Category: PRINT MEDIA

More than a woman…

Any attempt to dig into the professional and the more challenging personal lives of celebrities takes quite some doing. And if the subject happens to be a woman – and an influential one at that – the task becomes that much more daunting.

With Women of Vision, author Alam Srinivas, who is a freelance journalist with over 25 years of experience, has managed to get up close and personal with nine of the most influential women business leaders, who have laid bare their personal and professional lives like never before. As Mr Srinivas says, “I was pretty surprised that each of the women leaders whom I met was so candid and transparent about any or every aspect of their lives.”

In conversation with Johnson Napier of MxMIndia, Alam Srinivas tells of how in a face-to-face interview, each icon shares her journey of how she battled male-dominated hierarchies to shatter the glass ceiling and set up successful business empires through grit, determination, hard work and merit.

How did the thought of profiling women business achievers come about?

There were a few things that went into the whole process of putting together this book. Although there have been books on successful women in India they have been more inclined towards celebrities or people from art & culture, and have included some women from the business arena. But I cannot think of any book that has only focused on women business leaders. So that was one gap that we identified and which we thought ought to be fulfilled. Also if you observe the last twenty years, post-economic reforms a lot of women have done very well not just as entrepreneurs or business women but as business leaders, managers, CEOs…In fact there are enough Indian women leaders who’ve made a mark around the world as well. So there was a need to do such kind of a book and also the time was appropriate to do such a venture because there were enough people to talk to and also enough people who were aspiring to become managers, leaders, CEOs etc.

Women, especially from the business sphere, have been a source of inspiration for authors to often chronicle and talk about. Right?

When you talk about successful business women they are not just women who have inherited their family’s wealth or business, there were also women who were first generation entrepreneurs, there were women who have successfully become managers, CEOs, etc. So there was this whole spectrum of women who were doing well and in different ways. Even when you look at their SEC profiles they come from different backgrounds. There are some who hail from middle class families, there are some who come from well-to-do but not rich families, there were people who come from business families…yet again there was this whole spectrum of women who were doing well so I thought one needs to capture all this in a book format. Also the publishers had this idea of doing a book around business women and that’s how it all started.

Was it a conscious decision to profile just nine women from across diverse fields? There have been quite a few influential names that have been missed out…

I had made a list of about 40 women from across different age groups and sectors. But as I started going through the research work I realised that a book on 40 people would become very unwieldy, and also a lot of stories and issues were similar so that kind of made it seem repetitive. It’s then that I decided to narrow down to just ten women who encompassed every shade and contour that I need to put on paper. If you look at the current list, there are women from North, South, East and West. Also, in terms of age range, there is a person who is 30 years old and there is someone who is a grandmother. As I said, in terms of SEC there are people who are managers, first generation entrepreneurs, etc. So we had to capture all kinds of nuances and also not become too repetitive. If you read the articles in this book, they are not biographical in nature but rather consist of sketches of these people. So it was not the numbers game but trying to capture the whole idea.

One is surprised to see the vast access you’ve managed to gain into the lives of each of the subjects. What was it that made them open up and get as candid with you about their personal and professional doings?

I was pretty surprised that each of the people I met was so candid and transparent and open about any or every aspect of their lives. Like, for example, Ekta Kapoor, who says that there was a phase in her life where she was arrogant but that she is trying to change and be a better person. Similarly with Chanda Kochhar, it was her initiative to take ICICI into Retail Loans which kind of backfired as the global economy went down. So there are multiple such candid moments that have been shared by these women leaders. I am not sure if this has been the case before. Maybe women leaders are more sensitised to their surroundings etc…I was pretty surprised by the response that I got from each of them where they allowed me to get deep into their personal and professional lives.

What has been the initial response that you’ve been receiving for your book?

It’s too early to talk about the reception that my book has been receiving from all quarters but the initial reactions are that of surprise for the fact that they have allowed access inside their world so intimately and passionately. That’s been the general reaction as of now.