Women Achievers – Gargi Singh, Cummins India
Could you tell us something about your professional achievements and career progression?
I have completed my BE (EXTC) from KJ Somaiya CoE, Mumbai University. I was a campus select at Infosys where I spent close to fourteen years working for Fortune 500 companies like DHL, Neiman Marcus, Bank of America, UBS, and HSBC. The challenging and diverse experiences gave me ample opportunities to explore diverse cultures and geographies across India, the USA, and Europe. I have successfully managed teams of more than 130 employees and led Technology Transformation initiatives. I quickly grew in ranks at Infosys to a Senior Project Manager role and then to a Director Role at Xoriant. The diversity at Cummins is enriching and provides immense learning opportunities from people belonging to varied walks of life.
What are the attributes that helped you to reach where you are in your career?
“Bringing your authentic self to work” has been my go-to mantra throughout my career. Respecting disparate opinions, agreeing to disagree while keeping the larger picture in mind are sure shot conflict resolution strategies that helped me out of a sticky situation many times. I have been lucky to have had great mentors in my career and some super role models that shaped me as a professional. There have also been some very hard learnings based on experience, which make you privy to the other side of things and build you as a leader when you embrace your vulnerabilities than fighting them. Finally, I swear by a quote by Tom Peters that says, “Excellence is the next 5 mins”. Being excellent at work is not a goal but a journey and as long as you do diligence to it, 5 minutes at a time, you have arrived.
How far have you succeeded in challenging the stereotypes?
Luckily enough like Sherly Sandberg mentions in the opening notes of her book “Lean In”, similarly for me, I was fortunate to have parents who made me believe that anything is possible, and my husband, who made everything possible. I have had tremendous support from family in terms of choosing the education stream to work assignments that were right for me. There have been instances where I have faced extreme stereotypes including, racism. What made me come out of most challenging situations was the never-ending support from family, work mentors, and the power of knowledge and self-belief. You must believe in yourself and not allow yourself to get crippled by your surroundings. Knowledge empowers you like nothing else and therefore, I truly believe that learning should never stop if you want to be heard above the noisy stereotypes.
In both essential and digital functions, women suffered the repercussions of the economic and social effects of the pandemic. Your comments.
Yes, this has been the unfortunate reality of the past couple two years. I have personally mentored women workforce to help them balance remote work while caring for family and surviving the uncertainty that surrounded all of us.
Why the pandemic affected women largely is due to two facts:
1) Traditionally, women have been the primary caregivers in the family and have shouldered a disproportionate share of the responsibilities. When the pandemic disrupted the daycare facilities and schools, the women automatically shouldered the additional full-time childcare responsibilities and found it tougher to balance the work and family priorities.
2) A significant number of women prioritize work flexibility over wages. Shutting down of non-essential services in the pandemic took away the low wage jobs leaving women either jobless or forcing them to reduce work hours.
Digital jobs quickly transformed into the remote work environment, allowing women with strong support systems to transition, albeit a bit more easily as compared to non-digital job functions. However, even post-pandemic, many continue to balance competing priorities. Companies must reinstate their focus on gender diversity and continue to bridge the wage gap that had gotten better over the years but has again suffered a setback due to the pandemic.
What’s the message you want to send to young working women?
I have three important messages for young working women. All have come to me as a tough learning experience. I would want every single woman to know her strengths, know her worth and grow her network.
Women traditionally network less, are shy of calling out their success, and are hesitant to discuss remuneration with colleagues. These are not only good-to-have qualities, but essential survival skills, that are even more relevant when you are faced with stereotypes, job loss situations, or are negotiating for a better opportunity.
