfive years ago.Now there is a

proliferation, many of them discuss relevant topics, showcase their successes and are vocal about the eco-

system women entrepreneurs need for survival and growth.

To reduce the gender gap, what do you suggest an individual do?Any advice to women?

Viji: Women need to help themselves. If the organization is giving them mentorship, go for that program. If

the organization has Role Models within their organisation or outside, go speak to them or listen to them.

Women need to take a lot more initiative. The other important thing is,women cannot work at sub-optimal

levels; they need to prove that they are worth what organisations are taking them for. That rests squarely on

their shoulders. It is critical. Research has shown that women can drive innovation, are more quality

conscious and more bottom-line focused. Let’s flaunt it!.

With respect to Senior Women leaders, they need to act as mentors and role models.Every woman leader

should take 2 or 3 women under her wing, mentor to bring them to where she is today, building more role

models. I am not sure if women leaders do that consciously today.

Apart from this, women leaders should make their presence felt in board rooms. If a senior woman leader

can influence strategic decision making, leave her indelible imprint and make a difference, nothing like it! I

am sure more women would do that in the coming years.

Latha Ramesh is a GC Member of eWIT and functions as an Independent Consultant

2018 24

A Summary of the Top Global Technology Trends for 2019

Artificial Intelligence

What? Use of intelligent computer systems to learn, demonstrate, explain, and advice its users - visual perception,

speech recognition, decision-making, and translation between languages.

Benefits Automates repetitive learning, discovery through data, adapts through progressive learning algorithms, and

reduces risk to human health and safety in dangerous activities.

Challenges Learns only from data and any inaccuracies will reflect in the results. Programmed as a specialized system

to perform only a specific task, hence not multi-disciplinary. Data privacy, security, dependency on interpretation of numbers and their relationship questionable.

Social Implications Home delivery of food, apparel, consumer goods, cab services, and entertainment options through

drones and chatbots, transportation industry with self-driving vehicles, in criminal tracking, using face recognition software, and in personalizing advertising.

Blockchain

What? An incorruptible digital ledger of transactions, managed by a network of computers, eliminating any modification.

In trade and finance redefines value chain interactions, reducing operational complexity and lowering transaction costs.

Benefits Greater transparency, enhanced security, improved traceability, increased efficiency, collaboration,

automation, and speed of transactions, and reduced costs, risks, and delays for all stakeholders.

Challenges Trouble supporting more users on the network. Associated with criminal connections of the black market

and dark web. Concerns on privacy, security, high energy consumed per transaction, and heavy dependence on technology.

Social Implications Blockchain is independent of government authorities or private institutions, with no central server,

administrator, national boundary, or owner. It’s the future of democracy, money, legislation, personal information, health, security, insurance, and anti-corruption.

Connected Products

What? Smart assets with processors, sensors, software and connectivity allowing data exchange between a product

and its environment, manufacturer, operator/user, other products / systems.

Benefits Provide faster, effective product updates and development, cheaper, efficient, maintenance and repair, better

business models, improved product usage, better product recall, and reduced environmental impact.

Challenges Setup and connectivity, positioning, installation, standardization, and security.

Social Implications Improve lifestyle, optimize the use of assets and natural resources; reduce energy usage,

emissions, and congestion.

Human Augmentation

What? Use of technology to aid and replace human capability, joining man and machine as one. It encompasses all

body enhancements- prosthetics, inserting electronics into people’s bodies, or taking pills to live longer.

Benefits Using technology to make products bigger, better, stronger, and faster. Artificial devices in the body and mind-

Sensors for hearing, seeing, sensing the Internet, Actuators for replacing limbs, heart, gland, “immuno-cells”, and other implants for memory and CPU. Aids enhanced memory, communication, senses, multi-dimensional thinking, extending the body, in-built machine thinking, outsourcing memory, enhanced math + speed of thinking + problem solving.

Challenges Augmented parts throw up ethical, ownership, security, and governance issues of the devices and implants.

Social Implications Amplifies our senses, improves our power and strengths, works as an extension of our brain to

increase connectivity and knowledge, track our fitness, and life expectancy. Used in civilian and military for effectiveness and in environments previously inaccessible.

