[Women in Tech] It’s important to remove the motherhood penalty to retain more women in the workforce, says Mankiran Chowhan of SAP Concur

As Mankiran Chowhan’s father served in the Indian Army, she had to change school often. “My favourite subjects, therefore, changed too. I loved history in one school, English literature and chemistry experiments in another. The exposure to sports and extra-curricular activities was varied too. Athletics and badminton in one school, emphasis on public speaking in another, and NCC cadet in another,” she says.

A bachelor’s in Computer Science, followed by an MBA, gave her the opportunity to join the technology industry. However, the role in technology sales, she says, happened by chance.

As the Managing Director for SAP Concur, Mankiran is responsible for providing strategic direction to the company's India business, as well as leading and providing guidance to sales, solution architecture, customer development, partner alliances, and marketing teams.

“I am a never-say-never individual — so I love to fill my “spare” time doing new things — whether it’s learning to scuba dive, sky-jump, exploring new places, learning a new skill, et al. Having said that, as a mum of two young children, what I really like to do most is being fully present for them when I’m with them. My parents always taught me to stay involved in the small moments when children are young if you really want them to involve you in big moments when they are older,” Mankiran says.

In an interview with HerStory, Mankiran talks of her work at SAP Concur, what more can be done to attract women in tech, and how the right mentorship can prepare women for leadership roles.

Edited excerpts from the interview:

HerStory (HS): Was there anything particular that drew you to STEM?

Mankiran Chowhan (MC): Growing up, I had the advantage of parents who held the children — be it a son or daughter — with the same standard. That allowed me to dabble with many things, including coding, computer science, statistics, etc.

Throughout my career, I’ve stayed closely linked with technology. What excites me most now is the business impact technology has on all aspects of our lives and how rapidly things change.

HS: Please take us through your career journey.

MC: My first job after my MBA was “accidentally” in technology sales, and that has set the foundation for the nearly 20 years that have followed thereafter. The bulk of my career has been spent at Gartner. Those years have been the foundation years of who I am as a leader today. From being an individual contributor to the country manager managing over 100 salespeople, that’s where I learnt about scaling businesses.

I joined SAP Concur in mid-2019 to lead the India business and couldn’t be more thrilled about the adventure and learnings so far.

Apart from this, I am also associated with the Latika Roy Foundation NGO that works towards creating a better world for children with disabilities. During my entire career of close to two decades, I realised the importance of gender diversity in the workplace.

I learned how to strike a balance between personal and professional life. I also had the good fortune of being a part of innovative programmes at SAP Concur around women empowerment and mentorship.

HS: Tell us about your roles and responsibilities at SAP Concur.

MC: I have always aimed to build high performing winning teams and scale businesses. At SAP Concur, I am responsible for providing strategic direction to the company's India business, as well as leading and providing guidance to sales, solution architecture, customer development, partner alliances, and marketing teams.

My focus is on driving our customers’ success — helping them across industries, drive digital transformation by leveraging cloud applications, and attain a more strategic approach towards spending management of their organisations.

HS: How did you face the challenges of working amidst a pandemic?

MC: The pandemic has been a great teacher. We grew better at listening, not assuming that everyone’s realities are the same, and focusing on things that truly mattered above all.

Our teams’ tagline is “Conquering Together” — and that’s what 2020 allowed us to do — whether it was thinking creatively about a challenge or staying connected virtually through our regular TGIF calls.

On the personal front, accepting the change and making adjustments to fit it — like finding a corner in the house I can call office versus floating around as I did initially — helped me address it.

I am a more mindful leader now, thanks to the pandemic. I hope, in a rush to get back to normal, we don’t forget about all the great learnings we’ve experienced this past year.

HS: What can be done to attract more women to the workforce?

MC: To retain more women in the technology workforce, it is important to remove the ‘motherhood penalty.’ When women employees rejoin their respective organisations after their maternity leaves, they are considered to be less committed.

Research conducted on the motherhood penalty suggests that women get a four percent pay cut for each child they plan as compared to men who get a six percent increase, on average. Hence, these pre-conceived biases need to be addressed strongly that block the growth path for women in the long run.

There is also a need to provide more flexibility to men. Flexible working makes it easier for men to take on domestic commitments and responsibilities. Over time, this can dispel the expectation that childcare is a collective responsibility, enabling women to take up more prominent roles in the workplace.

Besides, a fewer number of women at senior levels in the tech industry acts as a barrier for younger women to join as they don’t have enough role models to look up to.

We need role models in technology to mentor women, help them learn new things, believe in themselves, and move forward despite several challenges.

ALSO READ

[Women in Tech] Think of your career as a marathon as opposed to a sprint, says Shalini Eswaran of Texas Instruments

HS: Why do you think there are very few women in leadership positions in tech?

MC: We are certainly seeing a very positive change over the years, and I am counting on this to continue and multiply in the future.

If you want to win a game, you’ve got to stay in the game. Personally, I think that’s the core challenge — the attrition rate in the tech industry is quite high for women in the first 10 years of their career. This period also often coincides with their prime motherhood years.

When they re-join, they are often perceived as being less committed and ambitious, or women themselves opt for less meaty /demanding roles, which ends up being a vicious cycle.

With the role models we see today — coaching on specific situations and life milestones, the right mentorship, and sponsorship — we can break this cycle and have more women put their hand up for bigger roles.

HS: Do you mentor women in tech?

MC: There are several global level programmes targeted at mentoring and helping aspiring women. I had the privilege of being an executive sponsor for Inspire Her — a global programme within SAP Concur — that connects women leaders across the company with a peer mentoring and networking community to explore personal and professional growth topics.

Recently, we also started a women-in-leadership dialogue series called ‘Real Women, Real Stories.’ This programme intends to inspire women in tech and business to pursue their aspirations to grow up the value chain and lead teams.

I often lean heavily towards two areas — returning-mothers and women in sales and business. Here, I can speak from my personal experiences and from the mistakes I’ve made.

HS: What have been your biggest successes and challenges?

MC: My sense of purpose has always driven me to measure my success as to how my loved ones perceive me. So for me, success is about being a good daughter, sister, wife, mom, friend, mentor, coach, leader, and being someone who can be relied on.

My challenge is how I can constantly beat my own expectations of this very definition of success.

HS: Why should every organisation have an equal opportunity mindset?

MC: From increasing productivity and enhancing collaboration to inspiring organisational dedication, and decreasing employee burnout, the benefits of having women in the workplace are well documented.

Look at how women-led nations have successfully subdued the initial coronavirus outbreak. In all these countries, swiftness of response and the real estimation of the risks was one common theme.

Studies tell us that closing the gender gap can increase GDP by an average of 35 percent.

According to last year’s McKinsey Diversity Study, companies in the top quartile for gender diversity on executive teams were 25 percent more likely to have above-average profitability.

In fact, the greater the representation, the higher the likelihood of outperformance. Thus, gender diversity is correlated with profitability and value creation.

So, if companies rise to the moment with bold action and an equal opportunity mindset, we can protect hard-won gains in gender diversity and lay the foundation for a better workplace with clear business benefits.

HS: What are your future plans?

MC: Life can be unpredictable, so no plans can be set in stone. I remind myself that it’s always the “who” that matters the most, and not the “what,” regardless of what life holds ahead.