She stared at the warped reflection of herself, incredulous.
She had heard so much about it all her corporate life, but had believed in the
triumph of human spirit to belie its existence. After all, there are exceptions
to every rule. Why cannot she be one?
Meera, Vice President, Global marketing sat at her expansive
and elegantly furnished cabin and stared at the Glass Ceiling. After 25 years
of climbing the corporate ladder, she had more than enough to show for it. She
had joined Mercury Candies & Confectionary as a marketing trainee exactly
25 years ago. At that time it was the largest seller of candies, ranging from
chewies to condensed milk. It was also a male bastion, with the only female
employees being four secretaries and the cleaning staff. Mercury hired her
because they were looking for “fresh” ideas that would help rekindle the
interest in the candies segment, which was rapidly losing market share to
imported brands like Nestle and Cadbury’s. Mercury was a completely Indian
brand, a product of the soil, so to speak. She had graduated with honours from
the top management institute of the country and was hungry to prove herself.
The next 25 years was not extraordinary, by any corporate
employee’s estimation. The marketing campaign that she had conceptualized
resulted in a market share increase of 5% in the candies segment, which is no
mean achievement in this highly fragmented category. She also spearheaded the
launch of two new product categories in an already crowded market, spurring
another market share increase, not to mention the incremental sale from being
the first in the category. Along the way, she married her classmate from
college and was blessed with two children – Rhea 19, and Nishant, 15.
It was true, the numbers spoke for themselves. But
apparently that was not enough. She was lucky to have a good boss, a man who
believed in her capability and gave her the freedom to follow her beliefs. Not
one to let an opportunity go by, she made full use of the freedom and recorded
the most rapid promotion in the company ever since its inception. Now her boss
was retired and she was reporting to the Chairman, a jovial 75 year old who
founded the company.
He had met her 2 days ago. To tell her that in his cheerful
inimitable style that there was just no more promotion they could give her!
“You have been such an asset to us dear. Many of our key successes over the
past 2 decades are credited to you. Normally, the next step for a VP is to make
them a member of the board. But we do not have any women on the board, neither
do we intend to. Company policy, you know? We will be very happy for you to
continue as VP, of course and I am ready to give you a 40% bonus in salary in
the coming year.”
She had listened in stoic silence, punctured by nods at the
appropriate moments. She had smiled at the Chairman, saying that his offer was
very generous and that she would think about it and get back in a week’s time.
She closed her eyes and thought of the years gone by. The
travel, the staying away from the kids, phone calls across continents. Late
nights powered by the light of the laptop. The familiar ping and vibration of
her Blackberry, which she always kept under her pillow. Missed fancy dress
competitions, exam revisions and horse riding classes. Her kids had been
wonderful. And her husband of course. She could not have made it without them.
Every time she faced opposition to her ideas, or another block in her promotion
her family stood by her and egged her on, confident that she will always come
out a winner.
Rhea will be completing college in a few months. She was
planning to apply to engineering courses in the US. In 3 months, her daughter
will leave for a foreign land and she will see even less of her. They were very
close and the relationship they shared was very dear to her. Did she regret all
the moments she had missed in her kids’ childhood? Sure she did. But her job
was a part of her identity, it defined one aspect of her, like being a mother
defined another aspect. All these identities came together to create Meera, the
woman.
There may be limitations in people’s minds, but there was no
limit to her will and determination. No Glass Ceiling was going to stop her
from being who she was. She fingered the document in front of her. It was the
Rules & Regulations of the running of the company. A friend at Legal had
obliged her with it. In the document was a clause that enabled any employee who
had served for more than 10 years in the company to petition for a change in
any of the clauses. Including the one about not having any women on the board.
This route would be a one-way street though. If she filed a petition and lost
she will have to exit the company. Staying on will be awkward.
When had any of her choices been easy? Over the years she
had learnt to follow her heart. Her heart never lied to her.
She pulled out the copy of the petition letter and started
filling it.