Agility, Resilience and Perseverance is the name of the game: Varsha Chainani

Automobile industry has been conventionally considered a male-dominated industry. Unlike earlier days, women, breaking the glass ceiling, have made a place for themselves in the industry. Today, women are not only a part of the industry but also lead it. One such leader is Varsha Chainani who is the Senior Vice President, Group Communications at Mahindra & Mahindra. 

With a professional career spanning more than three decades, Varsha is a Senior Marketing and Corporate Communications Specialist with rich experience in reputation management, strategic communications, media and analyst relations, crisis management, public affairs and corporate social responsibility. She has been part of organizations like Abbott Laboratories, IBM and IHCL where she has translated business strategies to target audiences through her strategic thinking and problem solving skills.

In today’s interview of the 2^nd edition of ‘Women Achievers Series’, we speak to Varsha Chainani, Sr. VP, Group Communications at Mahindra & Mahindra about her journey, her inspirations, her views on gender disparity, pay gaps, women in leadership roles and more.

Edited Excerpts:-

How did you enter the communications industry? How has been your journey ever since?

I thrive on opportunities and challenges, and have the openness to learn, unlearn and re-learn. About 25 years ago, I took on the challenge of moving to Corporate Communications from an operations role.

Every part of my professional journey has given me a wealth of knowledge and the opportunity to hone my skills. Cathay Pacific helped me with the problem-solving skills, taught me to ‘own’ the company approach, and presented me with the passion to deal with people across cultures, ages and backgrounds and relate to them as equal. From operations, I moved to the Taj Group of Hotels and then when the Indian economy was opening up, I moved from operations to establishing Group communications function with them. Having a post-graduate degree in Marketing and Communications and the requisite skills, as well as experience in the organisation, truly helped me. I found my groove and there was no looking back thereafter. In 2000, IT was getting to be the sunrise industry with Y2K and as luck had it, IBM India came my way and with it the opportunity to work in another industry. Post 11 years, I moved to the Pharmaceutical industry with Abbott in India setting their Public Affairs function and now the Mahindra Group where again I have a huge canvas to work on. I enjoy my work, the companies I work with, the people I associate with, and take great pride in everything I do.  

What has been your biggest inspiration to serve the industry? Who has been your inspiration?

My professional inspirations have been people especially women who will stop at nothing to make a difference. I am driven to make a difference in the lives of people especially mid-career women, connect them to their growth, their potential and be unstoppable.

I have admired a lot of women and in the recent past, one of them has been Indira Nooyi who has impressed me with her ability to have it all. She epitomizes ‘reaching out to your own potential’ having juggled with her family life while using those very skills to strategise, lead a huge team globally, motivate and mentor employees and help her companies succeed.

What have been key learnings for you in the entire journey to work for the comms industry? 

My three decades of corporate experience has taught me to be truthful, authentic and credible always; prove your mettle with your actions and hard work; Listen; be better than the best of the man on the job; take pride in the work you do, and the fact that the company depends on it, and above all, through the highs and lows remain calm, patient and good humored.

2020 was a different year. What major changes did it bring into your life both professionally and personally? What were the major challenges faced?

2020 was a year that the world battled with Covid-19 pandemic and related lockdowns. The new normal is about living with ambiguity. Agility, resilience and perseverance, are the name of the game. Many businesses faced multitude of existential challenges and many re-focused business basics like cash, engaged employees and customers, preparedness and reputation.

These unprecedented times have brought in focus the power of communications which is being realized as a tool to reach out to all stakeholders. Employee safety is at the centre of everything we do. As communicators, our role is multi-fold and necessarily around creating a conducive environment for the businesses to re-boot and ‘thrive in this ambiguity’.

Our communications team at Mahindra’s has been working relentlessly, we had to be agile and think out-of-the-box during the lockdown, taking ownership of maintaining an authentic and thoughtful rhythm of communication, guidance, and wellbeing programs - helping live in these uncertain times. 

Personally, it gave me an opportunity to reflect on my life and get closer to my existential purpose of being.

How has the industry treated its women in the new normal? What paradigm shift have you noticed in the functioning with respect to women?

Work-life balance has really been a balancing act for women when it came to WFH. Hope the new normal opens up the floodgates for more conversation on gender inclusion and especially in our industry. Though for decades now, women form a larger part of the communication industry, there are very few women in leadership posts. Gender pay parity is another issue that we need to draw attention to. 

People have started appreciating leaders to have softer people skills, empathy, and understanding, which were traditionally classified as feminine traits. 

Why do we witness attrition in women's leadership as we go high above the ladder? 

While women enter the workforce in equal numbers they fall back as they climb up the management ladder. Research shows that maximum attrition in women is at middle management levels and pre-dominantly given that their organisations aren’t equipped to support them adequately during their life stage – getting married, moving towns, child care needs, etc.

Has there been any instance of gender bias in your journey? Is pay gap a major concern for the industry?

Gender-bias exists. Women take it in their stride to fight it and for some, it comes naturally. I have always been career focused and the task was what can I do, despite everything. 

Pay gap in our industry isn’t the largest of the issues. 

How did you convert a crisis into an opportunity for yourself, professionally?

I can think of two major points in my career that might be viewed as a crisis but have helped me professionally to develop myself. One was when I was to move from the operations side of management to communications. Still in a nascent stage, Corporate communications or PR was a fledgling function. I have been a part of its transformation to a strategic function that is responsible for the organisation's most important asset – its Reputation.

The other occasion was when I wanted to move out of being typecast as a ‘specific industry specialist’ into another industry. I created a tool-kit of skills and experiences that helped me transcend my career to be relevant across sectors and industries.

What are the steps that you would take to support other women in the industry and large?

I am a life and leadership coach. Coaching as well as mentoring mid-career women is something that I think can make a difference. It helps them in propelling their careers and push the boundaries that sometimes we all set for ourselves. This is a service I provide at no-cost for anyone who wants to make a difference in their own lives and unleash their potential. I am also a founding member of Global Women in PR in India whose objective is to promote women leadership in PR and communications.