Women have made important gains in representation, especially in leadership and technology. While there are miles to go before we rest, Meesho has been working towards creating a supportive work culture for women through policies and practices.

A testament to that was a recent accolade we won. Meesho was nominated for the “Best for Women” category by xto10x for their “Startups Employees Love” awards.

Some fierce and determined women carry the helm and push the company forward. Here’s what they have to say about the nomination and their experience growing at Meesho.

Megha Agarwal, Chief Growth Officer

"Personally, I believe Meesho's culture has been instrumental in ensuring where I am today. I joined Meesho almost 3 years ago as a mum of a 1.5-year-old and needed a lot of flexibility. Our people-centric workplace values supported me immensely and allowed me to do justice to both my roles. My journey so far has been absolutely beautiful. And hence, it does not come as a surprise to see Meesho nominated for people excellence and best for women.
Meesho's culture is defined by its 10 mantras, which have been created with a lot of thought and focus. It reflects in each of our people systems - from hiring to people policies to promotions and appraisals to ensure incentives are aligned. The Meesho leadership has also taken a lot of effort to ensure each of these mantras come alive structurally and are not just written on the wall. For instance, every team takes on BHAGs (big hairy audacious goals) around the problems they are solving to ensure we are always thinking 10x. Similarly, our pod/ GM structure ensures teams are fully enabled and hence can exhibit the highest ownership.
We believe that what people want our - challenging problems to work on that make a difference to the company’s vision, high ownership in doing so and mentors/ company that invest in their growth and takes care of them. Our mantras or values have been designed to ensure that we make this happen for our people in a 10x way. This is what makes Meesho’s eNPS so high. I am proud of what Meesho is doing for its people and defining how a workplace should look like."

We try really hard to ensure our employees get to choose how they grow, personally and professionally.

Nikita Dawda, Chief of Staff to CEO

"Whether you are senior or junior, male or female, every voice is treated equally. I credit a lot of my growth to Meesho's supportive work culture. It has presented me with big-ticket challenges while allowing me the autonomy to create systems that work for me. The freedom to be myself is very empowering. The xto10x nomination as the best startup for women in 2022 is well-deserved."

Heta Jangla, Director - Monetisation

"One of the biggest motivators for joining Meesho was the empowerment it has created for its women users. It was even more exciting to join a team with a woman boss and a female majority team in the CEO’s office.While there are still some ways to go until we achieve firm-wide and leadership-level representation, I have seen a real commitment towards getting us there - our norms on paternal leaves and workplace flexibility are more progressive than even the US and UK companies I have worked with. These are not just policies - it is in our cultural DNA, and it is why I feel confident of a successful and sustainable career at Meesho."

Meesho's gone to great lengths to ensure they do more than just talking about inclusion, as the following leader points out.

Prachi Bhuchar, Head of Government Relations & Public Policy

"I have worked in many organisations across my career but what makes Meesho stand out is that they put their money where their mouth is. Instead of just mouthing platitudes about workplace equality and putting policies in place so women feel 'empowered' in my short time here I truly feel that despite having a heavy concentration of male leaders, there is never any tokenism involved in the treatment or recognition of women leaders. In fact, gender as a construct is never something I have dwelled on since I joined the company as you are recognised and rebuked alike for your capabilities rather than because you are a man or woman."

Women bring unique perspectives, adds our legal head.

Lopamudra Rao, General Counsel

"Super proud that Meesho has been nominated  as a great place for women to work in. The sheer number of women in most meetings or for that matter, the number of women leading meetings has often astounded me as well as made me proud! I am a great believer in diversity at work - in fact, the legal team is 80% women. I believe women bring unique perspectives to problem-solving and more diverse perspectives on the table means better decision making."

