Women leaders have been outperforming with duple efforts and dedication. In an attempt to praise their decision-making skills, our team of Business APAC has curated a new magazine issue, “Business APAC Decisive Women Leaders of 2020”.

1. EFFICIENT
LEADER
OMEN
LEADERS
DECISIVE
2020
EDITION
SEPTEMBER 2020
UNCOVER KATE GURBA’S (EXECUTIVE
VICE PRESIDENT & COO AT CHI SOFTWARE)
INTRUDING STORY AND HER UNIQUE
PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH.
BUSINESS APAC DECISIVE WOMEN LEADERS OF 2020
CULTURAL
DISPARITY
BREAKING THE
STEREOTYPES

2. Hitachi Social Innovation is

4. LETTEREDITOR’S
The crisis has caused chaos throughout the globe. Times like this demand for leaders
who can look beyond themselves, who feel compelled to act not only for their own
people, but also for society as a whole. Amid the outbreak of COVID-19, women
leaders have successfully tackled the challenges put forth by the pandemic. These leaders did
not shy away from taking counsel from experts and were confident in decision-making.
On our Cover, we have Kate Gurba, the CEO and Founder of CHI Software, who has coined
women leaders as fantastic multitaskers. Furthermore, she has shared her take on the debate of
gender roles and provided much-needed wisdom on the current work reality. Likewise,
between the pages, readers will also find exhilarating journeys of several prominent women
leaders.
Women leaders have been outperforming with duple efforts and dedication. In an attempt to
praise their decision-making skills, our team of Business APAC has curated a new magazine
issue, “Business APAC Decisive Women Leaders of 2020”. These leaders have distinguished
themselves due to their sheer empathy for the team members and putting the health and human
security at the very heart of their response.
Empathy and inclusiveness will be the strengths for the leaders of tomorrow and
coincidentally, both are core strengths of women leaders!
Also, partaking in the age-old debate about gender disparity, our writers have penned down
interesting articles in the section “Breaking the Stereotypes” and “Cultural Disparity”
respectively. These articles have closely narrated the necessity to include women in leadership
roles for a better tomorrow.
Vidya Joshi
Editorial Coordinator
The Leaders of Tomorrow
OMEN
LEADERS
DECISIVE
2020

5. PAGECREDIT
Publisher :
Editor-in-Chief :
Archana Ghule
Vikram Suryawanshi
Editorial Coordinator : Shubham Biradar
Vidya Joshi
Rakesh Mahto
Utkarsh Deshpande
Art Director : Vinod Alhat
Head of Distribution & Production: Aakash Mahajan
Business Analysts : Maria Smith
Advertising : Jacob Eddy
BUSINESS APAC
C-206, Wisteriaa Fortune, Wakad, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Maharashtra- 411057
Business APAC Magazine is published by Pericles Ventures Pvt Ltd. Reproduction or use of this publication in any manner
without any permission of the publisher is prohibited. The team of Business APAC Magazine has made every port to ensure the
accuracy of the content. The publisher assumes no responsibility of any part of the content of any advertisement in this
publication, including anyerrors and omissions therein. All rights are reserved by Pericles Ventures Pvt Ltd.
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Web Development & Maintenance : Vishal More
Graphic Designer : Sushant Kamble

6. 10
CONTENTS

7. 20 22 30
2834
24
Cultural
Disparity
36
Breaking
the
Stereotypes

10. GURBA
KATEKATE
GURBAA Multidimensional Leader Successfully
Managing the Challenges
C-O-V-E-R S-T-O-R-Y
DECISIVE WOMEN LEADERS
10

11. AA
Executive VP & COO
CHI Software
11

12. The current pandemic has
again raised debates on
gender roles and leadership
responsibilities. Some are suggesting
that work from home—especially for
women professionals— has somehow
increased the work hours. However,
women professionals have always
been excellent examples of multi-
tasking. Drawing inspiration from the
same, Kate Gurba (Executive Vice
President and COO at CHI
Software) shared her take on the
debate.
“Women have always managed an
overwhelming amount of invisible
labor — combining a professional
career while running a household,
bringing up children, caring for
partners, elderly parents, friends, or
maintaining their families' stability. I
never cease to be astonished by their
heroics.”
The experience there taught her to
always have a futuristic approach and
calculate possible risks as people's
lives depended on her work and
management level. After acquiring
her Master's in Project and Program
Management, she fully committed to
working with people, developing and
executing companies' strategies and
marketing plans, including business
analysis, and the implementation of
Kate Gurba has been a part of CHI
Software for more than 5 years and
throughout this time she has been
progressively promoted from head of
the department to COO. She is a
graduate from National Aerospace
University, Faculty of Rocket Science
and had first-hand project
management experience of working
in a construction company. In the
construction, sphere work is driven
by strict standards, tight deadlines,
and enormous responsibility,
especially for people's lives.
Ÿ Healthcare
The Exceptional Team members
services
The times of COVID-19 has
adversely impacted several industries.
However, CHI Software is assisting
businesses and community leaders
globally to reopen safely, re-skill
employees, and respond efficiently
towards the pandemic. To date, CHI
Software has been successful in
delivering 650+ projects, making it a
trusted product development and
design partner for companies all
around the world. Kate proudly states
that all this has been possible because
of the exceptional team of CHI
Software.
The implementation of all these
practices, high-quality instruments,
and agile methodologies to manage
the projects all around the world has
In the times of COVID-19, every
company shifted from the traditional
working routine to remote working.
Every company has faced issues
while adapting to remote working,
however, CHI Software was
efficacious in adapting to the change.
CHI Software designed and
implemented transparent remote work
processes and models for overall
team effectiveness a long time before
the pandemic, as many of its
employees already worked from
remote locations. Apart from this, the
employees always had the preference
to opt for work from home, even
before the pandemic. This approach
helped the team to develop a
specialized approach dedicated to
conducting internal and external
negotiations and communications.
Kate further adds, “A successful
remote worker must be a full-fledged
team player, motivated to maintain
strong business relationships.”
new ideas and tools.
As a senior executive at CHI
Software, Kate aims to swiftly
establish the architecture for
decision-making within the company
so that accountability is transparent
and decisions are made by
appropriate people at different levels.
Result-Oriented Software Solutions
Ÿ E-learning
CHI Software was established with a
mission to craft software solutions for
startups and well-established
companies that need a
technologically innovative partner.
By leveraging cutting-edge tech, on-
time delivery, and robust engineering
culture, CHI Software has been
successful in delivering result-
oriented software solutions.
Constantly adding new areas of
expertise, the team of CHI has proven
competence and practical experience
to cover the end-to-end development
process for various platforms and
provided noteworthy software
solutions for every size business. “We
love leveraging the latest innovations
to make big impacts on the business
environment, especially in the fintech,
insurtech, and banking industries,”
states Kate.
Ÿ IoT, Smart Solutions and Smart
City
Ÿ Automotive (developing
supporting apps for well-known
car brands)
Ÿ Cloud computing and consulting
Ÿ Cyber/Information Security
(security software for different
types of businesses)
CHI Software caters these
sophisticated software solutions to
various industries including but not
limited to,
Ÿ Retail (e-commerce shops, online
payments systems)
Ÿ AI & ML
C-O-V-E-R S-T-O-R-Y
12

