Early in my career I was mentoring a team which included a number of fresh graduates. Due to a shortage of computing resources, the team was asked to work staggered hours. The men in the team worked late nights, but the women for safety reasons, could not. So we asked them to come into office early to share the workload, which they had to be coaxed into doing. Women will not be treated on par with men unless they are willing to be at least as professional. You can’t play your gender card, when it is convenient to you. Success comes to the professional who gives consistent high quality output and projects the right image of the organization always,” points out Padma Parthasarathy, Country Manager for Capco India a provider of integrated consulting, processing services and products for the financial services industry. Parthasarathy feels as a woman you have to be doubly careful to be a professional or else you get singled out.

A woman cannot avoid pitching in when there is an increase in workload just because of her gender. “I feel a woman also should not feel at a disadvantage because of her gender roles to make or break career choices. The period between 25-35 years of age is when an individual peaks in his or her career and unfortunately women are forced make compromises during this phase to bring up a family. Smart balancing of roles along with seeking family support may help avoid career sacrifices,” feels Parthasarathy.

Inspiration was assimilated from women she met during the career climb. “Many technical women are so professional that it is a pleasure to work with them. Their output was of consistently high quality,” says Parthasarathy. She admits she scores high on professionalism. At Capco she is responsible for developing Capco’s relationships with the Indian banking sector as well as increasing the client base benefiting from Capco’s extensive outsourcing and BPO capabilities and expertise.

One incident during her earlier years sheds light on her capacity to take such intensive roles. It was an account, which could have been lost due to the high nature of competition. To make sure the company did not lose out Parthasarathy and a colleague worked three days non-stop to make sure their proposal was of the highest quality and the deal was clinched. It didn’t stop at that. The expected cash inflow of $0.5 million overshot to $5 million. Speaks of exceeding the client’s satisfaction with innovative solutions. She remembers this milestone of hers because of the positioning it gave her company for future deals. Professionalism works.