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A Warrior in all Spheres

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Ekta Saxena
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Rekha Warrier, director, group application service delivery & Tesco Bank at Tesco HSC in a candid chat:

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What are the challenges of being a woman director/ senior leader?

Striking the right balance between home and office, between personal and professional interests.

The Educational Background

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Holds a Masters in Computer Applications from National Institute of Technology (NIT), Rourkela (Orissa)

The Family Background

Orginally from Kerala but Rekha was born was born and brought up in the steel township of Rourkela, Orissa. She moved with her spouse and children to Bengaluru 8 years ago, joining Tesco HSC. Rekha is blessed with two children, an 18 year old son and a 14 year old daughter.

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Working in Male-dominated field of IT

She hasn't faced any biases and have always had the support of peers and senior colleagues. There is a conscious and concerted effort by organizations to enable and empower the women workforce through initiatives like work from home, flexi timings, part-time working and so on. Add to this the focus on spotting the right talent among women employees, to build and strengthen the leadership pipeline.

Does a Glass ceiling exist?

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According to Rekha, it exists in some industries more than the others and possibly more in the public sector/ government organizations vis a vis the private sector. That there are many women in the industry who are in leadership roles and making a mark in the industry.

Advice to working women:

Define your career and your success on your own terms and live by it. Develop clarity on what you want, understand that the choices you make will have consequences and be comfortable with it

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Hobbies:

Reading, cooking, music / movies

Future plans:

Continue to add value to the organization and her career, nurture more women leaders here, learn to play a musical instrument and spend more quality time with her family.

High Five:

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Your Fitness Mantra: Brisk walking, eating right but small portions

Your De-stressing Mantra: Cooking, reading, day-dreaming

Where do you like to shop? Where I can browse at leisure and where I can get good value in terms of quality, range and cost

Your favorite holiday destinations: Kerala and Rajasthan

5 things you cannot live without: Books, music, cooking, talking, shopping

 

@Workday

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Wake up at: 5:30 - 6 AM

Morning activities: Cooking for the day, newspaper & tea, breakfast

Reaching Office at: 10:00 am

1st half in office: Work involving emails, meetings and reviews

Lunch: Usually light working lunch at 1:30 pm

Post Lunch: More work as above

Leaving office at: 8:00 pm

How you spend your evenings: Catching up with family, calls, Reading

Sleep at: 12:00 AM

 

Ekta Saxena

(ektasa@cybermedia.co.in)

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