13. “Every crisis is a time for opportunities. It is a
time when leaders appear,” said Kate. Briefing in
response to women's leadership, Kate believes
that women leaders have an ascendency. Women
have the power to store different information in
their heads and are efficient at multitasking. Over
the years, women leaders have been adaptive,
stable, and psychologically and physiologically
flexible. Due to the empathetic nature, it is easy
for women to co-operate and soften the edges
when needed. “I believe that women leaders
possess a deep understanding of their staff's
challenges inside and outside the office. This
leads them to be effective managers,” said Kate.
As a leader, a woman brings a different approach
to problem-solving by considering various factors
and develops solutions that address the
complexities they face.
helped the members of CHI Software to work
efficiently and stay productive in the quarantine
period. Apart from this, due to the uncertainty and
changes surrounding us anxiety is bound to take
effect. Kate advises that the key to overcoming
anxiety is support. As a leader, she always ensures
that every member of the team is heard and every
effort is paid without delay, not leading anyone
into anxiety and uncertainty operationally and
emotionally.
Regardless of gender, in any organization's
routine, the most valuable quality that leaders
bring is experience. Kate further acclaims that a
leader must be aware of his/her area of expertise
and must include qualified people wherever
necessary. One person cannot know everything,
thus a leader must be modest enough to listen to
others and decide what's best for the organization
because ultimately the leader is the responsible
person. Besides, as the responsible leader, s/he
must search for all the information they can get
CHI Software pays special attention to the EQ of
its managers. Emotional intelligence is as vital as
primary skills. Furthermore, Kate believes that
leaders must have a solid understanding of how
their emotions and actions affect people around
them. The better a leader relates to and works
with others, the more successful he or she will be.
Crisis Is Not an Excuse
Success is multifaceted
enough. Like a puzzle, it
pieces together with your
family, living environment,
education.
‘‘‘‘
13

14. There are
no things
like a better
day, time, or
age. We need
to use and
appreciate
what we have
now.
“It's that three-dimensional chess
game you're playing. So you have
to be super thoughtful while
making quick decisions. And to do
that, you have to gather as much
information as you can. That is all
about asking for help. You can't do
that all alone,” asserts Kate.
World Always Needs Proactive
Leaders
The pandemic has taken the
organizations by surprise, causing
havoc and imbalance to the
routine and set plans. In times like
this, the leader needs to project
confidence in the organization and
find a way through the tough
situation. Kate suggests the
leaders be optimistic and confront
the uncertainty. The team must
know that the leader is aware of
the unprecedented situation and is
continuously striving to fill in the
information gap required to tackle
the challenge. The key is to be
self-aware. The more self-
awareness one gain, the better
ways will s/he discover to work
smarter, not harder. She further
quotes Confucius, “When it is
obvious that the goal can't be
reached, don't adjust the goals,
adjust the action steps.”
Even after the pandemic settles
down, the world will always need
smart, honest, and proactive
leaders, both women and men.
before landing on the conclusion.
She affirms that any crisis is no
excuse for not taking care of the
business appropriately. The leader
must be aware of the ongoing
issues and have a futuristic
approach to lead.
The long stretched issue of the
work-life balance has troubled
every individual. However, Kate
has learned to combine business,
work, and family. Spending
quality family time is one of her
rules. She advises to not
compromise with it. Furthermore,
Kate recommends avoiding doing
everything at the same time. She
adds, “Nobody can get absolutely
everything done.” It is important
to learn to say no and set the
priorities straight. “Rethinking
these boundaries and developing a
new paradigm of 'work-life-
balance' allowed me to regain my
power and help me to rediscover
my sense of purpose,” concludes
Kate.
In response to remote working,
she recommends that any forward-
thinking organization should
implement long-term, flexible
work programs, allowing parents,
especially women, to work
schedules that accommodate both
their personal and professional
demands.
Presently, the borders between
work and home life have been
highly blurred. As a result, the
work hours have stretched from 9-
5 to all-time when one is awake.
This has in turn caused more
complications in the remote
working scenario. On the other
hand, there are few for whom this
virus outbreak has worked as the
priority reset. Rather than being
distracted by parallel tasks, people
have learned to focus on important
things that matter and influence
the fundamental goals.
Work Realities in COVID-19
‘‘
‘‘
C-O-V-E-R S-T-O-R-Y
14

15. OURSTORY
2006
Company
establishment.
First steps.
Rampant
development.
Backend
era.
2009
2013
Steady growth.
Mobile
embedded
epoch.
Conquering
new markets:
Europe, Isreal,
the USA.

16. 2017
Outer space
and trending
tendencies
exploration.
Inspiring
customers to
succeed.
2018
2019
Bringing
innovative
ideas to
life.
New challenges,
further
unpausing
developement.
Tofurtherreadindetails:www.chisw.com/our-story

17. Being a successful leader, Kate has earned her personal experiences and insights from
the journey. She says, “I have learned that there is no place for 'I don't feel like I'm
ready' thoughts in my life. I always check if I have the necessary things and don't let the
opportunity pass by.” Consequently, she has some handful of advice for aspiring leaders.
Ÿ Take Risks
She suggests that waiting for the appropriate opportunity will bring nothing. One should
learn to use and appreciate what s/he has now because there are no things like a better
day, time, or age.
Ÿ Energy Matters
Ÿ Do Not Wait for Better Times
Kate believes that taking risks is important but what is more vital is to understand, learn,
and practice—how and when to take risks. According to her, people who tend to take
risks grow immensely, as compared to the ones' who like to play it safe.
Regardless of energy being positive or negative, the energy one brings greatly influences
everyone around us. Positive energy often comes from being nice and giving helpful
feedback in a manner that builds people up. Kate further asserts that this kind of positive
energy fuels the team to succeed.
The Success
Mantras by Kate
17

