PINAKI MAJUMDAR
Jamshedpur, Aug 6: XLRI’s Placement Committee hosted its annual Women Round Table Conclave – INSPIRUS on Friday.
The panellists for the event were Aradhana Khaitan, founder and managing director, Manya Education Pvt. Ltd., Anuranjita Kumar, co-founder and CEO, We-Ace, Masterchef Shipra Khanna, Indian Celebrity Chef, Author, Restauranteur, TV Personality and Shalini Pillay, office managing partner Bangalore and India Leader- Global Capability Centers, KPMG India.
The talk was centred on how important it is to have empathy – especially when it comes to women in the workforce. The central idea of the INSPIRUS event was to discuss the success stories of women in positions of power and how they achieved their ambitions despite multiple hurdles.
The speakers discussed that it is essential for both men and women to support each other and coalesce into a unit to excel in this journey called life. Women empowerment is not a gender-focused job. While both men and women have their own set of challenges, the situation gets ideal when both work together as a team.
Speakers Anuranjita Kumar and Shalini Pillay shared the opinion that their success stories were also enabled by the help of their spouses who understood and supported them throughout their professional and personal journeys.
Aradhana Khaitan seconded this thought and further added that it is also equally crucial to not restrain your ambitions based on the restrictive opinions and thoughts of the society around you.
She spoke from her various personal experiences regarding the difficulties she had to face in order to pursue an education and the subsequent successful business venture she launched.
While the most rebuttal came from her immediate family, she advised continuing to move forward without the worry or fear of the unknown outcomes holding you back. When you continue to follow your instincts relentlessly, things have a way of falling in the right place at the right time.
Shalini focused on women riding high on the corporate ladder and how they are subjected to sometimes question their full potential due to societal conditioning. She advised to never stop believing in oneself even when things get tricky and how the path ahead becomes narrower but clearer.
Seamlessly fitting into it, Chef Shipra Khanna reiterated the importance of believing in oneself, especially once you are successful.
Anuranjita stressed how love, respect and security can shape a woman’s thinking, converting them into better leaders without the external pressures of living up to the roles that society expects them to. She talked about how leadership programmes in industries can help add to their leadership skills.
The roundtable was held online with XLRI’s Human Resource Management and General Management Area faculty, Tina K. Stephan moderating the session. Members of the placement committee Urvashi Kaul and Divya Enamandra – both from the Placement Committee – were host and co-host for the event. The conclave concluded with a vote of thanks by Urvashi Kaul summarising the whole session.
