[Women in STEM] Dr Subi Chaturvedi, Chief Corporate & Public Affairs Officer, Zupee

Dr Subi Chaturvedi is a distinguished strategic advisor, chief corporate and public affairs officer at Zupee. She has over two decades of distinguished industry experience across varied areas. Some include - digital economy, entrepreneurship, startups, deepening democracy, sustainability and diversity while working with governments, international organizations and multilateral institutions in leadership roles. She currently heads Corporate and Public Affairs at Zupee, an online skill-based gaming and gamification platform.

Previously, she was heading TikTok4Good India and South Asia. She has also held leadership positions in the country’s leading banks, industry bodies, chambers, advocacy firms and think tanks. Dr Chaturvedi also currently Chairs FICCI’s Committee on Women in Tech, Policy and Leadership. She holds a PhD from IIT Delhi and a Masters in Mass Communication from the AJK Mass Communication Research Centre. She is also a gold medallist in Mass Comm, Psychology, Anthropology and Commerce.

Dr Chaturvedi has also served as the Global Co-Chair of the Netmundial Initiative; Member of the UN Internet Governance Forum (MAG), appointed by the UNSG; on the Boards of UK India Business Council (UKIBC), & IGFSA. She has assisted bilateral negotiations between sovereign nations culminating in MoUs; in the areas of ICT, financial, digital and health services worth over $100 mn.

In the continuing series of Women In STEM, Dr Chaturvedi answers some of the pressing questions that will help guide women in STEM roles. Excerpts of the QnA:

What are your roles in Zupee? What are your immediate goals for the company?

Apart from being the brand custodian, I work closely with Government bodies and policymakers, in shaping and defining the policy framework for the gaming sector. This will be a key focus area in the backdrop of India’s emergence as one of the top five nations in the mobile gaming arena. My role goes beyond looking at the best interests of the brand, rather, it is ensuring the best for the industry and the country.

To achieve that I am collaborating with the Government, industry bodies, academia and other stakeholders to build a framework that facilitates innovation invites investments and create opportunities for the youth of this country. The mission is always to put the country first and create a truly bottom-up movement in India for gaming and gamification of education and learning. In the post-covid world more than ever before this is the need of the hour.

In the new normal, how are the roles of Women in STEM changing?

The new normal has affected women in tech very differently than men. There is no doubt about it. Gender roles are very defined in households. You often see women doing both shouldering their corporate responsibility and making sure that things run like clockwork at home. Taking care of healthy and timely meals as well as ensuring that the children stay out of trouble. They also make sure that they attend their online classes and perform. This all is also often the responsibility of the mother alone.

The current situation is presenting opportunities to women transform through the remote working model, where some women have a better chance of staying true to their careers despite domestic and maternal duties. Many women have had to de-prioritize their careers in the past. Now that they are home along with their spouses, reorganisation of responsibilities and sharing of household chores actually offers women a better chance of being more productive, of taking on more. This can only happen if women are treated in their homes the same way that their male partners or brothers are.

What are the new challenges for women in tech?

For women in tech, the challenges remain the same - being taken seriously and thus for fighting limited opportunities at the top. Tech has been labelled as a man’s world and women have found it difficult to break into leadership positions. But that is changing. Women are proving that they can bring a different perspective to the boardroom which is good for business. A Peterson Institute for International Economics' Survey across 22,000 organizations, concluded that for companies where the representation of female corporate leadership went up from 0 to 30%, the companies witnessed a 15% improvement in profitability. There is still a long way to go and we need at least 30% women in STEM by 2030.

Has the inclusion of Women in STEM changed over the years?

There has been a significant and gradual increase of women in STEM. But the participation has not been uniform across sectors. It has also not sustained, stayed consistent or of long duration. At an academic level, there are certain very strong positive signs with year after year female students outperforming males in higher education. However, women elect certain fields such as computer science, information technology more, while some fields are more male dominant, such as mechanical and civil engineering.

