Girls who build: With user empathy, problem-solving skills, and a sense of ownership, the women of Meesho’s product team are making our entrepreneurs successful
There is a severe under-representation of women in the technology-product management population despite making up 40 per cent of India’s general public. And yet, the women working in the field of product and technology are doing a spectacular job at it, shattering the glass ceiling.
Take our women colleagues in Meesho’s product team for instance, who are great problem solvers, have a very good understanding of our entrepreneurs, are committed to making them successful and whose inputs and ideas are respected across the board. They stand shoulder-to-shoulder with their peers and help the company achieve its true north consistently — Making [Meesho’s] Entrepreneurs Successful.
Read on to meet Meesho’s product team crew — the ladies who build — and whose work directly impacts our women entrepreneurs:
“Like most tech fields, product is also a male-dominated space. My previous experience of having gone from a data analyst’s position, a role where I was surrounded by other women, and then moving onto to product, was a bit of a shocker. What I noticed was the distinct shortage of women in product as compared to men.
I joined Meesho as a Product Manager virtually in April this year during the lockdown. And I was happy to see more women in Meesho’s product team than the norm. I also knew that at Meesho I would be able to take full ownership of my work and that has certainly been the case. The amount of learning in the last six months has been unparalleled. Here I take care of cataloguing and support and I have complete end-to-end ownership for it, and this means the freedom to come up with new ideas and having the authority to take the final call as well.” — Deepali Gupta, Product Manager
“I grew up in a progressive Marathi family from Nagpur with a lot of doctors in the house! So, naturally, I was always encouraged to forge a path in the medical field, especially because of the belief that it was more suitable for a girl. But, I was always drawn towards logical thinking and knew early on that I want to work in a field that demands ownership, innovation and practical application of my knowledge. So, after completing my engineering from IIT Kharagpur, I started exploring the field of product and for the last two years, I have been working in this field.
It is a very male-dominated industry for sure and even though I haven’t experienced any first-person discrimination based on my gender at the workplace, standing in a room dominated by men, I feel the constant need to work twice as hard as everyone else. Many women in powerful positions still face imposter syndrome. Even Michelle Obama, one of the most influential people in the world, has spoken about it.
The truth is, as long as you’re confident and good at what you do, gender doesn’t become a priority and it never should.
At Meesho, for instance, I have a very supportive and helpful team and the environment here demands a steep learning curve that helps you become an expert in your field. I have been working here for the last six months and my favourite thing about the company is the freedom I have to Deep Dive and Solve Problems [ a core Meesho value]. My work in product here directly impacts our women entrepreneurs and that is an honour.
I highly encourage girls to consider Product as a career path over other conventional options. It is a very diverse and cross-functional role that demands multitasking and if anyone can excel at it, it’s us!” — Prachi Bhoyar, Associate Product Manager
“I grew up in Indore where most of my family members were in the medical field, and because of this, I grew up wanting to be a doctor too. Later on, my love for maths and science — specifically physics — bloomed and I decided to pursue an Electrical Engineering degree from NIT Bhopal instead.
During my time at NIT, there was a significant shift in me, and I became inclined to working (or volunteering) in NGOs, and planning and organising events as a part of literary and cultural society.
I believe that this is the period where I got acquainted with my own empathetic side and saw that I have an inclination to, and a knack for solving problems for other people.
At my very first job I worked in a project where we built robotics process automation solutions for banking clients. This stint required me to interact with several stakeholders regularly to understand their pain points and build solutions that streamline the process. At the end of the project, I knew I wanted to work in product. To sharpen my analytical skills and to understand how various business functions collaborate, I joined a Fintech startup as an analyst.
Having come with this background to the field of product, I shattered the norm that only people with a background in tech can thrive here. More than gender-based stereotypes, I would say, this is the stereotype I had to shatter. While tech is an important aspect of working in product, it is even more important to have user empathy, and skills of identifying and prioritising the right problem.
When I joined Meesho six months ago, I knew that I would be entering a competitive and dynamic environment where you are entrusted with responsibilities based on your performance and not on assumptions. And, this has exactly been the case for me.
The horizontal power structure has demolished the idea of power hierarchy at work and makes reaching out to the leadership easy and comfortable.” — Priyanka Jain, Associate Product Manager
“I studied Chemical Engineering at IIT Kanpur, where the men: women ratio were terrible, so going into a field like product this is not something that even crossed my mind, and hence there was no hesitation in entering a male-dominated world either. I was initially considering joining companies that dealt in oil reservoirs etc, where the situation is apparently worse.
During college, I got to attend sessions on product and even got a taste of it during my internships. Additionally, I spoke in-depth about the prospects of entering product with a few alums and realised that this is the field for me. Having my work impact the lives of users by solving their problems was extremely appealing to me. And so, soon after I graduated, I started working in the field and it has been two-and-a-half blissful years.
I joined Meesho a year back and one of my biggest aspirations for the job was to be in an atmosphere where I am constantly able to learn from the people around me. I wanted to work with people who inspire me, lift me up, and find mentors who would guide me in the right direction, while also giving me a sense of ownership. And, I am happy that reality has certainly matched my expectation. I have extremely talented peers and inspiring mentors here and am excited about my work here.” — Tanya Batra, Associate Product Manager.
“I grew up mostly in Bellary, Karnataka, but moved about the country quite a bit owing to my dad’s job. From a very young age, I had a strong inclination towards science and that eventually led me to IIT Madras where I pursued aerospace engineering. It is here that my interest in startups and technology piqued.
After I started working, I understood where my interests and skills lie, and further conversations with friends, alums and colleagues helped me realise that I want to pursue a long term career in product management. I knew that the gender ratio in this profession is not ideal, but that never made me hesitate in getting on board because all my life, I have been in environments that are primarily populated by men. Fortunately, I didn’t face any discrimination at the workplace, but I have had (ex) friends who would undermine my achievements by insinuating that I got them because I am a girl.
I have been following Meesho’s journey for a while before applying to the company and found the idea of helping women financially independent both fascinating and inspiring. I joined the company just before the lockdown and in the last few months, I have really learnt what ownership truly means. Unlike in other companies where this word is freely thrown around, at Meesho we get to be the owners of our projects, and my learning here has been incredible — Nivedita Manepalli, Associate Product Manager
“Growing up I don’t think I knew that Product Manager was a career option. During the initial years of my career, I was an analyst crunching numbers and trying to identify insights. Seeing how a product or a business can act on those insights and bring about change in their users’ lives was the reason I got really interested in product management and there has been no turning back.
Tech industry, in general, is male-dominated, and so I have been used to this since college. Thankfully though, there have been very few instances where I’ve been stereotyped because of my gender. At the end of the day, your work speaks louder than your gender. I love that my team here at Meesho has a lot more women compared to my previous orgs which has been quite refreshing and empowering.
It’s been 6 months since I joined Meesho and the journey has been amazing. Here at Meesho we are entrusted to own a project end to end and have the freedom to prioritise and solve actual user problems. I really appreciate how helpful the entire team and my stakeholders have been.” — Lekhya Mylavarapu, Senior Product Manager
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