International Women's Day Interview: Dr. Sujaya Banerjee

Name: Dr. Sujaya Banerjee

Country:
India

Occupation:
Founder CEO of Capstone People Consulting- a new age Consulting firm

ST:
Please tell us briefly about you.

Sujaya:
I am Dr. Sujaya Banerjee- Founder CEO of Capstone People Consulting- a new age
Consulting firm. I have 28 years of experience mostly in Leadership positions
across companies like British Gas, BP/ Shell, Essar, Lowe Lintas and Partners.
I am also the Founder of the Learning and OD Roundtable and also the Founder of
the Women Leadership Forum of Asia. I am a TEdX Speaker, am part of Harvard’s
Leadership and Innovation Lab and Lead the Emerging Markets HR Summit every year
in the UK.

ST:
Who is a woman that inspires you the most and why?

Sujaya: There are so many I meet every
day but Michelle Obama, Meryl Streep, Oprah Winfrey, closer home Arundhati Roy,
Shobha De, anyone who is Bold, Beautiful and can be candid, authentic and emanate
Empowerment.

ST:
How are you celebrating this year’s International Women’s Day?

Sujaya:
I am
speaking for a few Clients; I plan to put out an important blog on Sisterhood
on the occasion of Womens’ day. I also believe my work is relentless through
the year and this Day is only a reminder on the journey that remains to be
travelled for true Empowerment and Equality.

That women have for far too
long been the victims of their owning thinking and limitations. There are
extrinsic realities to be worked on- that’s work in progress, but the intrinsic
limitations and legacy influences from past generations must be questioned.
Women MUST become each other’s biggest Allies if they truly seek Equality- and
then see the world around them manifest with the deep confidence and
empowerment they experience for themselves!

ST:
What is the most important message you want to send out to all the women around
the world on this occasion?

Sujaya: Women empowerment is the
inner and outer journeys of Equality and Respect- when Women believe in their
Choices and make them unabashedly, authentically and with the Splendour of
being a Woman. When Women feel comfortable with the Power they have to make
choices as Girls, as Young Women, as Middle aged Women and as Older Women –
without feeling obliged to wear masks, seek validation to undermine their real
Greatness!

ST:
What according to you is ‘women empowerment’?

Sujaya: The challenges are many
and there are fundamental areas where the Needle is not yet moving-

-Primarily women don’t get
taken seriously within most Organizations that are male dominated.

– They are often seen as
preoccupied with filial milestones and normally benchmark their lives with
lesser privileged significant Women in their own lives

– There is massive leakage
in the pipeline at Junior and mid levels and many women have bought into the
argument that their education is useful for ensuring a suitable spouse rather
than a great career or both!

– Retention of female
talent being a key issue, several Organizations either fight shy of hiring
women or don’t give them significant roles as they are expected to exit the
workforce to follow their spouses or during childbirth.

-Many ambitious women
seeking careers find it difficult to fight Male bastions to get taken seriously
or get included where it matters

– Women seeking to return
to the workforce after ramping off for various reasons are seldom welcomed back
into significant roles. Second careers are too few and far between for Women.

ST:
Where do you want to see yourself in next 5 years?

Sujaya:
I see
myself leading Capstone internationally with a presence in 5 Cities in Mumbai
where each of our verticals is a full fledged separate company lead by various
CEOs. I see the Learning and OD Roundtable Being headquartered at Singapore and
the Women Leadership Forum of Asia Influencing the Women Empowerment journey
across Asian countries.