[Women in Tech] Companies shouldn’t hire women just to meet HR target, says Mohua Sengupta of Mashreq

Mohua Sengputa, Managing Director of Mashreq Bank in Bengaluru, is a seasoned veteran with over 22 years of diverse experience in IT, banking, and financial services industry.

She collaborates with all group functions to enable and develop them into market leading talent and services platforms to service the strategic, digital, and operational requirements of Mashreq globally.

Though Mohua loved Mathematics, she was not attracted by the Sciences. “While growing up in Kolkata, there used to be societal pressure for all high-scoring students to pursue engineering or medicine. I was fortunate to have progressive parents who encouraged me to study whatever I wanted to. I went on to study Economics. I think that has been the best decision of my life, though it was completely by accident,” she says.

Mohua has held stints at prestigious organisations like Wipro, Accenture, Bank of Canada, Mphasis, IGate, ITC Infotech, and others.

In an interview with her HerStory, she takes us through her long but fulfilling journey in technology, her current role at Mashreq, and why mentorship is important for women to take big leaps in their careers.

Edited excerpts from the interview:

HerStory (HS): Please take us through your career journey from the beginning until now?

Mohua Sengputa (MS): My career journey has always been very instinctive. I can’t claim that I had carefully planned my career path. I have always taken the decisions to move jobs, move cities, move countries, and jump into additional academic work based on my instincts, and like most people, some have been right, some may have been wrong. But one common thread is that I have always moved towards more challenges. Sitting in a comfort zone bores me, while challenges excite me and has been a driving factor in my life.

HS: Tell us about your current roles and responsibilities?

MS: Early last year, I took up an opportunity with Mashreq Bank – one of the leading financial institutions in the UAE. I am the Managing Director for Mashreq’s Global Innovation Centers in India, Pakistan, and Egypt, and I am currently based in Bengaluru. These centres play a crucial role in technology development, augmenting innovation, agility and managing remote operations - fuelling Mashreq’s remote working structure to attract global talent beyond all borders. As the MD, I closely collaborate with all group functions to enable and develop them into market leading talent and service platforms for Mashreq’s strategic, digital, and operational requirements globally.

HS: Tell us about working in a team.

MS: Though there are occasions when I long for working as a subject matter expert in a specific project, but given a choice, I would anytime love to work in a team. This is primarily because I am a people person and firmly believe that as a leader, I thrive when I am surrounded by teammates.

With over 25 years of career behind me, it’s tough to pinpoint one particular story about people. But one thing I would like to share is that I am still very much in touch with my colleagues from all my erstwhile companies, no matter where they are located. I am extremely proud to say that many of my team members have moved around with me.

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

MS: The biggest challenge was not being able to sit with my team and huddle together. But I think we are all very resilient and the pandemic has proven that one more time. I tried and thereafter started enjoying the situation. I tried to never miss a meal with my teenage daughter who I would hardly see earlier. I started video calls with cousins and friends, which was always possible, but we never did before. I think the pandemic made the extended family bonding stronger. I have also pursued my passions to the hilt. Consequently, these factors have enabled me to approach work with a fresher perspective.

HS: What more can be done to attract women, and more importantly, retain them in the workforce?

MS: I truly believe that mentoring is not overrated. It’s extremely important to have women in senior positions in any organisation, not just for those women but even more so to encourage the younger women in the organisation who can see some role models in senior positions and thus start believing that they can do it too. I strongly feel that women leave their career not because of any external factor, but because they start believing that they cannot manage both, i.e., a happy family life and a successful career. As a result, they quit. I think seeing role models and active mentoring can help younger women tide over such self-doubts.

Secondly, companies shouldn’t hire women just to meet an HR target. Only the really talented women perfectly suited for the roles must be hired to set the right standards. Otherwise, women will only be seen as diversity candidates and will not get their due respect.

Thirdly, many a times, certain benefits help women tide over their specific life situations. If organisations can support them through those, it would go a long way in attracting the women and holding them back. In Mashreq, we have carved out our benefits to help women tide over those life stages and balance work and personal life.

A few examples would be our ‘Work from Anywhere’ policy or flexible timing. Being a mother myself, I can totally understand how much these policies would help women. I wish I had these benefits when my daughter was young.

I think these things put together will help attract and retain more women in the workforce.

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HS: Why is networking absolutely essential for women in tech?

MS: The phrase ‘Your network is your net-worth’ couldn’t be truer in the digital age. Technology and innovation have paved way for a connected world and specialisation is our way of life. Hence, the importance of network at all levels, in every field and business, cannot be understated. It is a crucial aspect even more so for women in tech. There is an urgent need to debunk myths about women who take up jobs in technology, most of which are untrue and likely to negatively impact the industry and our careers. Through networking, the external audience looking into the sector will be able to catch the real glimpse, understand our ambitions, goal, and abilities, and the difference we can bring to our organisations.

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

MS: A few reasons play into this. Traditionally, it has been a myth that men are good at science and women at arts. While this isn’t true, many tend to make decisions based on societal myths. Many women choose not to go for tech as a career as a result of that. Secondly, the tech roles in India have traditionally required long hours. This is primarily because of the client’s time zone as India serves a global base of companies. Some specific life stages cause a hindrance for women to continue and many of them either choose to give up or move to other industries, where office timings are more predictable.

However, the current prevalence of ‘work from anywhere’ has made the work environment for women friendlier, which has encouraged and empowered them to continue within these tech ecosystems. This is seen prominently at Mashreq as well. With remote working taking precedence, which was unimaginable in the technology sector, women have benefited from this to be better able to manage work-life balance.

It also goes without saying that there are some biases that play against women when it comes to senior tech roles. I must say that it has reduced substantially over time, but it still does exist. Finally, and most importantly, I think women give up before they need to. According to me, once that stops, a lot of the other issues will also go away.

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

MS: Diversity has a direct impact on business growth and profitability – it’s not just for the optics. Progressive businesses with an equal opportunity mindset are more likely to introduce diversity at executive levels which has proven to result in financial outperformance in many cases. Women can bring in varied perspectives and experiences that can help tap previously untapped business opportunities. Creativity and innovation are other areas that can dynamically improve if organisations stay true to the diverse mindset.