18. www.gsk.com

20. O
ften entrepreneurs believe that
becoming a leader is the final
terminus in their
entrepreneurial journey. However,
leadership is a journey, and not the
destination. “We make pathway
decisions about the people we lead, our
organizations and ourselves. Every
time we make these decisions, it sets us
on a new pathway. Our leadership and
career journey only has stopovers,”
says &Dr. Nagma Abbasi (Founder
CEO NextGen)at , a genius scientist,
and a remarkable entrepreneur.
Dr. Nagma has been striving for
excellence since her childhood and is
committed to delivering exceptionally
in her endeavours. She had no prior
experience in entrepreneurship or was
seldom exposed to entrepreneurs,
making her the first-Gen entrepreneur
of her family. The journey was difficult
but she was highly supported by her
family which motivated her to work
hard towards her goal. Her
entrepreneurial journey began with the
establishment of NextGen Life
Sciences Pvt. Ltd. in 2014. The
company was established to cater to
the untapped opportunities of the
The company was established with an
aim to bridge the gap between the
needs and pains of researchers of the
Life Science/ Biotech Industry and
assist the scientists to gain insight on
the recent innovations and
technologies, assuring a sound
knowledge of the subject matter.
Henceforth, with its augmented
spectrum of products and solutions, it
is empowering the mounting realm of
complex analytical challenges.
NextGen addresses a wide range of
requirements such as the sample,
material characterization, and chemical
analysis to clinical diagnoses and
biological-based therapeutics handling.
successful in attaining customer trust in
a short period by providing excellent
services in the industry.
The company offers products for Cell
Analysis, Cell Culture & Transfection,
Cloning, DNA & RNA Purification,
Gene Expression Analysis &
Genotyping, PCR, Protein Expression
& Analysis, Real-Time PCR,
Sequencing, and Synthetic Biology. In
Augmenting Portfolio of Products
and Services
The Initial Journey
The key achievement for NextGen has
been the consistent growth for the last
six years in terms of revenue and
profitability. The company has been
Being a scientist herself, Dr. Nagma
was aware of the pain points of
scientist in the Biotechnology, Life
Sciences and healthcare industry.
Having this experience was beneficial
for curating the services of NextGen
Life and turning it into a successful
establishment. However, like any other
startup initially, the company too had
to face a few challenges like capital
investments, assembling a quality
team, building a customer base, and
good relationship. “Today, with such
hard work and determination of me
and my team we deliver the best of
services and solutions which are smart
and futuristic, and NextGen Life
Sciences Pvt. Ltd. has become the most
preferred brand for clients,” proudly
asserts Dr. Nagma.
industry and become the frontrunner in
providing biological research products
and services.
DR. NAGMA ABBASI
An Eminent Scientist Catering
the Untapped Opportunities
Founder & CEO | NextGen Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd.
DECISIVE WOMEN LEADERS
20

21. addition to these products, its portfolio
also comprises of Cancer Research,
Stem cell research, Drug Discovery
and development, Plant Sciences,
Epigenetics and Services for
Sequencing, Next Generation
Sequencing, and Bioinformatics.
NextGen was spontaneous in
delivering the needs of the healthcare
and biotech industry in the time of
COVID-19 as well. The sudden
lockdown was surprising for many
people and businesses equally as no
one were prepared for this halt. Despite
the urgency, Dr. Nagma was proficient
in managing the team. The NextGen
team initially required guidance from
Dr. Nagma but soon was swift to adapt
to the changes and operate remotely.
Being well-versed with the relevant
technology helped the team in remote
working. Due to COVID19 cases
surging across the country, the clients
started demanding products for
Currently, NextGen is enthusiastic
about the futuristic innovations in
Biotechnology like Next Generation
Sequencing (NGS) in clinical
laboratories, NGS Data analysis, and
interpretation of unknown genetic
variants. With its presence in North
India, it is planning to expand its
network in West and South India as
well. It is looking forward to the new
technology and its application-
CRISPR. CRISPR technology is a
simple yet powerful tool for editing
genomes. NextGen Life Sciences is
keen on transforming the modus
operandi of research and future need
for scientific discoveries and
innovations. “Our company's mission
is to discover, delineate, and deliver
high-quality products and excellent
services that enable millions of lives to
live a healthy and better life,” said Dr.
Nagma.
Meeting the Demands of COVID-19
Dr. Nagma is a family oriented person
and at the same time is well aware of
her professional life responsibilities.
She asserts that the trick is in managing
the time and priorities. She adds, “If
I'm at work then I'm 100 percent at
work and I just behave like a
responsible CEO and when I'm at
home with my family I behave like a
Homemaker.” Decision making is an
important aspect of life and Dr. Nagma
believes that if one is good at decision
making, she can manage personal and
professional life well.
Apart from the several challenges an
entrepreneur encounters, the work-life
balance remains the classic one.
However, Dr. Nagma managed to attain
the perfect balance between the two.
She belonged to a family background
with working women and had grown
watching them manage between work
and home. This taught her to manage
between the two.
has proved to be a new learning
experience for all business leaders. The
pandemic has prepared the leaders for
new challenges and helped to adjust to
the new working environment. “I
learned more about Time management,
working with limited resources,
working with extended hours, cash flow
management, challenges, motivation,
and customer relationship during this
difficult time,” said Dr. Nagma.
Responsible CEO and Home-maker
Leadership was vastly challenged in
the tough times of COVID-19. Dr.
Nagma believes that being patient and
managing things with limited resources
is crucial to make women uniquely
qualified to lead at large during this
pandemic. Remote working and
managing personal life at the same
time is not an easy task. However, Dr.
Nagma believes that women have
managed to keep themselves and the
team motivated and positive during this
pandemic due to their multitasking
skills.
COVID-19 Testing Kits and
instruments. As per ICMR guidelines,
the gold standard test Real-Time PCR
testing has been recommended for all
clients. The NextGen team educated
people about the Real-Time PCR
testing kits options available in the
Indian Market and provided the best
solutions to customers. The team
worked meticulously with its
associates and partners to create the
best quality products available on
highly competitive pricing to
customers as a total End to End
solution and contributed in the fight
against the novel coronavirus. Dr.
Nagma proudly asserts, “We feel proud
to serve the nation in such a difficult
time and serve for this noble cause of
saving lives.”
Uniquely Qualified for Leadership
Regardless of gender, this pandemic
“A woman has to play a number
of roles and I feel every woman
should know this art of
multitasking well.”
21

