As we celebrate International Women’s Day, Medianews4u.com features Nikky Gupta, Co – Founder, CEO Teamwork Communications Group
With her extensive experience in strategic communications and brand building, she shares valuable perspectives on the following International Women’s Day themes:
1. The Power of Female-Driven Storytelling in Brand Communications
2. Mentorship and Growth: Nurturing the Next Generation of Women Leaders in Communications
3. Women Leaders in PR and Marketing: Challenges, Triumphs, and the Road Ahead
Q. As a woman co-founder, did you have to face skepticism in the early years of Teamwork Communications?
Honestly, I would say never in a way that defined my journey. From the very beginning, I chose to focus on capability and credibility rather than the gender lens. When you are clear about your vision and deliver consistently, people eventually respond to the work you bring to the table.
Of course, entrepreneurship always comes with its own challenges building trust with clients, creating a strong team, and growing the business sustainably. But those are challenges every founder faces, regardless of gender.
What helped me the most was staying focused on building a strong foundation for Teamwork Communications delivering results, nurturing long-term relationships, and constantly evolving the services we offered. Over time, the work speaks for itself.
For me, the journey has always been about building impact and credibility, not about proving that women can lead because I believe leadership is defined by vision, resilience, and the ability to create value, not by gender.
Q. What role do women play in growing Teamwork Communications?
Women are truly at the heart of Teamwork Communications. Over the years, the organisation has naturally evolved into a space where women have taken on strong leadership roles. Today, all our vertical heads are women, and nearly 70% of our overall workforce is women as well.
What I value most is the perspective and balance they bring to the organisation. The communications industry requires empathy, intuition, creativity, and strong relationship-building qualities that many women naturally bring to the table. But beyond that, it’s their sense of ownership and commitment that has helped shape the culture of the company.
Many of them have grown within the organisation, taken on bigger responsibilities, and today lead important mandates and client relationships. It’s something I feel very proud of because the growth of Teamwork has truly been a collective effort, and women have played a very important role in that journey.
Q. What work is Teamwork Communications doing with clients on the occasion of International Women’s Day?
Instead of treating International Women’s Day as just another date on the calendar, Teamwork launched Womanhood 365 a year ago, and we continue to carry it forward every year. This initiative puts women’s growth and wellbeing at the centre throughout the year.
Through it, we regularly conduct mentorship sessions, upskilling workshops, conversations around mental health, nutrition and personal development sessions, as well as open discussions on work‑life harmony.
The idea is simple and that is recognition and support for women should be ongoing, not limited to just one day. We also encourage our clients to adopt the same approach, so that campaigns and communication strategies around women’s narratives remain meaningful and impactful year after year.
Q. Public Relations requires multiple talents. Does it therefore require a lot of collaboration among female employees?
Public Relations is a very collaborative profession by nature. No campaign or communication strategy is built in isolation, it involves strategy, content, media relationships, digital thinking, and client servicing all coming together. So collaboration is absolutely central to the way we work.
At Teamwork Communications, since a large part of our team is women, collaboration happens very organically. I have seen that women often bring a strong sense of teamwork, communication, and empathy to the workplace, which helps in building a supportive and cooperative environment.
But ultimately, for us it’s less about gender and more about the culture we have built as an organisation. We encourage open conversations, shared ownership of projects, and collective problem-solving. When people feel comfortable contributing ideas and supporting each other, the work naturally becomes stronger and that’s exactly what the communications industry demands.
Q. What kind of homework is done before every client meeting?
Preparation is extremely important in our line of work. Before every client meeting, the team spends time understanding what has moved around the brand since the last interaction, whether it’s media coverage, industry developments, competitor activity, or any new opportunities that may have emerged.
We usually review the brand’s current communication priorities and align internally on what value we can bring to the conversation. That could mean analysing media trends, identifying story angles, tracking competitor visibility, or preparing ideas that can help strengthen the client’s positioning.
For me, a good client meeting should never feel routine. It should always move the conversation forward and that only happens when the team walks in prepared, informed, and ready with ideas.
