'Diversity is only about numbers, it's inclusivity that we need to think about'

Discussions on gender equality are aplenty, but achieving it in letter and spirit seems like a difficult task. Is this also true for the PR and Corp Comm industry? To delve deeper into the matter, e4m held the 3rd edition of the acclaimed PR and Corp Comm Women Achievers Summit and Awards 2022 with a power-packed panel of experts.

Industry experts chimed in on the topic ‘What are the factors affecting and influencing the gender equality in the PR and communications industry?’ in a panel moderated by Girish Balachandran, Managing Director, On Purpose. The panelists were Akanksha Jain, Head- Public Relations & Corporate Communications, Bharat Pe; Prasidha Menon, Regional Communications Lead - Airbnb India, South Asia, Hong Kong & Taiwan; Tehseen Zaidi Head - Communications, Syngenta India; Sudha Singh, Founder, The Purpose Room.

Panellists recounted the difficulties faced by them in their professional life. Zaidi said, “For 10 years, I stuck to NDTV for one very simple reason, they had a facility where children were very well taken care of. I denied promotions twice or thrice just because I wanted to take care of my family. I feel empowered women should always come forward and support women.”

She further shared her experience of working in a leadership position and having male colleagues working under her. She said, “There was a male colleague at the foundation and I joined as his Line Manager. He stopped taking instructions from me when he learned that I am his age. He had a lot of problems accepting the fact that I am at a leadership position.”

She highlighted the problem faced by women that women do reach the executive level, and the middle level but they don't reach the board room. She said that NDTV encourages women to commence at a senior level and take up leadership positions.

Talking about the problems, Jain said, “I think its a very pertaining point, on the agency side, you’ll still see a lot of women but on the corporate side, you’ll still see a lot of challenges women face. So I have been asked, why do you need a hike? You don't ask this question to a guy.”

Discussion the problem Menon faced during her tenure with an agency abroad and the complications that occurred, she said, “I had this coach while working in the US, I told her that I am a woman of colour and I am going through all this, so she said, ‘But that's your choice right? Do you wanna keep doing this or do you want to make some changes?’ 

“When I came back, I was working for a very renowned start-up and I was getting a promotion but it was paused, because I am a woman. Because how was I going to deal with the challenges? But this time I fought back and I got the role and I decided to move on from an organization as such”

While Singh spoke about his experience of working in the UK, she said, “Don't just look at gender diversity; think of all types of diversity. We have a tendency today to conflate diversity and inclusion. Diversity is about numbers. A room can be diverse, but is it inclusive that we need to think about.”

All the panellists named flexibility and scarcity of women at the top management level as major factors for women to face challenges during their professional journey. Zaidi pointed out the professional break women take to take care of their loved ones and when they come back from their break, they are underpaid or are not welcomed in the mainstream world. 

On the other hand, Singh pointed out that paternal leaves should also be a thing and men should be given some leeway and that's when equality in the workplace will come into place when men will start pitching in to help women.