Before motherhood, my idea of success was one-dimensional: Jennifer Pandya

As an ode to mothers, who always put their children first, Caratlane will soon launch its ‘First Salary Campaign’ which talks about using your first income to give back to your mom. 

Speaking to exchange4media, Jennifer Pandya, VP,-Marketing of jewellery brand Caratlane, who is also a mother, said the campaign will be launched soon after Mother’s Day, which was celebrated on May 14. 

“While we continue to focus on creating designs that our customers love and can wear every day, we are also trying to create more occasions for buying and gifting everyday diamond jewellery. 

“An upcoming campaign that's quite close to our heart is the ‘First Salary Campaign’- which talks about using your first salary to give back to the one person who has always put you first - that’s your Mother. We will be launching after Mother's Day,” she told e4m. 

Sharing her journey of being a working mother, Pandya said each mom has her own set of challenges but for her, it has been how to switch off on weekends to be completely present with her family. 

“I feel that all mothers always play multiple roles - Mother + Homemaker or Mother + Professional and each of them has their own challenges. I don’t want to generalise. But on a personal front, I think my biggest challenge is finding a way to be fully present when I’m with my family - how to switch off completely from work on weekends or when I’m on a break so that I can give my family my undivided attention. It’s always a struggle,” she said. 

Talking about her journey as the VP of Marketing of CaratLane, Pandya said that it has been an exciting and great learning experience. 

“It has been an exciting journey and a great learning experience being a part of a team which is building the country's first digitally native omnichannel brand. This is mainly because of the culture at CaratLane - it's agile, experimentative and encourages ownership thus accelerating your learning. 

“It's also quite flexible and a great working place for women in general,” she said.

After becoming a mother, Pandya’s idea of success changed from just professional satisfaction to focusing on her daughter’s well-being and her own health. 

“Before becoming a mother my idea of success was one-dimensional - I drew a lot of satisfaction from my work. But as I watch my daughter grow I want her to have a well-rounded life and I have started focusing on my health and other hobbies like running a marathon, learning self-defence, having a bucket list - doing all these gives me a great feeling of success too,” she said. 

Pandya advises career-oriented mothers to pursue their careers after becoming a mom and understand that there is no ideal way to raise a child. 

“The one thing I would like to tell all women who want to pursue their careers after becoming a mother is that there is no ideal or best way to raise your child. You are the best judge of what is right, and you will develop your unique parenting style. 

“So don't let anyone, including yourself, make you feel guilty for your choices. Whether it’s prioritising work on some days and family on others, it's not possible to be perfect in everything, so you decide what works best for you,” she said.