This Women’s day, MediaNews4U.Com is acknowledging women leaders of the Media, Marketing, Broadcast and Advertising fraternity who have given more than expected.
In this segment, Sunita Quadros, Sr. Vice President, Worldwide Media, India’s leading lifestyle, Internet advertising and Content Company, shares her experiences and breaking the gender stereotypes and how she continues to inspire many other women who are true leaders in the making.
Journey
There were no straight lines in my journey, I received both the peaks and lows that kept me moving forward. The ups in my journey kept reminding me where I wanted to go and the downs did not let me stop from getting there. Yes, sometimes the downs may have been challenging and harsh, but then, I don’t think I have much to complain, I have also had times when my career ups were much more than what I anticipated.
I studied to be a lawyer, but went on to become a marketing and sales professional. Like millions of other middleclass student’s financial concerns, will I be hired, and fear of failure was some of the common challenges I faced at the start of my career. There have been quite a number of lessons that I learned and I do not speak of having a goal or a vision. It was more about knowing my strengths, and what made me tick, it was the skills I had acquired, or wanted to acquire ,or the next job I wanted to apply for, or more important being better than me.
I believe my integrity and strong work ethic is what has made me the strong career person I am today. I can also honestly say I was fortunate to meet mentors and seniors who were very supportive and allowed me to work to my full potential. I personally feel life keeps throwing opportunities and challenges; we need to learn to deal with both and to make the most out of it.
Inspiration & Inspiring the Team
I could probably come up with a list of great people who are and have been amazing inspirations, for me my inspiration is an ordinary woman who had the extraordinary power to battle every adversity that life threw her – My Mother has been my true hero and the greatest inspiration in my life, widowed at the age of 35, she not only had to bring up two daughters, but also had to deal with major setbacks. My father passed away at sea, so we had no major savings of any kind, and mom had no education to back her. My mom’s sheer strength and determination is what even today keeps me in awe of her. Life was tough then and there would have been many a times where she would have wanted to give up, but for her backing out or giving up was never an option, she was determined and worked tirelessly to make things happen. Mom not only dealt with these setbacks, she ingrained in us our culture and tradition, our do’s and don’ts, the rights and wrongs.
I learnt countless life’s s lessons from her outlook towards overcoming adversities, the way she handled her life taught me that given the determination there isn’t a struggle that cannot be overcome. I am what I am today only because of my hero and my inspiration
I believe that you are only as good a leader as your team is. I make sure my team is aware of my goals, purpose and vision for the organization if they know what they are working towards. It motivates and inspires them to work together to achieve greater results. We as an organization nurtures a culture of regular open engagement, and brainstorming sessions, this ensures my team that their ideas are valued, and business can be built around the ideas shared.I also feel a true leader is the one who steps back and hands over ownership and responsibility to every member of the team.
Empowerment of Women
I strongly feel that women have always played a significant role in the world and society, they have in the most dire circumstances empowered themselves, whether with support or without. It is now that we speak of it. A simple story – 7 housewives, with no education, these women had to figure out a way to sustain their household, so Lijjat Pappad was created in a crowded chawl in Bombay now Mumbai with just a contribution of Rs. 80 and this was way back in 1959, it was then a revolutionary feminist aspiration, today it is a USD 224 billion company, or Ifrah Ahmed’s story, the Girl from Mogadishu, a victim of female genital mutilation, who escaped human trafficking, today she has given herself a voice against the practice. There are so many such stories some big, many unknown.
I do agree that there is still a lot of work to be done here, but what I am trying to say here is that to be empowered one has to go all out and empower themselves. What I also want to add here is that this can only happen if we decide that women empowerment is not only a ‘women’s issue’ but affects both women and men, and both women, and men have to change their attitudes and social norms, to ensure that women are empowered and given a dignified equal status.