22. Most entrepreneurs focus on
profits. Some exceptional
ones are able to look beyond
and focus on the larger purpose of their
endeavors. One such leader is Karen
Leong (Co-founder of Influence
Solutions); seeking meaning in her
accomplishments is the north star of her
entrepreneurial journey. Perhaps that is
why she is also an author, motivational
speaker, and philanthropist.
After a high-intensity career with an
international accounting firm, Karen set
out to seek purpose and a meaningful
journey. This courageous decision set
her on a path which transformed her
into an authority on influence. She spent
a year in Amsterdam helping victims of
trafficking. This experience had a
profound impact on her. “For the first
time, I fully appreciated what we are
truly capable of when we are pushed to
the edge,” said Karen. This experience
also fueled her interest in human
potential. She co-founded the learning
and development company—Influence
Solutions, to research and develop
influential teams. This has become her
life's work for almost 15 years, and it's
led to her seminal book 'Win People
TM
The F.I.R.S.T. framework has enabled
Influence Solutions to empower more
than 250,000 leaders and executives
from 500 of the world's biggest and best
companies in developing a robust
leadership pipeline and a growth-
oriented organizational culture. The end
result? Enhanced performance,
productivity, and profitability.
It is this relentless focus on helping
clients achieve desired KPIs (Key
Performance Indicators) that has led to
Influence Solutions being recognised as
a leader in sustainable transformation.
As Karen points out, “I guess the
finance professional in me is very much
alive! I love helping companies be more
profitable, by helping people be more
productive. In the end, it's about
empowering people to have more
the exclusive framework of the
company, developed by identifying 70
behaviors that help people to become
more inspiring leaders and effective
managers. This is the basis for the
TM
F.I.R.S.T. leadership solution and 360
profiling tool. It not only makes
leadership development very practical
but also measurable.
F.I.R.S.T- The Proprietary
Framework
Over', which is used as a resource book
used by many global corporations.
Packed with practical insights
especially relevant for Asian audiences,
this book opened the floodgates to the
world of keynote speaking for Karen.
Today, she is recognized as one of the
top ten influential speakers in Singapore
and has been awarded the Certified
Speaking Professional (CSP)
accreditation, reserved for the top
echelon of global speakers.
In these disruptive times, every
organisation is realising the critical
importance of supporting their leaders
and teams to thrive in change. Many of
them are tapping into the expertise of
Karen and her team at Influence
Solutions to help them stay ahead of the
curve.
Headquartered in Singapore with a
global footprint, Influence Solutions'
mission is to empower people and
TM
organisations to be F.I.R.S.T -
Future-Ready, Innovative, Relevant,
TM
Strategic, and Trusted. F.I.R.S.T is
KAREN LEONG
A Philanthropic Leader Guiding
the Dreams of the Achievers
Co-founder | Inuence Solutions
DECISIVE WOMEN LEADERS
22

23. That is why, when many Influence
Solutions clients requested solutions to
energize and motivate their virtual
teams, Karen tapped her co-founding
director, Mukul Deva, who is an
accomplished international best-selling
thriller author to create a virtual team
bonding series that increased trust and
connection. Thus was born License To
Thrill— the ultimate virtual team
gaming extravaganza. Designed to
enhance trust and team psychological
safety using a blend of fun games and
online activities, Licence To Thrill has
already been experienced by thousands
of people in Asia, Europe, and North
America. “It has been so successful that
our team is scrambling to keep pace
with the demand,” stated Karen.
The company has also used its platform
to help the community. They have
Three years ago, the company launched
Rise through the Ranks Summit—a
global online leadership summit, where
thousands of participants from over 70
countries learned how to accelerate their
careers. With this head start in virtual
learning, Influence Solutions was able
to lead their clients to fully embrace the
power of online solutions. It is
interesting how the pandemic had
inadvertently accelerated this process.
fulfilling personal and professional
lives.”
Effective Crisis Management
With the onset of the Covid-19 outbreak
earlier this year, many companies were
forced to adopt remote working
practices. Karen shares “At that time,
almost all of our in-person conference
and workshop engagements were either
canceled or postponed. Luckily whether
it was foresight or luck or a
combination of both, we had started our
transition into the virtual learning
world way back in 2017.”
Karen is of the view that both women
and men can lead powerfully; both have
qualities that are valuable in different
contexts. For example, a lot of women
are very strong with the innate qualities
of empathy and human connection,
which are key leadership traits,
especially relevant today where one is
leading in more uncertain and highly
specialized environments. Perhaps that
is why women leaders like NZ Prime
Minister Jacinda Ardern, President of
Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, and German
Chancellor Angela Merkel have done
really well in dealing with the Covid-19
pandemic. They were upfront about the
unknowns, and their plans to mitigate
the uncertainty, thereby managing to
restore public calm and confidence.
When we learn how to hold these
boundaries, Karen believes remote
working can be beneficial—especially
for women professionals who struggle
with family commitments.
Women Professionals of the Industry
mental, and emotional, we will often be
amazed at how much more productive
we become, and more fulfilled too.”
She believes that this style of
enlightened leadership, which harnesses
the cumulative wisdom, creativity, and
expertise of the team, forges greater
trust, motivation, and the connection is
the foundation of high-performing
teams.
The key is setting boundaries. Karen
shares this saying that she keeps close
to heart 'A healthy person has a
thousand wishes, a sick person only
one.' “We need to ensure that we
schedule a time for self-care, every day.
When we put our health first – physical,
With virtual working, the world is now
one's oyster. Karen gets to speak,
facilitate, and coach leaders and teams
based world-wide, without the
downtime of travel. “I used to travel to
speak at global conferences. Now, I step
into a virtual stage at home to address
international audiences, and I can go to
my kids immediately after I step off the
stage.”
However this has also blurred the line
between our personal and professional
lives, and one can end up working
really long hours. “There are days when
I have executive coaching sessions in
the morning, delivered a keynote in the
afternoon, and then facilitated a virtual
workshop for North American teams
late at night – literally a 24-hour
workday,” says Karen.
facilitated many pro-bono virtual
learning solutions to benefit local not-
for-profits. Karen adds “If you are from,
or know of any community outreach
organisations, please reach out to us.
We love to help make a difference.”
More opportunities lead to the need
for more balance
“The innate qualities that women
have of empathy and human
connection, are key leadership
traits that motivate and
inspire people.”
23

