From Mobikwik's Upasana Taku to NASSCOM's Debjani Ghosh, 2022 is among the best years for fierce women leaders in tech.
Paradoxically, we also hear “In my class of 110 students, only 20-25 of us were women” periodically.
These are the words of Twisa Pal, currently thriving at Meesho as an Associate Product Manager - Search, Ranking & Personalisation in (an all-women) Recommendations team. She owes a fair bit of her inspiration to the women leaders she works closely with.
It’s no secret that we are huge fans of equity; be it creating an e-commerce platform that levels the playing field for small suppliers from India’s tier-II, tier-III cities, or ensuring that people across Bharat are empowered to shop online. So, building a tech culture where women are recognised for their skills, encouraged to chase 10X goals, and appreciated for jobs well done has been high on priority list since day 1.
But, how successful have we been in creating an equitable workplace? We speak with six women who occupy various roles in the different tech functions at Meesho: Twisa, Archita Nagelli (SDE - IV - Communications), Khushboo Rai (SDE - V - Performance Engineering), Heli Fajalia (Product Designer I - Supply Platform Design), Abhinaya Balasubramanian(SDE - IV - Payout), and Nikita Kodnani (Product Manager - Marketplace).
Through these conversations, they open up about their own careers, challenges, and accomplishments. We also got some great words of wisdom for young women in tech. So read on, leave your thoughts in the comments, and share among folks who can benefit from the lived experiences of these Meeshoites.
Q: What makes your work crucial at Meesho?
Khushboo: As part of the Performance team, my job is to ensure that the Meesho app doesn't slow down or underperform at any given time. As you can imagine, I'm devoted to the Meesho Mantra “User First” to ensure our users have a seamless experience on our platform. I also routinely conduct performance tests to ensure our systems are built for scale, and recommend the changes to resolve current and future bottlenecks.
Heli: I am a Product Designer and work closely with the Product Managers to fine tune features in 0-1 and existing projects. I'm so proud of the work I get to do here, because the 4-5 projects I’ve contributed to have all had high impact, especially enhancing the Meesho Supply Platform.
Abhinaya: As a member of the Payouts team, my work is critical to Meesho. There are no small mistakes when it comes to money. Despite being a high pressure job, it’s fulfilling to see the direct impact of my work on our users.
Archita: As a Senior Developer in Meesho’s engineering team, I get to guide my team and nurture their growth. I love this aspect of my work.
Nikita: One of my biggest responsibilities as a Product Manager to understand the said and the unsaid need of our users at all times. To this end, I work closely with the Finance, Business, Engineering, Design, and of course, Product, teams. We join our forces to discover and solve 10X problems regularly. Pricing Recommendation, for example (keep your eyes out for a blog on this topic soon) was a challenging project, which benefited 270K+ of our suppliers.
Twisa: Meesho is my first stint with Product, having come from a Data Science background. It's been great working with engineers and product folks to ensure a great Shopping Experience for our users. From experimentation to launch, all the projects have given me growth and learning opportunities, like the most efficient ways to collaborate with and manage stakeholders, how to handle down times and to continually invest in quality.
Q: Why did you choose this career path?
Nikita: I'd started out in fields like Machine Learning and Deep Learning, and while in those lines of work, I discovered what product management was, and was instantly drawn to it.
Now, at Meesho, I get to do exactly what I love: Discover problems + Solve said problems + Create impact. Plus, by doing my work, I’m helping Meesho reach a billion customers, most of whom are not based out of tier 1 cities. We are giving our suppliers across Bharat the resources to sell online, even if they have no experience with online shopping.
Heli: I am an engineer turned designer. In fact, it wasn’t until a year into pursuing my engineering degree that I even found out about a field called UI/UX designing. And when I did, I instantly found my calling and started working on a portfolio. My biggest dilemma was deciding between placement interviews and looking for design jobs. I wish I had a mentor to guide me during this crucial period in my life. Ultimately, I’m happy I decided to stick it out with design.
Today, I get to work with, and be mentored by folks like Sruthi Sivakumar (VP-Design), whose career I am in awe of.
Q: What makes your work exciting?
Khushboo: Having come from an enterprise domain, where you only cater to a very specific type of user, I latched on to the opportunity of setting up the performance team at Meesho from scratch. And, I couldn't be happier about my decision to shift to a consumer domain. In the last 10 months here, I've had more opportunities to grow and learn than most people do in 2-3 years. Today, my decisions are sought and trusted by my peers and managers alike.
Archita: At Meesho there's a lot of opportunity and freedom to explore and experiment with new systems and processes. We get to constantly iterate and work with the latest technologies in the market. No one at Meesho is willing to settle, including me!
Q: What are some workplace green flags for women in tech?
Heli: A lot of companies now are customising their work environments to ensure their women employees can thrive. Many even offer scholarships and other support to women in tech fields.
One of Meesho’s green flags is that we don’t make a Hallmark moment out of women’s day. Instead have policies and rituals that nurture respect and support for women every single day. Meesho has also adopted underprivileged girls and are supporting their education. Those tangible, longstanding impacts are far more important to me.
Nikita: Throughout my career, I’ve been part of a minority group of women. Even in my current team, I am the sole woman. My colleagues are extremely thoughtful and truly value my ideas. Whether it be seniors or peers, they don’t talk over me or undermine my inputs, which is a huge green flag. At Meesho, idea is king... Not the designation, gender, or any other identity of the ideator.
Khushboo: Having my work speak for itself. Being given incredible opportunities to grow in my career. Seeing capable women leaders thrive at the top. And Meesho has been ✅ ✅ ✅
Q: What advice do you have for young women entering tech fields?
Abhinaya: A lot of us women are conditioned to overthink. My advice to anyone looking to enter the field of engineering is to get out of your own head and give the opportunities your best shot. You don’t need tokenism to make your mark in the world. Trust your ideas. Don’t worry about how they will be perceived by others. And let your hard work and perseverance get you a seat at the table!
Twisa: I haven’t faced any explicit issues while working in men-majority offices, but having women in your corner who can advice and support you during tricky situations at work in invaluable. So, build a network of likeminded women and reach out for help when you need it. Get yourself a woman mentor if you can... More often than not, people are happy to help. Whether it’s salary or promotion, ask for what you want.
Archita: If you have to take a break in your career for your wedding or maternity leave, get back in the game as soon as you can. I've witnessed a lot of incredible women ending their careers because a short break kept getting extended.
It's easier to plan your comeback when you're working with a company like Meesho, where you can work from anywhere, and you receive crèche support. Take it from me, I joined Meesho when my daughter was a year and a half old.
Also, don’t be afraid of speaking up!
Meesho is committed to ALL its employees. And our priority will always be building for Bharat. Sounds like your next workplace? Become a Meeshoite.
Credit:
Cover image by Ved Sarkar