Revathi Murali, Manager, Delivery Excellence, Cognizant Technology Solutions

2018 25

The Entrepreneurial Mind Set

Entrepreneurial aspiration runs high in the Indian workforce. As per the Randstand Work monitor survey,

around 83 % of Indian workforce would like to be entrepreneurs. This is much higher than the global

average of 53 %. The younger workforce (age group of 25 to 34) are more willing to take risks and 72% of

them want to run their own businesses.

Aspiring entrepreneurs are finding the ecosystem (industry and government) very conducive for start-ups

and they are willing to leave the safety net of corporate jobs to start on their own.

So, if you have big dreams of becoming an entrepreneur, now is the best time to venture out. But before you

decide to hand in your resignation to chase your entrepreneurial dreams, it is important to prepare for the

challenges ahead.

Developing the entrepreneurial mind set and getting the right skills will speed up the transition from a

corporate job to running your own business successfully.

Look at opportunities in your current role to develop your entrepreneurial skills while you are still in

the safe framework of a regular job and steady income.

Many forward thinking organizations like ITC, Infosys and Microsoft sponsor internal Intrapreneurship programs to help employees innovate and experiment at being entrepreneurs. If you can be part of such internal programs, your ability to think like an entrepreneur and learn on the job goes up exponentially.

If you are in a Marketing or a Sales role, identify the market trends and analyse your competitors.

Identify niche areas which your start-up can target.

On your job, learn how to do effective customer pitch, listen to the customers, experiment with

company branding, market competition etc. All these have considerable value when you are

marketing your own business and trying to win your first set of customers.

In your current job, if you are involved in pre-sales and project proposals, understand how you can

price your product/service while maintaining profitability of your business. How should your business

model generate revenue to sustain and grow?

If you are in project delivery roles, understand the challenge of maximizing limited resources in a

cost effective way to meet the demand of multiple clients.This is a critical aspect for start-ups in the

first year of their business when employees are limited and they need to scale up the customer

base.

If you are in HR or recruitment in your current organization, understand the challenges of finding the

right skills for the job and, what levers will you use to motivate and retain people. As an

entrepreneur, retention of people becomes critical as you cannot afford to pay heavy salaries.

In addition to these learnings, look for opportunities to find people with strong technical or business

skills; they may prove to be excellent business partners in your future business.

Understand your organization growth strategy and the visionaries who built it. You may get lucky

and find a mentor who can guide you in your entrepreneurial journey.

At all times think beyond the boundaries of the job; think Big and you can gain the entrepreneurial

experience and mindset even before you start your business.

JaishreeKasturi, Independent IT Consultant, MV Tech & Consulting Pvt Ltd

2018 26

The WIT of a Woman.

Women in IT, or its quirky abbreviation WIT, is what I believe that forges women ahead in all walks of life.

What is life without humor-- an open invitation to expose our imperfect life with all its follies and still have a

good laugh at it. Humor at work is a sure fire way to get you noticed, but the quality and timing of humor

might vary the results.

The work force is evolving in being more accommodative of women. I see women in the top management

and achievers’ lists. Of course I commend the sacrifices that she has made and the support of her beautiful

family; but aren’t we overrating the sacrifice part? What is happening behind the scene is a dysfunctional

family that thrives on celebrating life in all its glorious imperfections. A sense of owning the non-so-perfect

life and still showing it off as a medal is what makes women with good attitude a joy to work with.

Agreed that when it comes from a woman, who seems to have it all to write about “How great all the women

are”, it is highly biased. But a growing trend of humor is seen among women which creates a positive

environment at work.Strong work ethics and a good sense of humor is a fail proof recipe for success. It

helps to align confidence, competence and team spirit. It forms the basis for a healthy relationship when a

conversation is laced with edgy humor and exaggeration, a sure way to get the point across without hurting

the mighty ego. The big challenge is when to crack a joke and when to keep your mouth tightly shut. Too

much humor, like too much salad, often annoys the others.

People tend to carry their emotional baggage giving rise to being critical and defensive of what was said and

how it was said. Witty women are considered to be warm and approachable and are more likely to get the

work done at a much faster pace than the serious workaholics. The many yogis in India have emphasized

much that “Life is unpredictable, let us not complicate it further”, and with the fear of being ostracized, I

would refrain from venturing further into life coaching. The point is, however, to keep life simple and funny.