24. THE WOMEN
IN LEADERSHIP
Does Culture Really A ect
or is it an Excuse?
THE WOMEN
IN LEADERSHIP
24
CULTURAL DISPARITY

25. Change it and maintain it
Historically, there were many powerful women
leaders. The culture barriers did not affect their
success but yet today women struggle for fair
opportunities. Culture seems to have played an important
role in women's lives. The way it affects the opportunities
women have or we can say the limitations women have are
all connected to culture. Women have always been told to
focus more on home responsibilities and limited their access
to the outside world. This has resulted in the lack of
participation of women in leadership.
Equal number is not equality
As the years have passed, the culture has modified or we can
say women snatched their equal rights for making it possible
for them to have a place in the working sector. Women have
been excelling in all the fields they enter. Regardless of
gender barriers, women are trying to create a space for them.
Equal rights are given to women, yet we see them struggle
for the fair chance. The updated society needs an updated
culture. Men have outnumbered women and deprived them
of a fair chance of leadership.
Some people confuse the word 'equality' with 'equal number'.
Do not flood your office with female employees. When it
comes to equality, women deserve an equal chance and
value, not an equal number of co-workers. The way women
are treated at work should not be gender-biased. The
feedback of the workers would be beneficial for this. You can
ask them about how they feel working in the environment
and the changes they wish to see. Considering all this would
create a beneficial platform. If your company lacks women's
participation address the issue. Study the problems and
execute the proper solution to include more participation.
Creating a women-friendly environment is not a big task.
Stop treating women as special and treat them as normal
human beings for starters.
Ask questions such as “what's the best organization you can
imagine? What behaviors do we need to change? What
opportunities might we be missing if we don't change?”
Taking actions to create change is easy but maintaining it is
where the work starts. You cannot just plant a seed and
expect it to grow perfectly. All the changes should be
maintained properly. The senior leaders play an important
role here. The seniors must know what is going on in the
workspace and if all the employees are satisfied with the
environment or not. Google's leadership team, for example,
has published research reports that recognize that their
female employees can benefit from many kinds of perks that
Women are about three times as likely as men to say their
gender has made it harder for them to succeed at their job.
Men are not experiencing these challenges as regularly as
women do. The gender bias nature has favored men for a
long time. Men and women working in the same place end
up having different work experiences. To understand it in a
better way, many times men are considered for the
promotion, and women (being deserving) are still rooted out.
This type of behavior also leads to a lack of women's
participation. Considering the competition, women always
have to put extra efforts as compared to men. It is important
to understand that considering someone as a leader should
totally depend on the talent, not the gender. Keeping the
talent in mind, we could give women a fair opportunity to
lead.
To conclude, blaming culture for the unfair treatment of
women is old news. We keep updating our apps, then why
can't we update our thoughts. The issues are all blamed on
culture and we do not really work for solutions. Lack of
women in leadership is due to the lack of participation of
women. Giving them an equal platform would surely
increase the women leaders' ratio. It would not happen
magically though, with proper efforts and measures, we
could give women finally the place they deserve. More
women in leadership, would not only create a better place to
work but also be more adaptive and productive. Modern
problems need modern solutions.
Do men have it easy?
focus on their specific needs, from expectant mothers
parking to maternity leaves. The executives at Google took
this information and acted on it, all in an attempt to remedy
deep-lying cultural issues. These changes may seem minor
but prove important for the women-friendly environment.
2020 and still inequality is a serious issue
Inequality still seems to be an unsolved issue. Equal
education rights, equal career opportunities are still not
accomplished. The toxic culture may seem like a problem,
but for how long? We need to have a new perspective on
women's participation and rights. Women in leadership
should not be an issue we are facing in 2019. With all the
updated culture and environment, women still have to
struggle. Many measures are being implemented to make
them feel equal but the same is not practiced. We need to
change our perspective and stop stereotyping women for
once. We have seen how women excelled in every field,
therefore giving them a fair opportunity of leadership would
prove beneficial too.
25

26. Our V
in Ac

27. Values
ction

28. Evidently, there is immense
pressure on a leader,
especially on women
leaders. The role of a leader is
continuously evolving with time,
irrespective of gender. Though, there
have been a lot of speculations about
how leaders are made. When it
comes to women leaders, today, they
have a lot on their plate. It is true that
every individual has their own
strengths and weaknesses but women
leaders have consistently displayed
remarkable growth while playing
different roles in the organization.
One of the special characteristics
which have been observed in all the
successful women leaders is the
ability to anchor the organization.
Being empathetic, they focus on the
larger good, give utmost importance
to specifics, and can be laser-focused
in driving change. Prathima Inolu
(Chief Designer and Executive
Director of Divami) is one such
dynamic leader who focuses on
teamwork and inspires everyone
around her to achieve the impossible.
Speaking of the troubled times, she
says the mutual trust established
between her and the team helped
them sail through difficult times. She
also attributes the team's effort as the
reason for the company emerging out
of the difficult situation through their
consistent commitment, ownership,
and hard work. Additionally, this
hardworking team comprises
strategists, designers, and developers
who are passionate about
'Humanizing Technology' and bring a
difference in the world through their
work.
Delivering a Complete Solution
Under the leadership of Prathima, the
Divami team is focused on providing
User Experience and Design services
for mobile, web, smart TV, and
wearable applications. The core focus
of the company is on UX/UI—it
takes sole responsibility for
delivering a complete solution from
concept to rollout. One of the key
aspects that differentiate Divami
from its competitors is that the team
During her childhood, Prathima was
surrounded by people who inspired
and motivated her to make the most
of life. The teachings in childhood
shaped her to become ambitious and
nourished the “never give up”
attitude in her. She considers Divami
as the defining factor in her career.
Before joining the company, she
worked with several leaders who
believed in her and motivated her to
do better.
However, her entrepreneurial journey
started with Divami, and eventually,
she took over the position of Chief
Designer. Even though the
Hyderabad based UX UI Design
Firm was established in 2008, the
company was undergoing challenges
when Prathima came onboard.
Her leadership proved to be
beneficial for the company. She and
the entire Divami team pushed
themselves to become the global
leader in the design industry.
Divami: A Defining Factor
PRATHIMA INOLU
An Ardent Leader Grooming
Professionals of Tomorrow
Chief Designer & Executive Director | Divami
DECISIVE WOMEN LEADERS
28

