and Women are from Venus

Once in a seminar I put forward a simple question: Why dont we have enough
women CIOs? It led to a barrage of answers, most of them reinforcing clichs
and stereotypes about womens supposed genetic disposition against math and
science, the lack of role models, the professions geeky image, etc. The most
common justification, however, revolved around the fact that entering into an
enterprise IT career was tantamount to sacrificing your family life altogether;
and with the majority Indian mindset (and here we include both male and female)
still believing the job of women is in the kitchen and raising babies, a CIO
career has generally been given the go-by even by the brightest of female minds.

Does this mean that for women CIOs maintaining the right work life balance is
only a sub-Saharan mirage? This was the question we at Dataquest put forward to
four women CIOs (yes, it was extremely difficult to locate them from such a rare
species), and the answer, thankfully, was a resounding no. All of them, as
expected, highlighted the family support systems, an understanding work
environment, and, most importantly, their inner drive to keep both fronts
running as the reason for their success. The question now is: Will this inspire
more women to don the mantle of CIOs and add to the pluralism of Indian
enterprises?

Always Accessible

The two most important needs when it comes to work-life balance is the
quality of time and being accessible 24x7

Ritu Madbhavi, CIO, FCB Ulka

Ritu Madbhavis is an interesting case. She is one who managed to strike the
right balance between her work and home by becoming a CIO. Yes, she forewent a
promising career in hardcore IT to opt for this unconventional route to success
since, says Madbhavi, Working in an IT company would have meant working on
overseas projects abroad for long durations and that would have meant neglecting
my family and my son. And, with both me and my husband staying away from home,
raising my son would have been a problem.

After working for TCS for some time, Madbhavi joined NIIT from where she took
her break for about three years when her son was born. Perhaps it was the
realization that an IT career would be taxing for her family that Madbhavi
consciously placed her family first. Thankfully, in her case, the support at
home and office has helped Madbhavi in walking the tightrope. Even though I
have a 17-year-old son, during his childhood whenever he fell ill, it was my
mother-in-law who took care of him. She attributes her career success to her
mother-in-law who, she believes, is like a guardian angel.

Madbhavi also feels that job satisfaction is equally important when it comes
to balancing the two since support at office plays a crucial role.

What most of us forget in the mad rush to balance work and family is taking
out time for ourselves. The Me Time is critical as it provides me an
opportunity to keep abreast with the latest developments, and being a CIO,
keeping myself updated with the latest technological developments is crucial.

The two most important things when it comes to work-life balance is the
quality of time and being accessible 24x7. Even if I may not be available in
person, I am accessible. And this is where technology comes into playthe
Blackberry and I-mate connect me to home and work.

The Balancing Act

Divide the day equally between work and home, but never bring office work
home

Nita Madhuvakar, CIO of Gammon India with her family

Nita Madhuvakar can truly be described as todays woman, someone who has
perfected the art of balancing home and work beautifully. Being at one of the
top management positions, as CIO of Gammon India, can certainly be a challenging
job. On being asked about her secret behind how she manages to stay so poised,
prompt comes the reply: My biggest strength is my family; it is my support
system.

Madhuvakar works close to twelve hours a day, after which she takes care that
work is not carried home. Thats her idea of striking a balance between work and
personal life. It does get difficult at times but being a woman it is important
to strike this balance. She confesses that missing her sons parent-teacher
meetings definitely makes her feel guilty, which she often does try and make up
for. Weekends are just family days, as she prefers going on a shopping binge
with her two young kids.

She does point out that initially it was not easy for the kids to not have
their mother around for long hours, but now the investment of time seems to have
paid off. They feel proud that I am an independent woman today. My husband, who
is a businessman, too, is equally supportive.

While she strives hard to maintain the equilibrium between family and work,
she tries harder to keep her mind relaxed. At the end of the day, what matters
is how much quality time one spends with ones own self and family.

More Than a Superwoman

Not going overboard with trying to do everything at work and home helps
maintain the balance

Trying to be a superwoman doesnt help in the long run, says Amrita
Gangotra, CIO, Mobility, Bharti Airtel. Right from the beginning of her career,
she took a conscious decision not to go overboard with trying to do everything
on both the home and work front.

But, did it not entail making a few sacrifices: missing out on her daughters
parent-teacher meetings in school or some family emergency? That keeps
happening, I have had to miss out on things and make some sacrifices, admits
Amrita. She also gave up on lucrative career opportunities which were outside
Delhi as she didnt want to move away from her family. My roots are here in
Delhi. Plus, if we decide to move, it will be to move together.

But she has no regrets as she is clear about her priorities. This streak of
family orientation is well matched by her career-oriented streak. Within a span
of about nineteen years, her career has evolved from software development to
being CIO of a telecom major. Amrita owes this success to her husband: I would
reverse the traditional clich and say that behind every successful woman there
is a man.

Amrita met her husband during one of her job stints. Being colleagues helped
as her husband knew and understood how demanding a job in the IT industry can
be. Amrita has no qualms admitting that he stretches himself more than she does.
This has helped her concentrate on her job as well as she has, and also take out
time for her family.

While juggling between home and work, Amrita makes sure that she spends as
much time as possible with her husband and fourteen-year-old daughter over the
weekend. Annual holidays are a must and she makes sure that she takes her
entitled leave. Although Im in an operational role, as a general rule weekends
are usually just for family, she says.

Technology in the form of Blackberry, VPN, etc, do come in handy most of the
time, letting her work from home. But, overall, she sees this as a part of life
and the conscious choices that she has made. And she has no regrets at the end
of the day.

Rai-sing Above the Ordinary

Eliminate the chaff in existence, and let simplicity take over and rule
everything, and youll get your work-life balance

Shikha Rai, director, IT, Canon India

Shikha Rai calls herself a small-town girl. But theres nothing small-town
about her. She is a great dresser, carries herself with a lot of confidence, and
is the kind of person you take an instant liking to.

When asked if she was looking for a particular background in the man she was
going to marry, someone who was more likely to appreciate her ambitions, type of
work, she says: I was too young at that time and believed that marriages were
made in heaven, and, fortunately, I still continue to maintain the same. As is
with most successful married women with demanding careers, her husband has been
unconditionally supportive over the years. In fact, he was instrumental in
Shikhas looking at IT as an option.

When she had her son, was the situation any different then? There were many
instances when one almost gave up, says Shikha. She explored all options like
flexi-hours, part time, etc, however, such options, she says, did not exist
then. She gives all credit to her mother who was there for her at that critical
time of her life.

So what are the decisions that can at least bring you close to the ideal
work-life balance? Dealing with work life pressures when both the husband and
wife are pursuing demanding career paths implicitly pushes one to seek to
eliminate the chaff in existence. Simplicity takes over and rules almost
everything, is Shikhas mantra to all, and it does seem to have worked very
well for her.

At that point in life, married, with a child, did she have any expectations
from the management, her peersthat they should let her work things at her own
pace. Were they more liberal? But Shikha is not the kind of person who will look
at others for her life solutions: Being a working woman has been my choice and
to work out my work-life balance, therefore, is my responsibility, is how she
looks at it, I have never sought favors or easy options. I have always
attempted to let the work speak for itself. And, over time, I have been able to
build a reputation of dependability.

On whether finding a work-life balance is more difficult for a woman techie,
Shikha, who is director, IT at Canon India, says, Being a CIO is the redemption
since there are so few, and one gets noticed.

And her advice to her women friendsTurn off that computer, and with a hot
cappuccino, ring up school friends for a long chat!

Team DQ

maildqindia@cybermedia.co.in