The rule is pretty simple. If people like being around you, people will work whole heartedly for you. Your

growth comes with its many laughs and silly jokes, that might brighten up another’s day.

Hear up women! Humor is the spice of life, it keeps the endorphins flowing and menopause at bay. The

silver shining through the heavily dyed hair of your women colleagues has enough graciousness to read

between lines, look through your follies, and yet ignore the bad vibes. Let’s celebrate each other and let’s

celebrate life. After all a woman with a quirky wit will find her way through.

Nithya Kamakshi, Content Writer, Integra Software Services Pvt. Ltd.

2018 27

Developing Women Leaders: A Coach’s Perspective

As an executive and a leadership coach, I have worked with senior leadership teams from a multitude of

organisations across verticals. The percentage of women in these organisations is likely to be less than 20,

a reflection of how few women make it as senior leaders in corporate India.

But this situation is slowly beginning to change. Organisations are beginning to wake up to the potential of

women managers and to what they bring to the table. They are also recognising women leaders’ unique

developmental needs and are investing resources in honing their leadership quotient through initiatives like

coaching and mentoring.

In this context, I have shared below some of my observations and experiences of working with women

leaders and my learnings from the same.

When it comes to women leaders,the brief given by an organisation to its coaches is to help the leaders

work through issues such as developing assertiveness and influencing skills, improving the ability to manage

conflicts andto handle challenging assignments, demonstrating a desire to take on higher responsibilities

and suchlike. Organisations invariably describe their women coaching candidates as “hardworking, reliable,

trustworthy and dependable,”which are great qualities in a manager, but these qualities need to be layered

by leadership competencies to take the managers to the next level.

While coaching these candidates, certain common patterns emerge despite the differences in their industry

or role. These are as follows:1) Women leaders struggle to be assertive and to communicate effectively

during high impact, critical conversations as they believe that it is important to be “liked” than to be seen as a

professional;2) conflict management is a challenge that they would rather avoid than take it head on; 3)

women leaders have a deep sense of guilt, at having to leave their children and family members behind

while at work, which conflicts with their ambition to grow and 4) they do not think that they need to build their

network and personal brand as that is seen as opportunistic.

These self-limiting beliefs are deeply rooted in our early childhood experiences and upbringing and are often

reinforced by the prevailing societal milieu. It is important to recognise these beliefs as just that—self-

limiting! Once made aware, most of the women coaches are able to work through them in a structured and

an effective manner with clear actionable plans that help them to slowly overcome their mind blocks. The

sense of empowerment and fulfilment that follows is a huge reward that directly impacts both organizational

productivity and their own self-worth.

While there is no denying that workplace parity for women has a long way to go, the role that can be played

by women themselves is to make sure that they become more self-aware about their reasons on what is

holding them back, take an honest assessment of their blind spots and recognise that the ball lies in their

court.

Leadership is a professional skill that can be developed like any other skill. Women who are seeking

executive leadership positions should strongly consider participating in programs that would help them to

improve their skills and bring their leadership to the next level by addressing some of these issues and

creating a clear and compelling professional roadmap for future success.

SarojaKannan, Certified Executive and Leadership Coach, saroja@Leadershipcoachindia.com

2018 28

Shrink Your Snakes

I was coaching one of my clients who is a senior recruiter in a manufacturing company. She was sharing

with me that one of the main challenges to all her problems was she was averse to risk and loathed to take

any action. So, she felt unmotivated and nervous about any escalation that happened in her office. Did she

feel competent enough? “Yes!” she affirmed, but she did not feel she could cope with the problems that

might arise. Going to meet her higher-ups made her feel blank, and she invariably felt tightness in her

stomach.

After a couple of sessions, where she chose to work on herself vis-à-vis authority, she implemented what

she had learnt by being prompt and learning to say “No” when needed.

During the fourth session, she wanted to work on her fear of managers. And this is how we went about to

address the core of her problem. I asked her to imagine a snake in the room and to state her reaction in that

situation. She said that she would scream and run or hang on to the fan. At the mention of a snake, what

came to her mind was a 5 feet long, heavy, pockmarked, venomous, brown snake lying on one side of the

table in the meeting room.

