WOMAN IN CHARGE ...................NEELU SINGH

WOMAN IN CHARGE NEELU SINGH

‘Men will see you as equals till you behave like one’

Mumbai: Curiosity, they say, kills the cat. But in Neelu Singh’s case it landed her in the travel industry. A graduate in microbiology, she picked up a summer job at SITA World Travel in Agra — where her father, an army officer, was posted — to while away time. But the brief stint deepened her curiosity for the industry and the four months stay in 1993 turned into an eventful 12-year career journey at the travel agency.
    In 2000, when Kuoni acquired SITA, the deal not only transformed the Swiss tour operator’s India story but also Singh’s professional path. Singh, who by then was based in SITA’s Delhi office, had to move to Mumbai for greater responsibilities at the travel solutions company. Five years later, when the online travel industry was at the cusp of a boom, she quit to head ezeego1.com, a unit of Cox & Kings.
    “I was done with offline and I wanted to explore the online world,” says the chief operating officer. “I felt if I don’t do it now, I would be sitting dead in some corner of the office. It also gave me an opportunity to upscale my skills and move several notches up.”
    When Singh started her career, women accounted for less than a third of the industry. The dynamics have changed significantly since. She says that today women outnumber men in the sector. In her company, the gender ratio is 60:40 in favour of women. “Women do a better job at servicing as their emotional quotients are higher than men,” reasons Singh, and emphasizes that “this job also grooms people 360 degrees and is relatively less stressful”.
    Even after nine years at ezeego1, her enthusiasm hasn’t dimmed a bit. She credits “a young team” that keeps her charged to get through the 24x7 online world. At 41, Singh says she is the oldest in the team of 350. As for her personal life, this mother of a 10-year-old son says that she has been blessed as she hasn’t faced any major challenge.
    “Things have always fallen in place. Nothing has changed because of marriage and motherhood. In fact, life has become more beautiful.” Singh, a practising Buddhist for two decades, stresses that mutual respect and understanding of each other’s work pressures are the keys to a healthy relationship.
    As for professional relationships with male colleagues, Singh warns women against putting pressure on themselves and feeling any lesser than men. “Women need to get out of that mindset. When they do, the world around will change. Men are happy to treat you as equals till you behave like one,” says Singh, whose favourite holiday destination is the “picture perfect” Ireland. “If women defeat themselves, nothing can be done. Period.”

Vipashana V K & Reeba Zachariah TOI 140414