Radhika Ramesh of Capgemini on unlocking a workspace during the pandemic and why women should build their own brand

During the pandemic, workplaces may have moved to the new normal, but what also appears to be in sharp focus is the diversity and inclusion policies in organisations. The question also arises is, is every domain a level playing field for women? 

Throwing light on this and more is Radhika Ramesh, executive vice president of global delivery centre head for CIS India at Capgemini. She entered the workforce 27 years ago and says it’s an optimistic scenario for women as companies are gradually opening up to accommodate women employees and tailor policies for their professional growth. 

The French IT major’s Mumbai office for Cloud and Infrastructural Services (CIS) used to be a hub of about 4,000 professionals . As the COVID-19 pandemic mandated work from home, this has significantly reduced to a mere 300 – working from Mumbai while the rest transitioned to working from villages, other rural areas, tier II and III cities.

“This gave us an insight into the infrastructure facilities available in rural India. We are pleasantly surprised that the infrastructure in rural India has really passed the stress test and stood well in terms of power and internet bandwidth and we have been able to deliver services very effectively,” Radhika says.

The workforce concentration in metro cities need not be that way. 

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Unlocking a new workforce

Leading Capgemini’s biggest delivery centre, Radhika manages nearly 12,000 employees in the cloud and infrastructure management space in India. 

Despite a vast talent pool in rural areas across India boasting a literacy rate of 73.5 percent, not many are able to join the skilled workforce due to challenges in mobility.

More rural populations in India are seeking formal education but many get married to men in their own villages, and are not motivated enough to move to a city for a job and live in rented accommodation in the cities.

Radhika says the flexibility of newer workspaces that has evolved during the pandemic has brought Capgemini onto a better track to consciously balance representation and ensure access to new opportunities.

This also led to the launch of project Sakhi Drishtikon to tap and nurture the segment of literate women from rural and economically weak backgrounds for whom location and mobility are big barriers.  

Radhika makes it clear that accommodating diversity need not compromise on talent. The candidates must either be graduates, post-graduates or have a diploma with a score of at least 60 percent. Capgemini is working with its NGO partners to source eligible candidates. 

They go through a series of training programmes including foundation sessions for four weeks, followed by 12 week’s technical training by the firm’s Cloud and Infrastructural Services (CIS) Academy.

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While admitting that onboarding employees virtually may not be easy, Capgemini has introduced a mentorship programme where senior programme managers and leaders are assigned as mentors to guide, work with them, and understand their skills to help them forward in their careers as technologists. 

Radhika emphasises that these are skill-based roles in technology with a scope for career growth and are in demand in the market and not merely service-based or BPO training.

Having started its first batch in October, it has provided necessary facilities like laptops and enabled broadband connections to over 100 women in South India and plans on employing at 500 women by the end of this year. 

“Once things go back to normal, we hope to organise quarterly or half-yearly collaborations, networking, and training sessions in Capgemini offices in Tier III cities that are closer to the women joining from rural areas ,” Radhika shares.

What ails working women?

With an MBA in marketing and a certified six sigma blackbelt, Radhika started her career in 1988 and rose through the ranks in the last couple of decades. She says being the only woman manager in the boardroom was commonplace. 

The leader believes discussions around diversity in organisations should go beyond inducting women in lower ranks and should reflect in leadership and boardrooms as well, especially in the field of technology. 

“I hear most of my men colleagues say that they willingly share domestic chores  as my husband and sons do. So, men sharing the household work and advanced technology and stable infrastructure enablement  are bringing in change,” she says.

In her personal journey, maternity leave was a major hurdle to her professional growth. “In the first half of my career, I was into software development and when I came back from maternity break, I had to start afresh. There was no flexible policy to resume in the same job. I was ready to take any other job and had to start as a customer service executive and slowly rise into tech roles again,” she recalls.

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Today, Radhika says lack of awareness is a problem. Many women tend to move along with their husband’s job and resign without knowing the options to relocate in other branches and retain their jobs.

Capgemini’s initiative to educate and make the best of “phygital environment” has helped many.

Radhika also notes that women tend to lag behind at networking which is restricted to their immediate boss and colleagues. On the other hand, a lot of networking for men happens during their corridor smoking talks. 

Radhika emphasises one should build their own "self-brand", even if women do not enjoy as much social benefits as men.