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“At CXO Level Gender Gaps Are Going Away”

Gender Gaps

Amrita Malik, Chief Business Officer, Innoviti Payment Solutions, joined as a sales manager in 2009 and now 10 years later am heading various functions of the organization. In the meanwhile, the organization itself has grown almost 20X.  I have learnt a lot about management of different layers in teams, building culture, go to market strategies, etc. For her, every new thing was a challenge, but biggest challenge has been to get the work done by the various teams with the same speed and same intensity to deliver quality results. In an exclusive interaction with CXOToday, Malik throws light on the changing scenario of women in tech and offers her expert advice to aspiring women CXOs.

CXOToday: What are the unique challenges Indian women leaders are facing in the field of technology? How are these challenges similar or different from their western counterparts?

Amrita Malik: I think now a day everybody goes through same journey while growing, be it man or woman. While opportunities are many, so is competition.  In India opportunities are large and a lot can be achieved.  However, it is imperative to work very hard to grow and that can also mean a compromise on balance between personal and professional lives.

I believe in India, unlike several Western countries, everybody gets same opportunity irrespective of gender.  Equality in India is far superior.

CXOToday: We do not see more women in the CIO or a similar senior role still. What needs to be done about it? Do you see things are changing for the better?

Amrita Malik: Opportunities are available for everybody. I think it’s about preference – personal or professional lives. For a man to reach a CXO position they also have to compromise on many things which we sometimes don’t recognize.  The same is for women.  If a woman decides to focus on personal life over professional life she becomes Chief at home. If a woman prefers professional life she becomes Chief at work.

CXOToday: How do you think inclusion of female executives and other board member help in reducing the gender gap?

Amrita Malik: I believe at the CXO level these gaps definitely go away.  Everyone has tough challenges to fight and they are all working together to make it happen.

CXOToday: What would be your organization’s priorities in the next one year?

Amrita Malik: Our priority is going to be driving more digital transactions and making them richer to create insights that can help drive efficiencies.  Using these insights, we want to drive an agenda of influencing product selection by influencing payment selection.

CXOToday: What are your hobbies?

Amrita Malik: Exploring new markets by visiting new places. Learning their best practices, learning about their cultures and then exploring how we can learn from these and apply them to my own work situations.

CXOToday: What is your advice for women CIOs and entrepreneurs?

Amrita Malik: There will be enough tough situations ahead and you may feel like giving up, but then remember your dream. Dreams make problems smaller.

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Sohini Bagchi
Sohini Bagchi is Editor at CXOToday, a published author and a storyteller. She can be reached at [email protected]