Women barely constitute one-third of the top leadership. As per Global Gender Gap Report 2020, men are 30% more likely to be hired for managerial roles, Further, less than one-fourth of C-suite positions are held by women. Women of colour represent just about 4% of the senior leadership team. In India, the estimated numbers are significantly poorer.

The reason why the participants are not long durational is that as education gives way to employment and careers, fewer women can capitalise on senior and leadership roles. This is less because of potential but more because of the social fabric and gender biases in the country and the extremely low level of representation of women as hiring managers, and key decision-makers.

An ecosystem is built over time in technology, starting with leadership hiring in key decision-making roles. We need to extend the conversation into tangible actions by putting our money where our mouth is. It is equally important for us to create a facilitative ecosystem when we bring women into the organisation so that they don’t have to leave. Ensuring their long term retention and sustaining their early momentum into success for the organisation actually translates into big wins for the organisation. Having said that there are indeed more women in STEM spaces than a decade ago and the situation is definitely improving.

How can the change be snowballed?

The change perhaps cannot be snowballed but it can be further accelerated. Most importantly, the organisational and societal mindset needs to change. There has to be a stronger push for women to choose STEM fields from the educational and occupational policy. Organisations and institutions need to create A more women-friendly environment. Public or private enterprises need to seek more women participation in all levels of organisational hierarchy.

The impact of women in technology is undeniable. What do you think should be the ways to keep women engaged and appreciated in the workforce?

Institutes can take several measures from the educational level to the enterprise level. Apart from high-decibel awareness and amplified thrust on women education, there needs to be adequate infrastructure and a women-friendly ecosystem for women to pursue higher education at state and national levels. Safety, security, and access are of paramount importance. As education transforms into careers, interview boards must-have women on their panel. This is one way to cut down on biases.

There needs to be adequate support, organisational policies and infrastructure enabling women to support professional duties and personal commitments, taking into consideration the special needs of women. Gender-neutral processes should determine several processes such as that of appraisals, promotions, training, and so forth. Due to the imbalance in gender ratios and prevalent gender biases, there will always be more male candidates appearing for employment and likelier to get through, therefore there must be a conscious focus to have an inclusive and gender-balanced workforce.

In senior roles, how many women are on the top at Zupee? What is the company doing to bring equality in genders in senior leadership roles?

At Zupee, we have a healthy percentage of women in leadership roles; close to over 40%. This is indicative of our policy of diversity in the workplace. We are a user-centric company and we develop all our products with users in mind. As such, since 50% of our potential audience is women, we constantly ensure a female perspective into the board room.

What we have noticed is men are hard-wired to think about performance and revenues. On the other hand, women tend to also focus on the core user, design and experience. These marry together perfectly to create products that are user friendly, sustainable and for everyone. At Zupee, accomplished women hold several key decision-making positions. We are proud to make sure that they have both agency and voice.

What should organizations do to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in a new hybrid workplace?

Diversity, equity and inclusion are about acknowledgement, celebration, acceptance and respect. Therefore, we need to foster a company culture where we welcome, hear and respect every voice. Where people feel safe when speaking up and speaking out and where there is space for dissent.

An organisation needs to help its workforce feel connected and included in larger company initiatives and goals. This needs to supplement with diverse thinking, which can be useful in coming up with novel ideas. At the same time, it should create an environment where all the workers feel relevant; part of a team working towards a common goal. Personalised one on one sessions to discuss the needs and aspirations of the individuals is another great way of improving diversity in an organisation. If everyone feels fulfilled, they are more likely to refer and endorse the organization to others. And in the end, it is important to strengthen the anti-discriminatory policies.

There has to be absolutely zero tolerance in words and action for any discrimination. This has to come from the top and follow all through the organisation; strong leadership that shows intent and purpose is necessary to institute real change. Repeated messaging and communication along with workshops is necessary to advance the core values of the organisation. Both reinforcement of and rewarding good behaviour is necessary to build a culture in an organisation.