WOMAN IN CHARGE REKHA MENON
‘Women
get unfairly excluded from some roles’ -
Rekha Menon, MD, geographic ops (Asean, India & Apac), Accenture
After an MBA
from XLRI, Jamshedpur, Rekha Menon chose to take a shop floor job in automotive
firm Eicher. She was the only woman among some 500 men. Her role was in HR.
From Eicher she moved to Ashok Leyland in Hosur, where she was one woman among
some 3,000 men. When she needed to use a restroom, she would have to take a
jeep and go to the production manager’s house.
“My father was a doctor, and he didn’t understand what MBA meant. When I was looking for a job, he asked me where I would get the most learning, and I told him ‘shop floor’. He encouraged me to go for it, get out of my comfort zone. My ability to take risks comes from him,” says Menon, who is now Accenture’s MD for geographic operations for Asean, India & Apac delivery centres. She’s responsible for delivery excellence, procurement, human capital, diversity, marketing, finance and more.
How did she manage in environments dominated by men? “Sometimes it was about blending in, sometimes about asking for help, sometimes about not taking nonsense. You influence or change, and those that you can’t, you go around,” she says.
Menon says men often rush to conclusions about women workers. Once someone told her she did not really need to work because her husband was working. She replied she wasn’t working for the money. “There are people who say, let’s not give her the project
because she will not travel, she has a baby. But have they even bothered to ask her? Women get excluded from roles without even getting the opportunity to raise their hands,” she says.
Menon took seven years off from a full-time job to be with her kids. But she kept herself relevant by consulting for startups and large companies. Prior to Accenture, which she joined in 2004, she was in the executive management teams of Levi Strauss, Akzo Nobel, Cargill and Talisma Corp. She co-founded the not-for-profit publishing house Pratham Books, whose objective is to ensure a book in every child’s hand.
For some years now, Menon has also been a long-distance cyclist and runner. She recently did a five-day cycling tour of the Nilgiris. Diversity at the workplace is part of her job responsibility and a passion. She’s focused on helping women reach their potential and career aspirations.
“We have taken initiatives and share our best practices outside the organization. In my early years on the shop floor, there was no question of flexi hours or work from home. But all of these are now available in companies like Accenture. And we can work together to provide even better support structures,” she says.
There’s also the problem of women’s own self-limiting beliefs, such as the feelings of guilt that she may not be devoting enough time at home. “In this, I work with women to see what needs to be traded off. You have to be clear about your priorities, and then trade off. You can’t have it all.”
“My father was a doctor, and he didn’t understand what MBA meant. When I was looking for a job, he asked me where I would get the most learning, and I told him ‘shop floor’. He encouraged me to go for it, get out of my comfort zone. My ability to take risks comes from him,” says Menon, who is now Accenture’s MD for geographic operations for Asean, India & Apac delivery centres. She’s responsible for delivery excellence, procurement, human capital, diversity, marketing, finance and more.
How did she manage in environments dominated by men? “Sometimes it was about blending in, sometimes about asking for help, sometimes about not taking nonsense. You influence or change, and those that you can’t, you go around,” she says.
Menon says men often rush to conclusions about women workers. Once someone told her she did not really need to work because her husband was working. She replied she wasn’t working for the money. “There are people who say, let’s not give her the project
because she will not travel, she has a baby. But have they even bothered to ask her? Women get excluded from roles without even getting the opportunity to raise their hands,” she says.
Menon took seven years off from a full-time job to be with her kids. But she kept herself relevant by consulting for startups and large companies. Prior to Accenture, which she joined in 2004, she was in the executive management teams of Levi Strauss, Akzo Nobel, Cargill and Talisma Corp. She co-founded the not-for-profit publishing house Pratham Books, whose objective is to ensure a book in every child’s hand.
For some years now, Menon has also been a long-distance cyclist and runner. She recently did a five-day cycling tour of the Nilgiris. Diversity at the workplace is part of her job responsibility and a passion. She’s focused on helping women reach their potential and career aspirations.
“We have taken initiatives and share our best practices outside the organization. In my early years on the shop floor, there was no question of flexi hours or work from home. But all of these are now available in companies like Accenture. And we can work together to provide even better support structures,” she says.
There’s also the problem of women’s own self-limiting beliefs, such as the feelings of guilt that she may not be devoting enough time at home. “In this, I work with women to see what needs to be traded off. You have to be clear about your priorities, and then trade off. You can’t have it all.”
Sujit
John & Shilpa Phadnis TOI140224
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