On the special occasion of International Women’s Day, we bring to you a special person, who is struggling relentlessly to make the lives of children with special needs better. Dr. Gayathri Narasimhan, introduces herself as a homemaker, teacher, counselor, trained yoga therapist, social entrepreneur, author and above all a simple human being. She is the Founder-Director of Prakramika Institute, and Director at Emplusive Training Center, EmpACT and Muditha Kreative School, and author of the book INVAS. She has won several…

The sun rose as usual. The morning was as beautiful as any other morning that we are blessed with, but amidst all the chaos, who has the time to halt even for five minutes. Sanaa was busy packing lunch for her daughter, her husband was ready to leave for an outstation meeting, which means the responsibility of dropping Meera to school and Shreyas to day care was Sanaa’s. She kept coaxing her elder one to keep her books and bag…

“Making Womanhood mindful and accessible for all” reads the caption on the Mind & Mom’s website. Mind and Mom is India’s first and only pregnancy wellness app with proven solutions for a healthy pregnancy. I am all too excited to introduce the founder Padmini Janaki. Growing up in a humble background in old Madras, Padmini had been observant of the health and nutrition issues faced by women. When she realised it had nothing to do with personal wealth or the…

Here we are at the brim of a new shining year. Like every year, there must be some resolutions and plans both new and those carried forward from last year. However, this year should start with hopes for tomorrow and not the regrets of the past. Hence, like how the warriors used to upskill themselves by just sharpening their weapons to conquer the world, it is time we take a pledge to upskill or re-skill in our area of expertise.…

Human intelligence is a complex term. In the past, there was over-emphasis on an individual’s Intelligence Quotient (IQ), a measure of what an individual knows and how quickly he/she can solve problems using reasoning. But over the last few decades, when IQ alone was not sufficient to ensure personal and professional success, the concept of Emotional Quotient (EQ) emerged as a measure of an individual’s thinking and behavioural attitudes. Emotional Intelligence or EI refers to an individual’s ability to recognise…

D&I is increasingly becoming a top priority for organisations. While implementing Diversity & Inclusion (D&I), many companies focus exclusively on hiring diverse talent. This is indeed essential to keep feeding into the talent pool and building a diverse workforce, but is not sufficient. A more holistic approach to D&I should include employee retention, enriching employee experience, inclusion training and continued leadership and organisational commitment towards the cause. The need is to inject D&I into the blood of the organisation. Gender…

In Part I of this article, we discussed some of the major factors that determine women’s participation in the manufacturing sector. In the second part of this article, we bring to you the thoughts shared by leaders on challenges faced by women in manufacturing and steps to overcome them. We cannot deny the fact that a number of large manufacturing plants in industries such as FMCG, automobiles, electronics, precision tools etc. have made consistent efforts in terms of attracting and…

The line manager received a call, it was an emergency situation. One of the linemen had cut his fingers and the line manager had some important decisions to make. The injured lineman had to be rushed to the hospital. The EHS department had to be informed about the accident. The line being part of a continuous process factory, any stoppage would mean losses; so the line manager gave instructions to the team leaders to ensure production is not disrupted. When…

The evolution of the digital era has seen the boom or obsolescence of many a profession. While disruptive technologies that come with sophisticated algorithms and robots have wiped out many manual tasks, most other professions have embraced technology as an Enabler to deliver superior products and services. One such profession that has seen a macro-evolution is teaching. By the term macro-evolution, I mean a large-scale evolution in the teaching platforms, delivery mechanisms, creation of interactive content etc. that has resulted in a…

Motherhood makes a woman complete. Do you agree? I don’t. It is certainly one of the most important milestones in a woman’s life, but life is never complete unless you be yourself, do what you want to do and create a personal identity for yourself.  It’s never too late to start loving yourself and living life your way. The best form of happiness is when it blooms from within and shared with those around you. Komal Sharma, company secretary and…