I asked her to imagine that she could shrink the snake. After a few seconds, she said that she had shrunk it

to a feet long, thin, black snake that was lying on the corner of the room. When I asked her what would be

her response now, she responded that she would call the gardener and have it removed. The silence of

realization hit us.

How often do we create big snakes in our minds that render us powerless and incapable of any action and

deplete our ability to cope? Yet, time and time again, we have, in reality, coped with harsher and tougher

situations, sudden crisis, unexpected ambiguities, and unknown people.

My invitation is to think on how it would be if I could shrink my snake into a manageable perspective and

how it feels when I think “You are what you are between two crises in your life.”

Shyleswari Mohan Rao, Director, Ved Vyas Inner Space

2018 29

Super Woman

The Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines a Superwoman as follows: an exceptional woman especially: a

woman who succeeds in having a career and raising a family. If that is the definition, I graduated to

becoming one, six years ago.

I start my day at the crack of dawn, rush into the kitchen with half-closed eyes and after an hour of cutting,

chopping and throwing things into pans, I rush back to the bed-room to wake my 6- year old. This is followed

by an hour of tears and hugs and what-not till I get him ready for school. I go along with my husband to drop

him at school (I think it is my way of getting rid of some of the guilt of not going to be able to see him like till

7.30 PM). I come back home and go through another rushed ritual of cooking what I left half-cooked in the

pans, scrubbing my kitchen (but leaving the sink full for the maid) and finally getting ready for office.

I am more organized in the office (credits to not having a 6-year old disrupting my plans) but the office also

comes with its own woes. By EOD (End of Day in business terminology)—I am no longer a superwoman—I

am just another human being, yearning for the comfort of my bed. But that comfort still has to wait until

homework and dinner are done. And just when I think all is done, my six year old jumps on the bed—full of

energy, seeking some quality time with me. The guilt in me forces me to keep my eyes open and entertain

him until he is sleepy.

In all this madness from dawn to dusk, when did I become a superwoman? Succeeding in one’s career and

raising a family, is that all it takes to become a superwoman? Then, what happens to the women who just

raise families or those who choose to focus only on their careers?

The order of priority does not matter—career or family. There will be days when the green peas aren’t

cooked enough or when a presentation you made with all your heart is not received the way you wanted it to

be received. It is not the output that always matters—it is also the effort. The love that you share, the

confidence you exuberate, the relationships that you build, the knowledge you bring to the table or even that

smile you shared with a stranger on your way to the market or office is what makes you a superwoman.

Your kids won’t need you 24/7 nor will your office. What matters is—to be an exceptional woman—that part

of the definition in the dictionary we all forget about. Be true to yourself. Do the things that will make you

happy. Because a happy you will ultimately result in a happy home and a happy office.

Tintu Clare Thomas,

Senior Manager, Integra Software Services Pvt. Ltd.

2018 30

Four Key Steps to Handle Harassment at a Diverse Workplace

You are so fat; you should actually skip your lunch. Just kidding!

Office Gossips – ‘Look at the way she dresses to work, so much make-up and high heels!’

She is going on maternity leave. Let her come back and we will think about her promotion.

Rahman complained to his boss, ‘Anitha keeps pulling my hair or keeps touching me. I don’t want to

sit next to her!’

Seemingly harmless day-to-day remarks said in jest can actually be a way of belittling a colleague.

Below are four key steps that the HR team/leaders of an organisation can do to ensure that harassment is prevented:

1. Ensure appropriate policies are in place and sensitise employees – Having a zero-tolerance policy for workplace harassment and discrimination is a good start. Employees also need to be sensitised to what defines harassment, bullying and discrimination so that they are able to recognise that when it happens.

a. Periodically, do a random check of whether employees know what harassment is and where to report the incidents.

b. A very effective tip is to keep the reporting email id very simple and easy to recall. For example, greivances@companyname or harassment@companyname.

c. Share case studies and stories of lessons learnt from bad behaviour so that such instances are not repeated.