29. not only handles design but also
helps clients actualize those designs
into pixel-perfect screens, through its
development services.
Divami has a wide range of client
bases such as B2B SaaS Platforms,
Enterprise Software Product firms,
Consumer (including e-commerce)
Apps and Platforms, and Corporates
with digital transformation projects.
The company helps in building entire
platforms, end-to-end, bringing in
expertise where needed.
Gender Roles in Pandemic
“We believe in ownership,
commitment, and giving our best to
any project we take on. We like to say
that 'we make it our problem so that
our clients can focus on their
business.' We believe in relationships
beyond business and truly owning
our clients' problems. This has
helped us survive and grow into what
we are today,” says Prathima.
The discussion on gender roles is
certainly not new. Irrespective of
gender, leaders are facing similar
problems tackling the challenges
caused by the ongoing pandemic.
There is a lot of uncertainty which
has resulted in sudden changes in the
plans and strategies. To drive the
company forward, several women
entrepreneurs have changed their
strategies focusing on long term
vision or have shifted their focus
areas. They have quickly adapted to
the changes and re-strategized to
survive in the long run. Highlighting
her views on the same, Prathima
states, “This could also be true for
leaders who are men, so it only goes
to show that gender doesn't matter
Prathima states, “And, from what I
can say from my own experience as
well as what I have been hearing in
my network, women are carrying it
off well even during these tough
times.”
It is a grim reality that women are
generally expected to manage an
enormous amount of invisible
labor—taking responsibility for their
families while managing their
careers. Also, the havoc caused by
COVID-19 has laid immense
pressure on every working woman.
The situation is challenging as the
women are ideally expected to
“Juggle it all”, while sometimes their
work takes a back seat. To emerge
from this, women need support.
Divami ensures that it extends the
support to those who need it, no
questions asked.
Extending Support to Women
more important thing is to maintain
the sense of one team, one family,
and provide the sense that we are still
there for each other. We are looking
forward to the end of this pandemic
and would like to celebrate with a
trip.”
The team has adapted themselves to
virtually connect with each—they
spend a few minutes chit-chatting
over coffee, online. Fridays were a
big affair in Divami, and it continues
through virtual coffee and gaming
sessions.
Celebrating Every Occasion
The pandemic has thrown several
challenges causing an unsettling
environment in the organizations.
This crisis is very demanding and
needs to be tackled with a focus on
team spirit and humanity. Divami
works on similar values to keep the
overall environment positive and
allows everyone to be part of the
organization's goal. Furthermore, the
company is close-knit and believes in
working hard, playing harder.
Prathima understands her
responsibilities to keep the team
together by engaging with them daily
and encouraging them to interact
with each other regularly.
for leadership. All of us—men or
women—are capable of dreaming
and achieving them, we just have to
figure out how to manage our
priorities.”
Prathima states, “While logistics and
technology can help to a degree, the
“I prefer not to be gender-biased,
but I would like to take this opportunity
to applaud all the women out there
who made a difference through their
leadership skills and inspired many others.”
29

30. Arguably, the new generation
companies are well balanced
than traditional companies.
One of the key factors that create this
gap is the involvement of women
leaders. Today, women entrepreneurs
are leading their companies with new
ideas along with maintaining a great
work-life balance. Hardships are part
and parcel of life. A firm
determination to sail through the
storms is what makes a woman, a
strong leader.
A woman in her lifetime plays various
roles. It is true that the path of women
leaders is far more difficult, as she has
to maintain a balance between her
personal as well as professional life.
By far, women leaders have done a
commendable job.
Since childhood, Snehal saw her
father experimenting in various
businesses which had a great impact
on her career. Entrepreneurship was
always in her blood. Taking
inspiration from her father she
pursued the dream of owning her own
venture and that gave birth to Human
Forte. Hence, Human Forte came into
existence. It is an HR advisory firm
with a customized twist providing
end-to-end HR services. The company
has over a decade of experience from
various national and international
clients.
till then, all of us are a 'Work in
progress',” says Snehal.
Engaging In Delivering the Best
She was highly inspired by her father,
who is a successful entrepreneur. “I
always believe that there is nothing
called as a failure. There are only two
sides to a coin, 'Successful' and 'Work
in progress'. To be called being
Successful' is the peak which is
defined by self-decided milestones and
Another reason why women leaders
are appreciated is because of the high
level of emotional quotient. This
helps them in creating attractive
family-friendly policies for the
organization. Today, the majority of
companies are inclined towards
offering a perfect job description
attracting the best employees for the
company. Snehal Jain, Founder and
CEO of Human Forte has years of
experience in understanding human
resources far better than others.
SNEHAL JAIN
A Cognizant Leader helming
the Human Resource
Founder & CEO | Human Forte
DECISIVE WOMEN LEADERS
30

31. First and foremost, Snehal and her
team understand the nature, culture,
competitions, market reputation, and
resources of the client company. They
don't just fill the gap but help the
clients to grow from one benchmark
to another.
One of the key differentiators of
Human Forte is that it is the only
company that provides recruitments
with a full background check on
candidates once they are shortlisted
for an offer. The clients are required to
specifically opt for this service as
many firms still do not believe in the
value quotient of employee
verification.
For smooth workflow, Human Forte is
divided into two departments—
business operations and business
research. The business operations
team consists of home-grown experts
competent to deal with client
requirements in a swift manner. On
the other hand, the business research
team keeps themselves engaged in
analyzing and delivering the use cases
around the latest industry trends. This
team also works extensively in
grooming fresh talent as per client
needs.
Empathizing With the Team
Pandemic has exposed several
drawbacks of the society, especially
the debate on gender disparity. Snehal
believes that the pandemic has
certainly brought a full stop to a
debate of who puts more effort into
the family. For years, the majority of
women leaders are sacrificing on a
personal front. A woman is not just a
wife, a mother, a partner but someone
who everyone looks up to in the
family. Women are now expected to
Remote working demands flexible
decision-making skills to ensure that
team members are actively
participating. Snehal was supported
by her team in all the decision-making
processes, overall creating a smooth
experience for everyone. Constant
support from her team members also
helped her in maintaining a great
work-life balance.
Ideal Work-Life Balance
Sharing her experiences, Snehal says,
“When you have a lot at stake, you
can't really fall for a work-life
balance. However, I am doing what I
enjoy the most and very grateful for
what life has given me. This only
pushes me to do better. I feel at the
end of the day, this imbalance makes
me a better person.”
No doubt, entrepreneurs comprise of
several qualities but what makes them
successful is the consistent support
from their family. On the personal
front, Snehal was strongly supported
by her family throughout her
entrepreneurial journey especially
during this crisis. From the early days
of her life, Snehal's father ignited the
entrepreneurship spark in her. Also,
throughout the journey, her husband
stood solid in all the decisions
providing her confidence and strength.
be full-time parents, caregivers, home
school teachers, caretakers—all while
excelling in their full-time jobs
—“World's most difficult but unpaid
job.” This quarantine has been a
complete game-changer and has
certainly moved the focus to relook
the challenges that women faced that
were mostly ignored.
Snehal believes that empathetic has
been the key to surviving these
demanding times. This quality has
also been helpful in understanding the
employees' challenges better and
guiding them further. Due to the
global lockdown situation, Snehal and
her team of Human Forte was forced
to adapt to the new normal of remote
working. Being a vigilant leader, she
adapted to these changes quickly. The
team supported each other and helped
in a swift transition from the physical
office to a virtual office. She utters
that the company had WFH
infrastructure in place, due to these
sudden changes, the drill became
reality in no time.
Snehal asserts, “This pandemic has
not only helped me to reinvent and
explore my hidden strengths but has
also helped me with an opportunity to
look at our business model from a
different perspective.”
“There are only two sides to a coin,
'Successful' and ‘Work in progress’. To be
called being Successful' is the peak which
is dened by self-decided milestones and
till then, all of us are a Work in progress.”
31

