On the occasion of Women’s day, R.M Vishaka, MD and CEO of India First Life Insurance Company Limited spilled the beans. At Outlook Money Conclave 2018, she revealed instances of discrimination in her career for being a woman.
“At 29, I was not given job in the financial servicing space in the private sector as the recruiter didn’t want to employ women at the child bearing age. Similarly, at 49, I was not given a job for being a distraction to the board”, she said.
Addressing the deep rooted bias existent in the Indian society, she said that she didn’t get half the jobs for being a woman. “Society makes you feel that it is a crime to have an identity for yourself. There are so many times were I could have faltered.-when children are born, after marriage and so on. It is like swimming against the tide.”
In conversation with the editor of Outlook Money, R M Vishaka said that women can find comfort in the chaos and thus are first to be approached in the crisis period. “The fact that women have to manage everything at home in spite of all problems makes her stronger and better organized”, she added.
This was similar to the instance that Mr Paresh Sukthankar, the Deputy MD of HDFC Bank stated in the opening session of Outlook Money Conclave 2018. According to Mr Sukthankar, the Banking crisis of 2008 could have been avoided if it was Lehmann sisters instead of brothers!
The Outlook Money Conclave 2018 is being organised on March 7-8 with the purpose of understanding disruption in the BSFI sectors.