2. Empower managers to own the policies – Many managers complain that they don’t know how to handle harassing behaviour. Thus, training the managers on the policies, not just on the dos and don’ts but on how to handle harassment when they observe a situation, where they can reach out to, what they can do,isan effective tactic to handle harassment. They are the single point of contact (SPOC) for a lot of employees and can closely monitor the team’s behaviour. If trained and empowered well, managers can play a great role in preventing harassment.

3. Recognize, reward and encourage positive behaviour –Rewarding them with appreciation, especially by leaders for being committed to the company’s values, should become a part of the talent process. For example, employees can vote for

a. The most inclusive/unbiased manager in the organization and

b. The colleague who went out of their way to help another employee.

These stories spread easily and go a long way in enhancing the culture of an organisation.

4. Set the right tone for a positive company culture–Many employees fear that they will be shamed or victimised or have career-related repercussions if they report workplace harassment. But if the company’s culture is positive and open, then employees will not hesitate to come forward. For example,

a. Make it possible for the employees to report harassment through different channels (in person/email/drop box).

b. Leaders should walk the talk so that the culture flows from the top down.

Even before the above steps are implemented, the HR has the onus of ensuring that the leadership team is sensitised to this issue, its implications and the challenges it poses if harassment is allowed to foster.

Vijihari (Viji@kelpHR.com) is the CEO and Co-Founder of KelpHR

2018 31

Women in the professional world

A woman’s role in today’s professional world is vital and inevitable.

Major revolutions in technology, the generation gap, and a faster lifestyle including instantaneous output are

some of the challenges that are in front of every individual who strives for career growth and sustainability.

To keep pace with this change management and to grow personally and professionally, we as women need

to do few a definite things, which will keep us in the limelight always.

Most of the working women, at some point of time, tend to refrain from their dreams and goals due to

various reasons, both external and internal.

Let me share some of my thoughts and experience on factors that could be helpful for all to achieve the

best.

Stay up-to date: As women, we need to strengthen our professional skills and be updated with emerging

trends and technology. Being an expert in our skills will make us more confident and we can be more

expressive in delivering our ideas and thoughts.

Networking and professional relationship is the foremost factor which helps provide a learning platform

for an individual to gain excellent knowledge, ideas and thoughts from various experts and groups. So, keep

networking and expand your visibility in your environs.

Self-motivation is an internal factor which we all have within ourselves but one that is never used by most

of us. It is just plain truth that we all want to be accepted by all. Living in a competitive world and expecting

an external person to motivate us will never work all the time. To make yourself driven, spend some

personal time and earnings for yourself from which you will have soul satisfaction. Do understand that

always working for others’ feelings and needs will keep you down in the longrun.

Health is another factor which normally is the least priority and the easiest to skip for almost all women. Do

understand that taking care of your health is a long-term plan and the need of the hour. Please don’t ignore

your personal health, making your career a short-term plan.

Ahh! I have shared my thoughts and experience which may give an insight for all women who strive for

betterment in their life walk. Be ready to run the race always; we can’t be the first to achieve the finish line,

but continuous running will definitely make you successful and help achieve better in your forward journey.

Gayathri Sivaprakasam

Assistant Manager, Integra Software Services Pvt. Ltd

2018 32

What does it take a woman to have it all?

Family, Career, Self-Improvement – Every woman, pursuing a career, shoulders these three responsibilities.

In the everyday quest of balancing these responsibilities, there are times of uncertainty, fear and doubt-

“Should I hold-on or should I drop-off?”, “Will I make a mark or will I not?”

I want to use this article to (a) address these doubts (b) share my own philosophies that fuel optimism in me

and (c) to convince the reader not to give up on her journey.

1. IS THIS BALANCING ACT NECESSARY?

Every human is born with an innate fire to make meaningful sense of existence; to do something useful,

using available means. And, when you, as a woman, made a choice to use career as a means of doing

something impactful, never question yourself as to why you should balance all three. Instead, question

yourself, “Why not I balance all three?”

2. WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BALANCE?

The key is to choose an environment that values strengths, and is considerate of a woman’s overall

ecosystem. It is easy for a male boss to choose a male subordinate over a woman on ground of 24x7

accessibility. However, in a fair environment, a woman is offered a seat at the table not only based on

accessibility but on the overall value, she brings. To be successful, also demands extreme grit, courage and

absolute clarity on priorities - for not just the next day but also for the next week, month, year etc. In this

process, there will be unfavorable situations. So, believe in yourself, even when others are in doubt.