32. Information
RevolutionBecoming the corporate group needed
most by people around the world

33. Group

34. Ialways wanted to be a provider of
employment and not a seeker of
employment,” says Uma
Shankar, the Founder, CFO and
CPO of Maximus Infoware.
While working at the bank, Uma came
across several entrepreneurs who made
her realize she too had dreams of her
own and when the time is right she
would establish a venture of her own.
She served in the banking sector for
more than a decade and called it quits
to pursue her dream. Uma commenced
her entrepreneurial journey by setting
up a training institute. She ran her own
business of packaged software
distribution for 8 years and her firm
won many awards throughout this
time. Due to her exceptional
leadership, few of her key employees
from this business venture are still
working with her at Maximus today.
In 2007, Uma along with her husband
Mr. Shankar co-founded Maximus
Infoware India Pvt Ltd for providing
software services to the financial
services industry. Mr Shankar being a
financial services professional and a
technocrat spearheaded the product
Throughout the years Maximus' vision
has been to create and sustain a
frictionless, end-to-end transaction
ecosystem that benefits business
organizations and their customers, by
leveraging current and evolving
technologies. Thus, Uma and her
team's focus on payments and identity
management for more than a decade
These bouquets of innovative solutions
include channels for physical cash
(ATMs), virtual cash (cards, wallets),
or straight-through-processing (UPI,
Bill Pay). As a security measure, this
process is further authorized by
Identity Management Solutions.
Through this Maximus ensures the
identities of the users through
Biometric (thumb, iris, face) or
technology (encryption/decryption.
tokens, anti-fraud, innovations).
Besides, all the solutions by the
company are certified with both
international (PCI, EMV, etc.) and
national agencies (National Financial
Switches).
the user-end and make them smooth
and reliable through its innovative
solutions.
Superlative Services and Innovative
Solutions
Uma co-founded Maximus Infoware
with a mission to be the best global
technology-enabled service provider
delighting customers with top-notch
services and innovative solutions,
encompassing every delivery channel,
payment method, and customer
touchpoint. The company caters to
front-end banks and financial
institutions for various forms of
payments. In addition to this, Maximus
also facilitates the transactions from
management, business development
and organizational structuring. The
company initially started its journey
with 30 employees. Today, Maximus
Infoware has over 200 employees and
services private banks, financial
inclusion service providers, scheduled
banks, public sector banks and
corporates that provide service to
banks. Maximus has almost mapped
out all over India and is expanding its
geographical reach by setting its
footprints in Bhutan, Nepal,
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Djibouti,
Papua, New Guinea, and Australia.
UMA SHANKAR
An Ardent Leader Grooming
Professionals of Tomorrow
Founder, CFO & CPO | Maximus Infoware
‘‘
DECISIVE WOMEN LEADERS
34

35. Apart from this, there are only 5
employees that opted to stay in office
and are handling 24*7 support to the
customers. “Keeping their efforts in
mind we have fully taken care of their
food expenses and also paid an
additional allowance for working from
the office,” shared Uma.
Attaining the Perfect Balance
On the other hand, Uma also oversees
the department of Human Resources
and ensures that the company retains a
people-centric culture. By combining
her feminine instincts with professional
wisdom, she generates a unique
people-oriented culture, which is a key
strength of the company. Furthermore,
in the time of the pandemic, the
company has kept the employee health
at the top priority. As soon as the virus
surged around the world, Maximus
informed all the employees to work
from home. It established VPN
connectivity and also sent desktops to
the homes of the staff that did not have
their personal desktop or laptop.
Maximus also offered a Mediclaim
cover to all employees.
has enabled the company to excel and
placed it as a leader in the field.
Uma Shankar is not just the Founder
but also the Director, Finance &
Human Resources at Maximus. As the
Head of Finance, she handles the
finances, manages the investments, and
oversees the financial risks of the
company. In 2015 SIDBI Venture
Capital Ltd., invested in Maximus
Infoware. In 2017 and 2018 Maximus
has been rated as “Financially Stable”
by Crisil/S&P.
Preserving People-centric Culture
As an entrepreneur, the most difficult
part of running an organization is
finding balance between personal and
Being a working professional for a
long time, Uma Shankar has
experienced several obstacles but she
was always determined to reach the
goal. Even after the crisis, she has been
tackling the obstacles in terms of
financial and HR requirements. The
COVID-19 outbreak has been hard-
hitting for the employees in many
organisations with the sudden lay-offs
and industry shut-down. Despite the
industry scenario, she has been
encouraging the employees to bring out
their best and have also recruited a
good number of novices and grooming
them to be the best professionals.
As the veteran of the industry, Uma,
advises the aspiring professionals to be
determined and do hard work with
complete sincerity. Besides, always
believe in the fact that “Customer is
God” and provide the customers with
the best support to make a mark for
your organization in the industry.
Mentoring to be the Best
Professionals
career goals,” she asserts. The work-
from-home has given these employees
the freedom of time where completion
of work is important than 9 to 5
timings. This freedom has resulted into
more successful productive hours.
Women professionals are finding it
easy to focus on work as well as
balancing their personal life.
“Women have that innate sense of
understanding of others' strengths and
weaknesses and their problems as
well,” says Uma Shankar. Due to this,
employees tend to develop trust and
confidence in their woman employer
and this creates an invisible connection
between the employer and the
employees.
The balancing act remains inevitable,
especially, for women entrepreneurs
having a supportive family by side
helps to attain this balance peacefully.
Professionalism amid Crisis
office life. Uma has been perfectly
balancing the professional as well as
personal life. She understands that
personal family and official family are
equally important. However, there can
be times one has to sacrifice either on
personal family matters or on
professional matters depending on the
situation.
The current COVID outbreak has
altered the traditional work style.
According to Uma, this outbreak has
provided women professionals with a
new opportunity to resume their work.
“Women professionals who had
resigned to handle their home
responsibility have got the opportunity
now to work and also fulfill their
Uma further adds, “The compensating
act from my side needs to be doubled
up to make the family that sacrificed
more to feel better.”
“Employees develop trust and
condence in their woman employer
whom they are sure would give a
helping hand when in need.”
35

