Worldwide Girls’s Day is noticed on 8 March every year, celebrating ladies’s proper to equality and liberation together with the equal alternatives. The theme this 12 months is ‘Give to Achieve’, emphasising the significance of mentorship and paying-it-forward.
However even whereas ladies battle social and company challenges to interrupt the glass ceiling, many are nonetheless torn between childcarehousehold wants, elder care and different private commitments that generally put a pause on their profession trajectory.
Mint spoke to Sreedevi Palit, Director, Human Sources, and Head D&I India at IT main Cognizant on her profession journey, and the way she’s formed firm insurance policies that guarantee an inclusive office for girls in a sector resembling IT, that’s sometimes male dominated.
‘Defining work-life steadiness, avoiding guilt and imposter syndrome’
Recalling the 2 flagship programmes Palit helped create at Cognizant that make her proud, the manager famous that the important thing driver was guaranteeing that girls may outline their work-life steadiness and keep away from guilt and imposter syndrome with a development mindset.
Having spent 20 years of her profession at Cognizant, Palit pointed to 2018’s Propel programme, for girls leaders on the senior degree. “The intention was to amplify what ladies herald — constructing your personal model, your community of supporters, and the way to pay ahead. Until 2026, we had 30 cohort of ladies globally.”
The second programme is known as RISE, for girls who’re at mid-career degree — the place some step away from the workforcedue to conflicting private {and professional} commitments. “We assist them personal their profession journey, outline their work-life steadiness, keep away from guilt and imposter syndrome with a development mindset, stress the significance of networking and monetary literacy,” Palit stated.
Total, she believes that constructing the ecosystem is necessary. “In 2023, we launched the SHAKTI initiative, bringing collectively our women-centric insurance policies. This embody Be Gritty for freshers, MATRI for pre- and post-maternity transition and integration, and constructing a pipeline for ecosystem help”.
‘You might be your greatest advocate, be intentional’
Palit was additionally emphatic that it is very important personal your journey and discover ways to place your self. Particularly in the case of these rejoining the workforce after a maternity go away or well being break. “It is a lengthy highway and you could be intentional. Very first thing to do is outline your targets,” she suggested.
In keeping with Palit, you’re your greatest advocate. Giving an instance from her personal profession, she recalled that prioritising turns into essential. “When you could prioritise caregiving (like me), how do you try this with out guilt? It is necessary to not look over your shoulder to check with others… that tends to take you down the trail of self-pity. As a substitute, constructing a story and studying the way to place your self is necessary. You might be your greatest advocate,” she pressured.
Second, by no means cease studying. “It’s about powering down, not dropping out. Should you take a break, it’s also necessary that you simply proceed to study. Know-how is altering quick and educating your self and constructing your expertise is necessary. Discover your sponsors and mentorsas a result of you’ll be able to’t do that on their own,” she suggested.
Embrace variations: ‘Everybody’s lived expertise may be very totally different’
On her personal challenges they usually formed her views on range and inclusion, Palit narrated how early in her profession at Cognizantshe had a possibility to work within the UK and India. “That was the primary time I used to be going outdoors my consolation zone and doing issues by myself. One thing that caught by me was my father’s phrases: “By no means get frazzled by a problem that is available in.” So, I embraced it and that gave me an enormous alternative to work in a multi-cultural organisation,” she shared.
That was a turning level. “The profit that I reaped was bringing in curiosity, not being judgmental, and understanding that everybody’s lived experiences may be very totally different. So early on, I understood that is the seed for being inclusive,” Palit famous.
This additionally helped when she was growing the Propel and RISE programmes, Palit added. “I used to be additionally subconsciously taking a look at my journey. Did I community effectively? Or simply depend on my supervisor? After a sure degree, you want anyone to advocate for you. So, how are you going to make sure that you’re seen?”
She added that as a caregiver, it has been troublesome to discover a steadiness amid the frustration and trade-offs. “I’d say proudly owning a profession turns into very, essential. Generally you face frustration over a number of the trade-offs. However after a sure time, the penny dropped. I noticed that that is what I need to do, I am discovering the steadiness. I will need to outline it that method and never really feel responsible about it. That is how I’ve moved on, and I attempted to do the very best that I can,” she added.
‘You don’t essentially need to be the person within the room’
Palit additionally mirrored on the double requirements dealing with ladies in management roles — the place qualities that males are praised about, are as a substitute criticised in ladies (e.g. go-getter vs aggressive, expressive vs nagging, and so forth.). She stated that this dialog must be reframed as a result of the default concept of “management” for a lot of is routinely linked to masculinity.
She feels that girls ought to “deliver what you’ve”, with a view to not get caught in that mould. “You don’t essentially need to be the person within the room,” she famous and suggested ladies to create their narrative and search alternatives, utilizing their distinctive strengths.
Palit additionally nevertheless acknowledged that one can not do that alone. Pay parity continues to be a while away and there are unavoidable breaks for some ladies, so discovering the best sponsor is essential, she added. “What we instill for women and men by means of our programmes is the component of pay-it-forward. After you have picked up the talents, it’s a large alternative to pay ahead to those which can be coming after you. That is an enormous accountability on them,” she added.
‘Allyship is usually troublesome’
On guaranteeing that the insurance policies are put into follow, Palit famous that this requires a shift in mindset and that is the place allyship performs its position. However allyship is usually troublesome within the fast-paced work atmosphere.
“So, we’ve got designed our allyship program to incorporate women and men. And it isn’t only a coaching program. We create labs with particular eventualities — like ladies coming back from maternity go away — and create a protected area to work together,” she shared on Cognizant’s practices.
Additional, to make sure that this carries into the true work atmosphere, there’s a dedication plan whereby senior leaders and managers measure the definitive actions undertaken, Palit added. “That will get a dialog going — I decide to this step and likewise a name for motion, the place they return and measure what was really performed. As a result of until it is measured, it nonetheless stays a rhetoric,” she famous.
‘Imposter syndrome is a killer, simply go for it!’
Addressing younger ladies getting into the workforce and people in search of to interrupt into the boardrooms, Palit has one recommendation — go for it.
She famous that research present how ladies show greater degree of imposter syndromethe place they solely seize a possibility in the event that they verify 9 out of ten bins, whereas males would proceed with 5 on the record. “We have to re-calibrate that. It’s okay to not (have all the pieces) and maintain alternative to study extra and subsequently develop extra. So, shifting that narrative in your head may be very, essential,” she famous.
Palit pointed that there might be naysayers and opposition, so in such circumstances, begin small. “There might be individuals who come as obstacles… it’s possible you’ll not get help, so the primary transfer may be very, very vital. Telling your self that that is the place I need to be, and setting small targets. It is okay, not being very bold,” she added.
Once more, she additionally emphasised the necessity for a help system and gaining a mentor who will stick their neck out and advocate for you. “It is necessary to get the required expertise, shadow somebody to study the craft of the commerce after which, accordingly, transfer ahead. Do not step again due to failure, you study and transfer ahead. And I believe it is a journey,” she added.
‘Give to Achieve’ a name for motion for each organisation
Holding in thoughts the ‘Give to Achieve’ theme of this Worldwide Girls’s Day 2026Palit feels that this can be a name to motion for each organisation, with emphasis on reciprocity and help. She pressured the necessity to particularly platform under-represented ladies, with a mindset of “after they thrive, all of us rise”.
“These insurance policies should be made consciously. From an organizational standpoint, we have to dismiss the misperception that giving means subtraction — that is not the case, it’s a multiplier impact! So, it’s an organisation’s accountability to very deliberately give visibility as a result of there’s energy in a paying it ahead. And that is a name for motion, no two methods about it!”