3. WHAT MAKES ME BELIEVE THAT IT IS ALL POSSIBLE?

My optimism, in the first place, comes from seeing men who take the extra step to support women. It takes

serious guts for a male boss to go for a lunch meeting or for a coffee with a female colleague to discuss

work, when you have hundred eyes watching you in doubt. Also, I continue to see women making it to

respected positions. These women have gone through emotional turmoil, have made hard choices every

day. As I see these men and women, I feel encouraged that I and my fellow women and girls can also get

there, can also balance all the three – family, career and self.

In Summary

Undoubtedly, the journey of a woman who aspires to have it all, comes with compromises, comes with

turmoil, but in the end, when the larger quest for existential purpose meets reality, the sense of satisfaction

is beyond measurement. So, Go Girl, if you desire to live life for a purpose! You can still have it all!

Savitha Nallasamy, holds a leadership position at Tata Consultancy Services, with responsibility of Technology and Business Consulting for US Retail Companies.

2018 33

What I learnt from Nature

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” — Lao Tzu Have you ever wondered how nature springs back after harsh weather year after year? This cycle of change and stability is a reflection of wholeness, and it resonates with the human capacity for healing, development and renewal. If you are struggling with any problems and difficulties, look to nature as your teacher and you will find an answer to handle all your problems. Some of the most important life lessons that I learnt from nature are as follows:

1. Peace, harmony and collaboration

Bees collect nectar from flowers to make their honey while the flowers get a good deal when they spread their pollen. Sea anemones protect clown fish by harming the predators that want to harm clownfish. Clownfish have a coating that protects them from the tentacles of sea anemones. Some animals mate for life while others mate with many throughout their life. There are ample examples that prove that every bit of nature coexists. Relationships abound in nature and there is unity in harmony.

2. Survival of the fittest – be flexible

Thousands of species succeed in surviving in extreme as well as in favourable conditions. They teach us not to give up under any given circumstances. Nature teaches us that there will not be smooth terrain all the time. We must be adaptable to every situation to succeed in life.

3. To keep growing

From the moment the seed is sown, it keeps growing every day until it reaches its zenith. It reaches out to the sky, little by little and steadily. Nothing deters it. Similarly, nature achieves everything at its pace. It always finds a way. This is how we should approach our goals, with steadiness and poise. We should never stop growing! Growth should always be there. Nothing should hamper our motivation to grow and develop.

4. To spring back from sorrow

If winter comes, spring cannot be far behind. That is the ultimate truth. Rising and crashing waves are part of the exact same ocean. Life follows a pattern too. Human life can draw parallels from it. Life’s ups require life’s downs. After sorrow comes happiness. Everything is a rhythmic cycle and nothing stays forever. What goes around eventually comes around. Momentary sorrow and regret should not bog us down. Good things happen in due course of time.

5. Storing inner strength

When autumn arrives, nature goes into shutdown mode. However, wonderful things are still going on underneath, and nature is getting ready for the plant and animal kingdom to come back with full swing once more. Similarly, we should nurture our inner strength when time seems sunny so that when clouds appear, we do not have to cave in.

6. There are some things we can’t control

During heavy rains or during a cyclone, everything is shattered. Later, nature restores itself as though nothing happened. Similarly, we must accept life as it comes and not worry about the things we cannot control or change. We might not be able to control life events, but what we can control is how we respond to them.

Ruma Selvam, Head–Data & Analytics Marketing, Tech Mahindra

2018 34

Story Power

The universe is made of stories, not of atoms — Muriel Rukeyeser

Is storytelling an effective tool and the right fit for strategic learning? The answer is a resounding yes! Storytelling is the new hot and happening topic in Training and Development. It is effective in introducing new practices in Learning and Development. Whether it is at the personal level or at the professional level, storytelling experience will elevate you.

Storytelling engages learners. If you engage with storytelling, it helps you retain your learning and organise your content in a more effective way. By exploring and working with different methods of storytelling for training you will realise that the resultant training has been more effective and engaging.

