Anisha Motwani & Priyadarshini Narendra Unveil 'She Storms the Norms', Celebrating Women Defying Stereotypes

Anisha Motwani, Founder of Storm The Norm Ventures and Priyadarshini Narendra, Fractional CMO and author, unveiled their new book, ‘She Storms the Norms’ at Gurugram.

The book delves into the journeys of triumph and resilience of women who have shattered barriers across various sectors. The stories within its pages serve as a blueprint for fearless leadership and the importance of empathy in creating inclusive workplaces.

The book talk, chaired by Reema Bhaduri, Editorial Lead of BW Businessworld served as a platform to discuss the pressing issues of gender disparity in the workforce and the inspiring stories of women who have defied societal stereotypes.

Motwani, addressing the audience set the tone for the discussion by stating, "I hate stereotypes", emphasizing how these preconceived notions disproportionately affect women in society and the corporate culture.

Narendra provided a statistic that underscored the book's relevance stating, "In 2023, the employment gender gap in India was 50.9 per cent with only 19.2 per cent of women in the labour force compared to 70.1 per cent men." 

The disparity serves as a call to action for corporate India to address the systemic issues preventing women from entering and thriving in the workforce, she explained.

The foreword of the book is written by Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Executive Chairperson of Biocon. It features stories of leading women leaders from diverse sectors, including Suparna Mitra, CEO of the Watches and Wearables Division at Titan Company; Vineeta Singh, Co-founder and CEO of Sugar Cosmetics; Ameera Shah, Executive Chairperson and Whole-time Director at Metropolis Healthcare and others. These narratives offer valuable insights into the challenges faced by women in leadership roles and their strategies for success.

'She Storms the Norms' concluding chapter has been authored by the team at MG Motors. This section explores the company's diversity hiring measures and their impact on women entering traditionally male-dominated spaces. 

Gaurav Gupta, Deputy Managing Director of MG Motors, who was present at the book talk, shared the company's journey towards gender equality. He asserted, “In the manufacturing sector, the journey to this place has not been very easy. It's been only about five years since the company is on and in this limited time, we started from the factory and how to get women on the bigger workflow.”

Gupta outlined the numerous challenges MG Motors faced in integrating women into their manufacturing units including social stigma, preconceived notions about women's capabilities in shop floor roles and the lack of a skilled female workforce. Despite these obstacles, the company has made strides in creating a more inclusive work environment.