15 May
Why are you always the one to sit on the left-rear seat of a chauffeur driven car?
Why does this shopkeeper think I cannot pay for my saree?
Why does this uncle think that my job is limited to the admin role when I am the founder of this company?
Why does this waiter give you the drinks menu and me the food menu?
Why do our relatives almost always ask you about business and ask me about kids?
Why am I getting introduced as the co-founder’s wife? Would you like to be introduced as the founder’s husband?
Why does this guy think that you are the one who drives the product roadmap when I am the Chief Product Officer?
These are some of the many questions that my co-founder (who also happens to be my wife, Suruchi Wagh) has posed to me over the years. All of them came gushing back to my memory as I read through a few nasty comments on the blog she recently posted about her internal struggles as a woman leader.
I’ll be honest – it did take me time to understand her stances on some issues (which to me were non-issues :)) in the past. It’s taken me time to acknowledge & see things from her point of view. She has worked hard to flip those stereotypes and advocate for herself! To break through the perception of being the co-founder’s wife and establish her identity as an entrepreneur in the minds of people even when she WAS and IS the founder of the company!
That’s why I’m so thrilled that she and the other powerful women at Jombay are spearheading the 1000 Women Leaders Program. It truly is their labor of love!
