Tell it like it is Manisha Kadagathur

Today’s episode is the third in our series on women’s participation in the workforce in India. Every year, class XII grades show girls outperforming boys in science subjects. A McKinsey study, shows that in India women make up 43% of those graduating but only 25% of those in entry level jobs. That is a huge drop. There are many explanations including marriage, childbirth, care for elders, being the trailing spouse, safety, and all of this compounds as you go higher in the career ladder. The burden of childcare and elder care almost entirely falls on women. The effect shows on the labor participation rate. At an effective 11% participation in manufacturing and services, we trail many mature and emerging countries. 

For some time now, I’ve brought you individual stories of guests with outsized abilities and wisdom. So, in a break from tradition, today, I bring you a panel discussion with 3 leaders, who have the unique distinction of being able to shape the participation of women at work in India and with a different perspective and background. Joining me are Hema Hattangady, former CEO of Conzerv, an Indian family-owned enterprise acquired by Schneider Electric, who sits on the board of multiple companies and an alumnus of IIM Calcutta, Dr. Murali Padmanabhan, Senior VP for Global Talent & OD at Virtusa, leadership coach and a PhD in Applied Mathematics from the University of Hyderabad and Shonalie Gupta, Senior Director Organization Development at Indegene, diversity and inclusion coach and an alumnus of XLRI, Jamshedpur.  

In this episode, we discuss awareness of India’s dismal female participation, societal stereotypes, and challenges. But that is not all. We go further and give you practical, tested, tips and ideas on how to have the conversation around increasing female labor participation, beginning with small changes at an individual level to large scale organization impact. To cap it off, each of the panelists include their wish list of how they see corporate India 20 years from now. Go on, grab a cuppa joe, a note pad and tune in. 

Read a transcript of this interview at: https://www.tellitlikeitispodcast.com/post/s5-e4-bonus-women-at-work-in-india-tell-it-like-it-is 

Recommended reading:  


The future of women at work by McKinsey Global Institute 
Skills development of women through vocational training by Nikita Diwakar & Tauffiqu Ahamad: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290691361_Skills_development_of_women_through_vocational_training 
Women in the workplace by Lean In & McKinsey: https://womenintheworkplace.com/


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One of the reasons women drop out of the workforce is childbirth. Troubling as that is, even today, many women lose their lives during pregnancy and childbirth. A key indicator of maternal mortality is the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR). Recently, the Government of India published MMR for 2016-18 which stood at 113. To put this into context, the target 3.1 of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) set by United Nations aims at reducing the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births. So, what can be done? Countries like Canada, Sri Lanka and the UK have combated MMR by introducing trained midwives into the process, vital to the care and delivery of low-risk pregnant women. It is important to mention here that about 75% of all pregnant women fall in the low-risk category and it is the 25% cases that are complicated and require an obstetrician’s attention. With over 25 million children born every year in India, and only 86,000 professionally trained midwives, there is a huge gap. 

This episode focuses on maternal mortality and helping women enjoy motherhood without the inherent risks of childbirth through a simple, effective, and forgotten method. My guest is Dr. Evita Fernandez, Chairperson-Fernandez Foundation, and a Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. She is the recipient of The Lifetime Achievement in Healthcare Award by FICCI, Hyderabad, besides other awards. In 2017, the Government of Telangana felicitated her for rendering exemplary services in the Field of Medicine. In 2011, she introduced a Professional Midwifery Education and Training Programme, committed to creating a national cadre of professional midwives. I caught up with her to understand how midwifery could be the solution to helping millions of women enjoy childbirth and have agency over their own bodies.

Contact Fernandez Foundation: https://www.fernandez.foundation/

Read a transcript of this interview at: https://www.tellitlikeitispodcast.com/post/s5-e3-bring-back-the-midwife-tell-it-like-it-is

Recommended reading:

1. Woman centred care: Has the definition been morphing of late? Elizabeth Rigg & Hannah Grace Dahlen

2. WHO: The case for midwifery


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India ranks pretty low in female labor participation. In 2019, female labor participation stood at a meagre 27% in comparison to China’s female labor participation at 60%. In India, over 60% of those who are employed are in agriculture, resulting effectively, in 11% female labor participation in services and manufacturing. It is well understood that if we are to go grow as a nation, then we need more women at the workplace. Prima facie, this should be easy, given our female to male ratio. Per the United Nations, women make up 48.04% of the population. However, in reality, getting women to participate in the formal workforce is far from easy. Especially since a large section of women are ill equipped with the basic skills and do not possess a high school degree. Why is that? This is so because a large number of girls simply drop out of school when they hit puberty, acerbated by unique socio-cultural stereotypes.

My guest today is Anusha Bharadwaj, Executive Director of Voice4Girls, a social enterprise working with marginalized adolescent girls in rural Telangana and  Andhra with a vision to educate and empower girls against violence and inequality. In our free-wheeling conversation, we touch upon many topics and taboos that are entrenched in our society, gender inequality, stereotypes, violence, early marriage and how keeping adolescent girls in school through high school might just be the way to increasing their participation in the workforce of the future.

Contact Voice4Girls

Read a transcript of this interview at: https://www.tellitlikeitispodcast.com/post/s5-e2-tell-it-like-it-is-voice-for-girls


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In a low cost, labour intensive market like India, autonomous vehicles seem counter intuitive. What is the story here? Join me, Manisha Kadagathur, as I chat with Saurabh Chandra, co-founder of Ati Motors, one of the coolest startups in India that makes autonomous cargo vehicles based in Bangalore. Cool for many reasons, not the least for an unusual team of co-founders, the youngest of whom was barely a teen when he joined. Club that with using tech like AI/ML, power electronics, control systems, mechanical engineering, system software and electronic hardware, and it makes the whole enterprise unique. As you will see over our conversation, a strong purpose, and relentless focus on solving for problems aka performance in the Indian context are two key themes that emerge. With COVID-19 lockdowns putting the focus on safety, and the lack of domestic help, the use of home robots and dishwashers has gone up multi-fold in Indian cities. So, I began right there before we branched off into discussing the tech, backstory, role of serendipity, use cases and unique Indian challenges.

Check them out at Ati Motors 

Read a transcript of this interview at: https://www.tellitlikeitispodcast.com/post/s5-e1-autonomous-vehicles-tell-it-like-it-is


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Join me, Manisha Kadagathur, as we return with a brand new season and more stories of phenomenal ideas and committed guests. This season we have stories on innovation, grit, gumption and the role of serendipity, and our stories take us crisscrossing across India from Shillong in the North East to Hyderabad and Bangalore in the South. So, join us for new stories, new inspiration, and hope.


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For billions of children across the world, schooling and education has taken a new meaning. Bedrooms, kitchen counters, dining tables, a mat on the floor became the new classroom and the noise around EdTech rose to a crescendo. Amidst the din, it is easy to forget that in 1937, Gandhiji conceptualised Nai Talim, an alternate philosophy of education which states that work and knowledge are not separate. The three pillars of Gandhiji's pedagogy were it's focus on the lifelong character of education, it's social character, and it's form as a holistic process. I caught up with Sushama Sharma, the principal of Anand Niketan (a Nai Talim school) in Sewagram in Wardha District of Maharashtra. She is a Gandhian, farmer and activist who strongly believes that sustainability is the way forward. In our conversation, we spoke of what Nai Talim means today, how an alternate education philosophy creates impact, and why consumerism as a lifestyle is unsustainable. She shares exciting snippets of her personal journey so find a comfortable spot to look out the window and partake of an alternate possibility while the soundtrack of your own life plays in the background.


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