Banking boss | Book Excerpt – Indomitable: A Working Woman’s Notes on Work, Life and Leadership By Arundhati Bhattacharya

As the head of the largest bank in India, I got plenty of opportunities to meet with dignitaries in every walk of life. Be it in the government, regulators, business leaders or economists, I was able to meet many great minds of our time, listen and learn from them, share my experiences, and, in general, obtain a better understanding of the Indian economy, macroeconomic trends as well as industry trends.

When I became the chairman, the banking sector too was quite fragmented. The public sector bankers hardly ever pulled together with their peers in the private sector. Even within the public sector, the small and large banks had their differences. In a way, this was normal. There was bound to be competition within the industry, but there had to be a united face to push for reforms required in the sector. I tried my best to pull several groups together by articulating the issues that we faced collectively in the forums that I had the opportunity to attend. For example, at the first gathering of the public sector banks with the new government, I had the honour of presenting our views in favour of a level playing field and more enablement to the prime minister.

It was also at this forum that the prime minister promised the government wouldn’t interfere in the workings of banks, while emphasizing the need for financial inclusion. The quarterly meetings with the finance ministry gave us an equally powerful forum to present our issues. We had frequent interactions with the regulators as well. The RBI governor would host a lunch before each Monetary Policy Committee meeting, and also had a summit of bankers and the media, which allowed for us to contribute to policymaking. He used to often joke about the frequency with which I sought various dispensations, but I think he meant it kindly as I did try to represent banking sector issues and asked for only those measures that I believed the sector needed to do well.

Did I Make a Difference as a Leader?

This is a question I have often asked myself. For one, I did ensure that women would cease feeling frozen (quite literally) in the boardroom. For as long as I could remember, I was always uncomfortably cold in the boardroom, where the temperature was set at a point where men in suits and ties felt comfortable. But for women clad in saris it was deeply uncomfortable, and I refused to give up wearing the lovingly hand-crafted saris that I wore to work. I became so used to cupping the hot cup of tea to thaw my cold hands that it’s become a habit, and I can barely drink tea in any other manner now. So on becoming chairman, I thought I needed to assert myself on behalf of the women in the boardroom and requested my male colleagues to leave their coats and ties behind in their rooms. Those who didn’t perforce had to do so during the meeting, as the air conditioning provided an ambient temperature that was suitable for those used to the Indian weather.

On a more serious note, while I strictly promoted on merit, I ensured that the unconscious bias that many had against women was kept firmly at bay and the boardroom soon wore a more diverse look. Not a single one of the women I promoted faltered at their responsibilities, amply proving how deserving they were as candidates. One of those, as I mentioned earlier, is today the CFO of the World Bank and another just received the Best Banker Award this year as the MD of another bank. All of this further attests the potential of women. While I tried to ensure this at every level, I don’t believe that I was entirely successful. Nor could I put in place a formal mentoring programme for women, though informally many did find mentors.

For example, the year before I retired, I found that not a single woman appeared on the list of India-based officials who were being posted abroad. When I asked Siddharth Sengupta, DMD, he said that very few women had applied for these positions in the first place. This got me seriously worried and I amended his KRAs to include mentoring women and enthusing them to take up these challenges, so that in the coming years at least one third of the list would comprise women candidates. The next set of promotions happened after my retirement, but Siddharth rang me up to confirm that he had fulfilled his KRA and that more than one third of that year’s list were women.

I also recommended to the board a two-year sabbatical for women employees for child and elderly care, resulting in a lot of headwind, including someone suggesting that I was perpetuating stereotypes. I considered the observation, but determined that given the realities of the situation, I could only term this as ‘affirmative action’. When I took stock two years later, I had probably saved the careers of 600-plus women. I especially remember one of them. She came up to me and, clasping my hands, thanked me. When I looked at her questioningly, she explained, ‘My mother-in-law was very unwell and I couldn’t bring myself to leave her with an attendant. Earlier I would have had no other option other than to put in my papers. But I availed a year’s sabbatical now. Unfortunately, my mother-in- law passed away within three months and I have rejoined work. My twenty-year-long career would have been lost, but for this facility that the bank gave me.’ I later extended this to single men as well, as they had the same issues. The other women-centric initiatives I put in place were introducing free cervical cancer vaccines, creating joint living spaces for the female staff serving in rural areas and ensuring that we appointed either a gynaecologist or paediatrician at each of the LHOs so that women could get medical support in their offices.

Another area where I used all my persuasive powers was to convince the government to give two Saturdays off each month, while making the other two full working days. This was already being negotiated as part of the Eleventh Bipartite Settlement. It did not change the hours worked by any employee, but reduced stress hugely. My thoughts were for those colleagues who worked in rural areas, where the family couldn’t accompany them. They would visit their families over the weekend, but many could spend only a few hours at home after completing the half-day they needed to work each Saturday. I was also thinking of the women who would be working right through each of their Sundays, catching up on domestic chores and returning to work on Monday mornings, more exhausted than rested. For all such people, two weeks with two days off would be a big boon. So I pleaded with the government to allow this as part of the bipartite industry-wide settlement. The secretary, DFS agreed and this was implemented.

I often feel that I could have done much more, but I can only hope that I at least smoothened the path a little for those who would come after me.

Excerpted from Indomitable: A Working Woman’s Notes on Work, Life and Leadership by Arundhati Bhattacharya, by permission of HarperCollins

Indomitable: A Working Woman’s Notes on Work, Life and Leadership
Arundhati Bhattacharya
HarperCollins
Pp 336, Rs 599