Sagarika Ayyannamahanthi, Senior Director & Head - Scaling Fashion Categories

"At Meesho, we believe in empowering every individual to fulfil their potential irrespective of their background, gender or any other other differences. We've continuously reimagined what it takes to build a truly inclusive workplace - be it the Gender Neutral Parental Leave policy or 365 Days Wellness Leave or Work from Anywhere model, we truly believe in creating an environment where everyone can succeed at work while availing the flexibility that's required on the personal front. Furthermore, our relentless commitment to Meesho mantras, especially “Building a People-centric Workplace”, “Standup and speak your mind” and “Act like an owner” ensures that everyone is heard and valued!"

Here's a relative newbie's experience with Meesho's culture.

Priya Sankaralingam, Senior Director - Product Management

"Last year, I joined Meesho to lead the Fulfilment & Experience product vertical. I was excited to get the opportunity to work on diverse problem statements within such a broad charter as well as build and grow my team. This is a work environment wherein I have always felt that my voice is as heard & respected as that of my male counterparts. My women colleagues would certainly agree with me on this."

Unlike a lot of places where gender diversity is just a buzzword, this leader talks about how Meesho is intentional in the way it creates policies.

Rachel Chenchchiah, Associate Director - Legal

"What I love about working at Meesho is that gender diversity considerations are consciously woven into how we operate - as evidenced by our policies, hiring decisions, wellness leaves, etc - inclusion is clearly not an afterthought. As women, we tend to face unique challenges both within and outside the workplace that can often be alienating, and working among and with so many women colleagues facing similar challenges and experiences is very inspiring. I am surrounded by so many inspiring women colleagues, both within my team (the Legal team is headed by a woman and my own mini-team is 4 ladies) and within the larger org, and there are so many women in senior positions within the company. In every WS/PFS, there are women presenting, asking questions and sharing their opinions and experiences, which is really different from some of my previous experiences, where very often I was the only woman in a room full of men. I love that we have women and (women leaders!) in various roles across Meesho (on the business side, in product, finance, legal and PR). We need more such workplaces that amplify female voices and help eliminate the glass ceiling to break the bias!"

Here's a quote from someone whose team is responsible for creating and evangelising this inclusive culture.

Swati Panigrahi, Associate Director - Human Resources

"As Peter Drucker said 'Culture eats strategy for breakfast,' I believe culture is one of the most important factors that one should optimize for while evaluating an organization. I had worked for large consulting companies and Indian conglomerates in the past. Meesho's culture is what made it an aspirational organization for me to work for. People make the culture. At Meesho, the focus on hiring and growing exceptional talent ensures that we get to work with a set of talented and high-agency people. I have had the opportunity to work with some of the smartest minds who encourage an environment of candid discussions and are always open to new ideas. That coupled with the appetite to let employees try new things, fail fast and learn from them is what keeps the focus on innovation at all times. As such, Meesho has been the wind under my wings that’s allowed me to experiment and explore newer areas of work leading to an exponential learning trajectory for me in a short time."

Employee growth is integral to Meesho's culture, says the following leader.

Chandini Ramesh Seth, Associate Director - Finance

"Meesho not only works towards business targets but also invests a lot in its employee growth. It has a really positive exchange of learning and sharing, and recognition policies without any biases(not just limited to gender but beyond). In my past year of interactions, I proudly noted a significant portion of the workforce being women and who are, equally if not more, recognized and appreciated within the organization for speaking their minds, driving business goals. This truly is one of the best places for women (& others) to work for."

Dipti Tejwani, Associate Director - Fulfilment and Experience

"Meesho's forward-looking and inclusive policies ensure that the company continuously strives to create an equitable workplace. The company ensures that gender diversity and leadership opportunities for women are part of its DNA, thereby fostering a positive environment for women to learn and grow. I have been personally inspired by the women leaders I have worked with in the last couple of years at Meesho and try to inculcate the same values in my team as well where every employee feels valued from day one."

Our people are crucial to our growth. We are humbled by the recognition we have received for our people-centric policies and will do more to make our workplace equitable for all employees.

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