The world we live in professes that we have overcome gender inequalities. However, it would not be wrong to say that women’s leadership is still hindered by the ‘glass ceiling’, a metaphor that represents those inconspicuous barriers that limit women from availing of further opportunities, getting promotions or increments.
These obstacles are termed as the ‘glass ceiling’ because they are imperceptible to women, and any woman may not know about their existence until she hits or experiences them. Such hindrances are not authorised practices that contradistinguish women, yet they take shape due to discriminatory attitudes.
Many talented and competent women are prevented from achieving success in their endeavours that would allow them to help businesses, societies and, ultimately, nations grow and flourish. For women, ‘the sky’s the limit only when there are no ‘ceilings’.
Vinita Rathi, Founder & CEO at leading digital Consultancy, Systango
Vinita Rathi, a visionary and thought leader, constantly endeavours to support budding entrepreneurs in their success journey and works towards increasing the participation of women in leadership roles by enhancing their skill sets in technology.
Vinita hails as Founder & Chief Executive Officer at Systango Technologies Private Limited, a leading digital consultancy and agency specialising in building mobile apps, web apps and websites from start to finish.
She also served as Vice President at Goldman Sachs in London before realising that Systango was something that she really wanted to do. Now a successful entrepreneur, Vinita has held a top-level management position with a global giant prior to her stepping into a journey of entrepreneurship.
What led you to join Systango?
She shares what stimulated her ideas to establish Systango: “I worked at Goldman Sachs for around 5 years, and working there was a humongous learning experience for me. But when I felt that it was time to test what I had learnt, I quit Goldman and set out to do something bigger.”
Vinita also shares that “Systango helps and hand holds founders, especially with no technology background, to build their product and get it out of the door just like an in-house team would do. We either augment the current team with contractors or set up the team from scratch.
We have also served some very large companies like Grindr and Dialpad. We also make some pretty neat IoT products like breathalysers, sensors for wineries etc.”
What are the values you believe in for achieving success?
Vinita Rathi’s ideology of life is based on three pillars. She believes in nurturing life-long relationships. She is firmly determined to contribute to society’s well-being and puts her best effort into living up to this ideal at Systango.
Also, she aims to empower women where they need to be most empowered. Being an extremely passionate developer and tech architect, Vinita is associated with two global communities: Women Hack for Non-profits and Women who Code.
These two communities are dedicated to the development of women, providing support to women and helping them acquire the skills they need for professional advancement wherever they live.
What do you think is the biggest challenge to female leadership?
According to Vinita Rathi, the male dominance is very evident in the software industry, and what is worse is the lack of empathy in the women’s community. This has been a challenge and will continue to be unless women really want to bring about change.
What were the challenges and failures you have faced?
However, like every entrepreneur, Vinita Rathi also experienced failure in her initiatives at the beginning of her career and learnt her lessons. She thinks failures play a significant role in helping people achieve success. She expresses her views by saying, “I think it’s extremely important for someone to fail, as the greatest learnings come from failure.
And as much as people say that you should learn from other people’s mistakes, some mistakes need to be made by you before you can truly learn and understand. For me, my very first project at Goldman Sachs made me realise how much I lacked in technical know-how and how it was so difficult to apply the conceptual knowledge that I had learned in college to practical work situations. I am glad I learnt my lessons early.”
Who was behind your success?
Vineeta believes that the idea of being successful depends on one’s ability to make an impact on society and truly benefit people’s lives. She adds, “For long-term success, I try to build and sustain existing and new relationships and make sure that I bring happiness to the people around me.”
Vinita attributes her success to her parents, who are “the reason for all the success” that she has achieved. They have supported her in overcoming the enormous obstacles she has faced. Also, Her husband has been her ‘true partner’ in all senses.
Who has been your greatest inspiration?
Steve Jobs is Vinita Rathi’s biggest inspiration as his out-of-the-box thinking and presentation drive her a lot to achieve greatness. She also admires Sheryl Sandberg for her determination, tenacity, and stance towards women’s empowerment.
Vinita quote Sheryll Sandberg’s that “I look forward to the day when half our homes are run by men, and half our companies and institutions are run by women. When that happens, it won’t just mean happier women and families; it will mean more successful businesses and better lives for us all”. This is the quote that Vinita Rathi stands by, believes in and always looks forward to the times.
Do you think your personal life is affected by your professional life? How?
Being a mother has brought more maturity to Vinita Rathis and a new perspective on many things. She has also learned to hone her multitasking and prioritise her skills. Vinita also understands the sacrifices a mother has to make when it comes to balancing both professional and personal life.
What is your road map?
Talking about her future plans, she keeps an unswerving focus towards making a difference in people’s lives and bolstering the cause of feminism in India. She is trying to achieve her objectives with the help of WomenHackForNonProfits.com.
In addition, Vinita has also started a child mentoring initiative at Systango with the mission of contributing towards Child Development. Apart from this, she invests the best of her efforts to ensure that Systango keeps growing and keeps improving at providing a safe and happy working environment for the entire Systango family.
Words of Wisdom
Vinita Rathi stated, “It’s extremely important, to be honest with you and to learn to say “No”. Establish an open line of communication between you and your stakeholders. There may be times when you need to say ‘Stop’. When everything around you is saying something is not right, it’s better to stop and re-evaluate”.