Storytelling methods have been known to make workshops more interesting to employees. They help create a bond between the employees and the company through dynamic processes. Storytelling is a shift away from conventional methods of team building and employee bonding. It motivates people to strive for better performance and greater efficiency while promoting a positive work culture in the company.

Organisational learning reflects the ability of an organisation to create and transfer knowledge, and modify its behaviour based on new knowledge and insights. Tried and tested practices are available as effective mechanisms for organisations to both upskill and reskill workers through individual learning, and to bridge the gap between individual knowledge and organisational learning. When an organisation uses storytelling as a tool in its employee training programmes, not only does it improve employee output, it also improves the overall performance of the company. With the presence of such a positive organisational culture, the collective energy will take the business to the next level. Positive business outcomes include skill development, subject matter network and knowledge management. As a next generation learning platform, technology too can be leveraged to aid and support the organization, elevating workplace learning.

In the age of disruption, individual and organisational types of learning are must-haves for the survival of the company. Upskilling and reskilling employees are requirements to future-proof workforces, especially in the face of digital disruption. The present workplace is one of unprecedented change and upheaval. While upskilling and reskilling individual employees is the key, organisations themselves need to learn and adapt to survive and thrive in the present workplace climate.

Storytelling is experiential. This experience lets you enjoy, engage and evolve — both personally and professionally. You are what you believe, so when you tell thought provoking and positive stories about yourself and your organisation, it becomes a reality. So it is important to pause and take stock of the stories you have been telling, to harness their transformative power. This is where storytelling training comes into play.

Lavanya Srinivas is a professional storyteller, educator and communication coach.

2018 35

The Journey

This is the story of a woman who started her professional journey at the age of 18 – a journey that still

continues. At the start of her journey, she was clueless of her destination. Her life took a total turn when she

stopped at a door which welcomed her with a message – “Are you passionate enough to learn something

new, to shape up your career - then here is the door”. The message sounded exciting to her and so she

knocked at the door.

The whole experience of becoming an IT/ITES Quality Controller that was to follow, started with a training

program. This program woke her up with a great blow saying “Hi Miss Know Everything, you know nothing”.

Yes, it was a humorous and embarrassing moment in her life. One day, she was waiting in the office lobby

for her trainer. The trainer called her and said, “Sorry I will be a little late, please wait in the pantry”. She

immediately replied, “Sure Sir”. Then she realized that she had no clue as to what a pantry is. She blinked

like a lost child and looked around the lobby thinking “Whom should I ask?” Then, she heard a voice behind

her “Hello, who are you and what do you want”? She literally froze on her feet and her tongue stuck to her

jaws. She opened her mouth and tried to speak. Thankfully, her trainer just entered the door and seeing her,

said “Security, she is our new employee”, He then turned and asked her, “Why are you still here? Why

haven’t you gone to the pantry?”

The most embarrassing thing at that moment was to ask what a pantry was. The trainer however seemed to

have read her mind and said “come let me take to you to the pantry”. She followed him and found the pantry

– it was nothing but what she called as the “canteen”. She laughed to herself. Seeing her smile, the trainer

asked, “so you didn’t know the pantry , isn’t it?”. She said “Yes”. He asked, “Then why didn’t you check with

someone else”. She said, “Am I allowed to ask such stupid questions”? The trainer said, “Yes of course,

there is nothing wrong in asking questions. Stupid questions are a lot better than no questions”.

Life has now moved on since then. Yes, now she has grown from a Quality Controller to a Quality

Professional who has envisioned her passion and devised her career journey. From a girl who didn’t know

the meaning of “Pantry”, she has grown multifold. She now holds an A+ grade in BEC Vantage Program,

conducts training programs, creates presentations for the management, interprets complex data etc.

She has now just boarded the train named “Integra” which values women empowerment a lot.

Finally, I can sense your eyebrows are up, wondering who this stupid woman is, that this writer is so proud

of!

It’s ME!

Vijayashree Manoharan, Sr. Quality Executive, Integra Software Services Pvt. Ltd.

2018 36

eWIT Thanks for the Support

In maintaining eWIT website, providing all administrative assistance and souvenir cover

designing

In souvenir designing

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