Q. How is social media forcing Teamwork Communications to reinvent its own ways of working?
Social media has shifted the entire communications ecosystem. It demands speed, authenticity, and the ability to anticipate rather than react. At Teamwork, we have moved from traditional press releases to narrative‑first content that works across platforms, from Instagram style short reel formats to deep LinkedIn thought leadership.
The focus has shifted to community engagement, real‑time responsiveness, and creative storytelling that resonates emotionally. It has pushed us to build sharper analytical capabilities, creative teams that speak both digital and narrative languages, and tools that help measure not just reach but resonance.
Q. The PR and communications industry has a greater female employee representation compared with many other sectors. What is the reason for this?
The communications industry has always attracted a strong female workforce because the profession requires a mix of skills that many women naturally gravitate towards, relationship-building, empathy, intuition, storytelling, and the ability to understand people and narratives.
Public Relations is ultimately about managing perceptions, building trust, and connecting brands with audiences in a meaningful way. These responsibilities require emotional intelligence as much as strategic thinking, and that balance often draws many talented women to the profession.
Q. What are some of the challenges that Women leaders in PR and Marketing are facing?
Women leaders in PR and marketing work in an industry that moves at a very fast pace. With the rise of digital platforms, social media, and real-time brand conversations, there is constant pressure to stay ahead, take quick decisions, and manage brand reputation across multiple channels.
At the same time, leadership roles come with high expectations — managing teams, guiding clients, and consistently delivering results in a very dynamic environment.
Alongside these professional demands, many women also continue to shoulder significant responsibilities at home, including managing households and raising children. Balancing these personal and professional commitments can be challenging, but many women navigate it with remarkable resilience and determination.
Q. Does Teamwork Communications have mentorship programmes to help women advance in their careers?
Yes, mentorship is one of our strongest internal pillars. We pair emerging women professionals with mentors, not just for skills training but for confidence building, strategic thinking, and leadership readiness.
The idea is to create an environment where women see a path ahead that is supported, visible, and backed by real opportunities and guidance.
Q. Work-life balance is an issue for women in the corporate world. How does Teamwork Communications address this area through HR policies?
Balancing work and life is not a checkbox for us at Teamwork, as it’s a lived philosophy. Teamwork’s HR approach is built around flexibility, trust, mental well‑being support, remote working options, upskilling sessions, and activities that keep the team socially connected even in remote modes. We time to time carry virtual team interactions, mental health sessions, and informal brainstorming breaks to maintain connection and reduce stress.
The goal is to let performance be outcome‑driven rather than time‑bound, which helps women (and all employees) manage their various roles more sustainably.
Q. What trends are being seen in terms of Female-Driven Storytelling in Brand Communications?
One clear trend is the move towards authentic and relatable narratives. Brands are moving away from stereotypical portrayals of women and instead telling real stories of women as entrepreneurs, professionals, creators, and decision-makers. Audiences today want to see stories that reflect real life rather than idealised images. Another trend is the shift from product-centric messaging to purpose-driven storytelling.
Many brands now build campaigns around themes like self-confidence, inclusivity, and empowerment. Campaigns that celebrate real women and their experiences have proven to create deeper emotional connections with audiences.
Overall, female-driven storytelling today is more authentic, purpose-led, and community-driven, where brands focus on meaningful narratives rather than just advertising a product. This approach helps build stronger trust and long-term engagement with audiences.
Q. What does the road ahead look like in terms of the impact that women will have on the PR and communications industry in the coming three years?
The PR and communications industry is already heavily shaped by women, and their influence will only grow stronger in the coming years. Today, women make up a significant majority of the PR workforce globally close to two-thirds of professionals in the sector which naturally positions them to shape the future direction of the industry.
Over the next three years, I believe we will see women playing a much bigger role in leadership, strategic decision-making, and narrative building. As brands focus more on purpose, empathy, and authentic storytelling, the perspectives that women bring will become even more valuable in shaping brand communication.
Most importantly, women will continue to redefine how communication works — making it more inclusive, more empathetic, and more closely aligned with real societal conversations. The next phase for the industry will not just be about representation; it will be about women shaping strategy, culture, and the future of brand storytelling.