36. WOM ENTR
36
BREAKING THE STEREOTYPES

37. REPRENEURS
Not Just the Boardroom but Also the Workforce is
affected
The statistics explain that women face higher requirements
while submitting a proposal for venture capital financing.
To explain this more clearly, in a study it was proven that
financial evaluators see women without any technical
background as less capable than males who similarly have
no technical background. Women only had an advantage
over the male counterparts when they had a technical
background, and were evaluated as more sociable with
better leadership skills. This draws us to the conclusion that
a woman has to have a higher qualification than male
entrepreneurs, and also require both technical backgrounds
with a higher social capital i.e. strong social ties in the
industry, only then will she be recognized as a legitimate
entrepreneur. Thus, this makes it quite clear that for
investors to trust her entrepreneurial abilities, they need to
see a higher potential in her as compared to her male
colleagues, likely due to gender stereotypes.
because the employees tend to have mixed expectations
towards a female entrepreneur.
Where women are still struggling hard to attain a place on
the boards, the workforce ratio is also equally affected. For
instance, tech companies are highly prey to this workforce
diversity. It was observed that several tech companies
employed very few women. In 2014, tech giants like
Google, Facebook, Twitter comprised about 70% of men in
the workforce. The percentage of women's participation,
however, was raised to about 31.6% in 2019, which
accounts for only 1.6% rise in the five years.
REFUSING TO STAY IN THE SHACKLES
OF CONVENTIONAL NORMS
C
urrently, there has been a rise in the number of
“womentrepreneurs” as compared to the traditional
times. Female entrepreneurship took 20 years long
run in order to leap from 26% of business ownership in
1997 to 40% business ownership in 2019.
Although female entrepreneurship and the formation of
female-owned business networks is steadily rising, there are
numerous challenges and obstacles that female
entrepreneurs face. One major challenge that they face is
traditional gender-roles that are basically internalized by
society. The data depicts that men outnumber women in
terms of the most prestigious positions at firms. Other than
dealing with the dominant stereotype, female entrepreneurs
are facing several obstacles related to their business
investments too.
Constant Uphill Battle with No End in Sight
We are entering into a whole new decade and yet there are
around 55 GDI companies who have never had women on
their boards. However, this total was only the result of the
information provided by large organizations. The smaller
companies are less tending to add women to the boards.
Women remain to not have a seat at the table and a
significant voice in the boardroom.
Female entrepreneurs have to face stereotypical attitudes on
a daily basis. In this business scenario, the customers to
suppliers or even the banks can be the constant reminders
for the entrepreneur that she is different. Rarely this
reminder is in a positive way, in the form of praising her for
being a successful entrepreneur (being a woman). These
gender stereotypes affect the workforce attitude too,
37

38. The current scenario demands to employ a diversified
workforce. The gender-diverse workforce is vital for the
improvement of productivity. Creating a balance between
genders might be the real driver of superior performance
that mostly all business leaders are yearning. A study
suggests that gender balance among the leaders correlates to
higher stocks and greater profitability. The mixed-gender
boards outperformed the all-male boards, which also settle
the debate of why the results of hedge funds supervised by
women overtake hedge funds headed by men.
Demand for Womentrepreneurs Is Greater Than the
Supply
However, women entrepreneurs are launching ambitious
businesses in the high-tech industry in order to expand their
social networks. Despite of many challenges in the industry,
they are still making their pitches more relatable to the
male-dominant VC industry. Regardless of the conservative
norms, women have been creating good social networks.
Women have their networks a lot different from that of their
male equivalents and are not coinciding as much with
financial networks.
Hearing the word “feminist” raises quite some voices
among the people. While some support 'feminism' there are
many who get offended by the term. Despite the entire
backlash, feminists have made their debut in
entrepreneurship. A feminist entrepreneur is an individual
who smears feminist values and approaches
entrepreneurship with the aim of improving the quality of
life and also the well-being of girls and women. The leaders
are creating many 'for women, by women' enterprises,
which is an amazing initiative to promote women in
leadership. These leaders are entering the commercial
market with the focus to create wealth and social change,
Feminist Entrepreneurs Entering Commercial Markets
The social capital of an entrepreneur can be defined by the
networks they have access to, and the private equity
funding they receive is heavily influenced by the
entrepreneur's social capital and also if it overlaps with that
of venture capitalists. Women seem to be disadvantaged
when in search of private equity funding. The research on
gender discrimination in venture capital funding states that
the demand of skilled women entrepreneurs is higher than
the supply. Contrary to conventional wisdom, there were
women who were not financed through growth capital,
despite having the necessary skills to build a high-growth
business.
based on the ethics of cooperation, equality, and mutual
respect.
Supporting the women-helping-women agenda, many
successful female business owners or Angel investors have
started backing the 'for women, by women' enterprises by
investing in it. Whether the idea is big, small, completely
ironed out, or still under consideration, these investors help
to set up the business from the ground up. As Hillary
Clinton said, “Investing in women is not only the right thing
to do, but also the smart thing to do.”
To conclude, entrepreneurship is declared to be a male-
dominated field, and it might be tough to surpass the
orthodox views. The leadership gender gap is obstinate and
ubiquitous but resolvable. People blame the social customs,
caste restrictions, culture restraints, and other norms the
reason for women lagging behind men. Cleopatra or Queen
Elizabeth make it quite clear that women are not new to
leadership. Apart from these two, many other women who
led the civil rights or started education reform movements
count as transformational leaders too. Nevertheless, female
entrepreneurs have evidently more to acquire in comparison
to their male counterparts and are striving to break the
constraints of the conventional norms.
38
BREAKING THE STEREOTYPES

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