Walk into any corporate town hall, you will likely hear words like diversity, inclusion, and equity. Look a few layers deeper at leadership tables, the story often flattens out. Women are present, but not always heard. Represented, but not always resourced.
All Things Talent explored what it truly takes to achieve gender equity in leadership with women leaders from Teleperformance India—Preeti Shirke, EVP, Talent Acquisition; Rupa Ramamurthy, Vertical Lead – BFSI Operations & Lead #TPWomen India Board, TP in India and Neha Sethi, Chief Marketing Officer for India and ANZ. Together, they highlighted that the shift towards greater gender equity hasn’t been about chasing quotas but about holding a mirror to the system, and then steadily redesigning it.
Representation Isn’t a Finish Line
Over the past five years, TP India has increased the representation of women in its workforce from 34% to 39%. That’s a real, quantifiable shift. But in speaking to leaders like Preeti Shirke, EVP, Talent Acquisition, it is clear the real work began after those hires were made.
The strategy? Go beyond hiring drives. Campaigns like #DiversityHiringFest and all-women batches were only the doorways. The deeper work involved gender-neutral selection practices, structured onboarding experiences, and mentoring programs that didn’t just prepare women to “fit in” but encouraged them to lead on their terms.
Culture Change Isn’t Always Loud. Sometimes It’s Subtle
When Rupa Ramamurthy reflects on the launch of TP Women, an internal platform focused on empowering women across roles, she doesn’t speak in sweeping declarations. She talks about “subtle but impactful” cultural shifts. About conversations that didn’t happen before, but do now. About women in operations, transformation, and even research, stepping into complex roles without having to overprove their place.
Through three structured mentorship waves and continuous dialogue, TP Women has helped bridge the soft gap: not in capability, but in confidence, access, and visibility.
True Inclusion Isn’t Always Comfortable
Neha Sethi, Chief Marketing Officer for TP India and ANZ, frames it powerfully: “We can’t just be in the business of counting representation. We need to rethink how work is structured. Job sharing, remote roles, AI-enabled flexibility—to dismantle barriers.”
This points to the bigger truth: true inclusion is often inconvenient. It forces organisations to rethink legacy norms, redefine performance, and rewire leadership expectations. And yes, it forces discomfort, especially among those used to leading without being questioned.
Also Read: Employees in their 20s and 30s Experiencing Highest Levels of Stress Due to Career Anxiety
The Next Chapter: From Programs to Power Shifts
Programs like Women Leading Change are vital. But lasting equity will be built on power shifts. On systems that don’t just allow women to lead, but equip and expect them to do so. On leaders of all genders, who treat inclusion not as a PR goal, but as a strategic necessity.
Teleperformance’s journey isn’t perfect (no one’s is), but it is intentional. And that’s what moves the needle. Not just tracking how many women you hire, but how many stay, rise, and reshape the place they work in.
