BTIndia@100: It is time for the Indian woman to step up and dream big

The Indian woman today is poised for leadership than ever before but she must learn to dream big.  

In a conversation with Editor, Business Today, Sourav Majumdar in a session titled ‘Women in Leadership – Representing the New India,’ Soma Mondal, Chairman of SAIL said that massive dropouts at mid-career is the reason women are not able to reach the top-rungs of corporate hierarchy in India, but the situation is likely to improve in future. 

“Women can have it all if they learn to dream big and know how to prioritise but for now it is rare to find women in leadership roles simply because the selection pool at top is so small,” Mondal said. 

She added that while women do join at the entry level, later - marriage, children and then higher education of children continue to pose as hurdles.  

However, in her personal journey where she has managed to build her career despite being a mother of three, Mondal gave credit to her vision for building a career, from start. She also said that she has never faced any issue while competing in the male-bastion of steel industry. 

“I became an engineer and started applying for jobs when I was selected by SAIL. I grew up in the organisation and have taken up various challenging roles during the tenure,” she said. 

Her presence as chairman at SAIL has transformed the company from within, claimed Mondal.  

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