On this women’s Day, MediaNews4U.com is acknowledging women leaders of the Media, Marketing, Broadcast, and Advertising fraternity who have given more than expected.
Wunderman Thompson is part creative agency, part consultancy and part technology company, inspiring growth for ambitious brands.
In this segment Women leaders Tista Sen, Shaziya Khan, Raji Ramaswamy & Rohini Saldanha from Wunderman Thompson India share their experiences of breaking the gender stereotypes and how they continue to inspire many other women who are true leaders in the making
Tista Sen – Regional Creative Director:
Journey
There is a sense of an ending here and I still feel like my journey has just begun.
Every day is a new something and I do believe the more interesting we make our lives the more interesting we become.
I’ve loved advertising the simplicity and the utter insightfulness that makes ideas sing. I started my career in a Production House where I really learnt just about everything that makes me who I am today. From how to frame, casting right to how to tell a story. This wasn’t glamorous as it sounds; it included cleaning streets of Mumbai for a car shoot and shepherding goats out of a remote village in Himachal!
But real stories with real people are my elixir. And brands connect with consumers quite the same way. So whether it is producing, writing, supervising or creating it is always been the human truth I am seeking.
Inspiration & Inspiring the team
I am inspired by fierce women everywhere. My Grand Aunt who till recently asked me don’t you have a boyfriend you are so boring with a giggle, my teachers in school, the women in my family, my team of amazing women colleagues at WT, the super-efficient girls who run my home, the women security guard who waves cheerily at me. The list is endless and just keeps adding up.
They inspire me because hidden beneath that tenacity and bright smile is another story of coping and giving and nurturing. Women live this life every day. And they do it with such dignity.
My inspirational mantra is just roll up your sleeves and get to it. There is no room for just armchair thinking any longer. You need to be in the thick of things. You need to be just another team member while being the boss lady. I don’t shy away from doing any job and my team knows that. I am still a copywriter and junior account executive. If the job demands it I do it. Passion doesn’t distinguish between a job-list. And that’s what drives me.
Empowering Women
Where do I start? I abhor tokenism of any kind and unfortunately this tends to happen in most places. We are not an entity that needs the world to empower us. That reeks of patriarchy and inherent in it is subservience. We are empowered. We own our minds. The world needs to acknowledge that. We are not here to lead some silent crusade. We are here. Deal with it. Period.
Shaziya Khan – National Planning Director:
Journey
An adventure with a lot of variety and laughter
Inspiration & Inspiring the team
The fresh opportunities, variety and avenues for excellence are inspiring, and helping others see the bigger picture, whilst rising above the distractions inspires, as do transparency, warmth, supportiveness in hearing their own voice
Empowring Women
It is both an internal journey and an external one, it is individual and collective, and it involves both genders evolving, being mutually supportive, in sync and it is an on-going journey.
Raji Ramaswamy – CEO – Contract India
Journey:
A series of discoveries both professional and personal. From discovering adventure sports and participating in a 6 month long Canada World Youth Exchange programme in my teens, to joining one of the best communication agencies in the world, understanding the power of communication, working with so: me insightful minds and visionary clients, building great brands both global and local , and enjoying the leadership role, creating impact and mentoring teams, dealing with the uncertainties of the last two years to the exciting prospect of building brands and businesses in the post covid world, its been an exciting and rewarding journey.
Inspiration & Inspiring the team
My inspiration has always come from people who have risen against odds to achieve difficult things and also people who have tried to make the world a better place through their imagination, ideas, events and efforts. I have encouraged the teams to think big and not get limited by the status quo, be fearless, learn to adapt to change, focus on excellence and be future ready.
Empowring Women
Women need to believe in themselves, recognise their inherent strengths and feel empowered to go after their dreams. They need to overcome their doubts, have the confidence to talk about their own achievements, and not let anything or anyone hold them back from what they can be. They should choose to work in an environment that recognises rewards and celebrates their talent.
Rohini Saldanha – Director / Head, Corporate Communications:
Journey
It has been one of self-discovery, hard work and triumphs. I look back at my own personal and professional journeys with gratitude and happiness. Coming from an armed forces background, we moved around a lot as a family and my tryst with different cultures, languages and school syllabi made me resilient, tolerant and helped me develop an open mind at a young age. It was not always easy or comfortable, but I learnt to adapt and adjust which has moulded me into the individual I am today.
Inspiration & Inspiring the team
I am inspired by a lot of people and I would like to first start with the men in my life. My dad, who has always inspired me to be honest, keep things simple and be my best, besides introducing me to the stock market, to an elderly armed forces gentleman who taught me target practice at the age of 7, to an uneducated driver who taught me driving along with a lot of life lessons. People I am inspired by include individuals who exude and epitomise confidence, who are unafraid of being themselves, who believe in discipline and hard work. From my parents who have taught me to strive and aim for excellence and never settle for less, to senior women leaders in my organization who are hustlers to say the least, to male bosses who have been supportive, encouraging and kind, to my best friend who exudes grace, calm and a high degree of sensibility during very trying moments of strife and stress. Finally at the risk of sounding self-conceited, I inspire myself. I believe we are our own mentors, counselors and motivational coaches and when the going gets tough, we need to look within to muster that courage to power through, looking to the times we have managed to put one foot in front of the other.
Empowring Women
I am a big believer that no amount of empowerment of women is ever enough. Irrespective of your race, religion or culture, women as a whole are socially conditioned to be fearful, timid and not challenge the status quo. I guess I always thought different. At 4, I told my mum that I wouldn’t do ‘something so silly’ when I was asked at a kindergarten school interview to stand up and clap my hands in order to evaluate whether I followed instructions. I was the 15 year old who rolled her eyes and asked her mum to ‘let’s leave’ the principal’s office when the principal in question was being categorically rude and nasty without any plausible reason. The reason I could do this was because I was empowered at a young age to think, respectfully question and speak my mind unapologetically. Unfortunately not many girls are given this leeway.
While there is a fine line between being ‘opinionated’, not ‘over-confident’, assertive not arrogant, women have to learn to be themselves unabashedly, as no one size fits all. And yes, they get to chase happiness; they get to have it all. What is important is for them to remember to be unafraid to question and ask for what is rightfully theirs as you get only 1 life – so own it, live it and make it happy!
