No disagreements: (From L to R) Ventures' Renuka Ramnath, Indian Bank's Ranjana Kumar, moderator Siddhartha Basu, HDFC's Renu Karnad, Nicholas Piramal's Swati Piramal and Spatial Access Solutions' Meenakshi Madhvani

The issue of business today featuring India's 25 most powerful women in business on its cover was the first of its kind. The event to mark its launch proved to be every bit as special as the issue itself. "Are women CEOs more ethical than their male counterparts?" was the topic to be debated by a five-member, all-woman panel at the latest of BT-Electrolux Managing Tomorrow series event, held at Delhi's Hyatt Regency on November 6, 2003. The elite panel comprised Renuka Ramnath, CEO, ICICI Ventures; Ranjana Kumar, Chairperson and Managing Director, Indian Bank; Renu Karnad, Executive Director, HDFC; Swati Piramal, Director (Strategic Alliances), Nicholas Piramal; and Meenakshi Madhvani, CEO, Spatial Access Solutions, the country's first media audit outfit. Popular quiz master Siddhartha Basu was the odd man out on the stage as he took up the mantle of moderating the course of the debate.

Giving the event a headstart, Aroon Purie, CEO, India Today Group, and the Editor-in-chief of Business Today, said: "The liberation of women in India has been more graceful than anywhere else in the world. The process is perhaps more important than the economic reforms." The India Today Group CEO's remarks were all the more significant considering the huge difference made by women to the business he's in, the media. "It's a great achievement for all of them to have scaled such heights in a society as conservative as ours. May their tribe grow so that we have not just 25 women, but 100 the next time round," he concluded.

"Women are excellent at multitasking, both at home and the workplace" Rajeev Karwal, CEO & MD, Electrolux Kelvinator	"It's a great achievement for women, especially in a conservative society like India" Aroon Purie, CEO, India Today Group

Purie, along with Elizabeth Coffey, the renowned leadership development expert and management consultant, released the special issue. Later, Coffey took up cudgels on behalf of the fairer sex. In the US, nearly two-thirds of new entrepreneurs are women and they find it much easier to obtain funding for their ventures, she said. This wasn't always the case, though. However, "because of their sense of responsibility, their credit rating has now become much higher than that of men", she pointed out. The same went for women professionals. Xerox Corporation chose Ann Mulcahy for the top job, mainly for her integrity, when faced with a reputational crisis against the backdrop of two of her male predecessors being indicted in scams.

That set the stage for the leading panelists. Renuka Ramnath of ICICI Ventures kicked off the debate by saying that ethical practice came intuitively to women. "Men tend to adopt the principle of justice when looking at issues, while women follow the principle of care-much the same way a mother cares for a child."

She argued that women by nature are cooperative and men competitive. "But women can be nurtured to become competitive." It all boiled down to one's personal values, she continued. "I look upon each employee in my organisation as my child. They have entrusted their careers to my hands. I'm the custodian of their progress. Does that mean you don't hurt anybody? No. You occupy the CEO's chair and you are answerable to the stakeholders. But striking a balance is important. Women operate more from the platform of relationships," Ramnath concluded.

The unveilling: Aroon Purie with Mercer Delta's Elizabeth Coffey

Moderator Basu interjected that this position was a mite ambivalent. The next speaker, however, Indian Bank's redoubtable Ranjana Kumar, left no room for complaint on that score. Kumar argued that since women donned so many hats, it left them with too little time to be crooked. "Men have enough time to relax and contemplate. Women don't have that luxury. How many of us women are invited to parties and late night dinners? Women just don't have that kind of exposure," she rubbed it in.

One disadvantage for women managers, she felt, was the lack of role models. "Being pioneers, we have to be extra careful. A single slip can put us in an awkward position," said Kumar. The bottomline: Women had too much on their hands to be unethical.

"You Always Need A Visionary At The Top"
Success secrets to keep you ahead: Leadership guru Elizabeth Coffey (left) and Partner Walter Elliot
Elizabeth coffey is no ordinary management guru. Besides being the author of the bestseller Ten Things That Keep CEOs Awake, she is a Director at Mercer Delta Consultancy, which works with CEOs and other senior executives on change management issues. Recently, she has also been invited by the Queen of Egypt to help the country develop its next generation of leaders. Coffey was in Delhi, along with her partner Walter Elliot, to conduct a workshop on November 6, 2003, as part of the BT-Electrolux Knowledge Management Forum. In the audience were CEOs who wanted to upgrade their leadership skills and senior execs who'd in the near future find themselves at the top job. Coffey classified leaders into two categories. The mythic and the operational leaders. "Although managing day-to-day operations successfully is important for a company, it's perhaps more important to have a leader who can set a vision for the long term," she said. To identify their leadership qualities and deficiencies, the participants were given short, written exercises. In these stressful times, it is important for leaders to balance their professional and personal lives. Shashi Ullal, a management consultant, spoke to the participants about the importance of stress relief exercises like pranayama and realistic target setting. Market research expert Rama Bijapurkar shared consumer insights and asked the leaders to make their companies consumer relevant, and not just consumer led. "India will always be a country where a lot of people will consume very little. But even that adds up to a lot," she said.

Next was Renu Karnad of HDFC. She said women were still outnumbered by men in most sectors other than financial services and media. "We have always been the nurturers, transferring civilisational values. What you teach your kids at home is what you practice in the office. For us, the office is an extension of home." Karnad insisted that women in general displayed a greater sense of responsibility. To underscore this sentiment, she said HDFC preferred to make the wife the borrower while giving out home loans,. "Ninety-nine per cent of the times you get your money back if that's the case," claimed Karnad.

The next speaker, Swati Piramal contended that while it was true that none of the BT 500 companies had women CEOs, too much should not be read into this since they made a more-than-significant contribution to the small and medium enterprises. "Men have created a civilisation that follows their own tendencies. Women have to work within the narrow confines of this sphere." She, however, agreed with the other panelists that women were far better at long-term relationships than men.

Spatial Access' Meenakshi Madhvani pushed the point further, saying: "It pleased me no end to see that not a single woman was involved in the recent 20 big scandals around the world. In India too, no women CEOs or managers were involved in any corporate scam," she said. "That," Madhvani said, "is because women tend to be as concerned about the means as the ends." She regretted the fact that women managers were constantly under the microscope in the male-dominated world. "If a man makes the same mistake, I'm sure he'll be forgiven. Our actions invite constant scrutiny and comment." Her closing remark that women were definitely more idealistic than men and could be relied upon to do the right thing, summed up the mood of the gathering. The verdict was unanimous. The fairer sex emerged the winners hands down.

"Think From Your Heart"

All for change: GE India's Bayman The panelists weren't let off the hook so easily. An eager audience fired a volley of questions at them. The responses were quick and sharp. Here's a sample. Suhel Seth, CEO, Equus Redcell: I worship women. I have been listening to the panelists in rapt attention. Can you tell us men what we need to do to be like women? Renu Karnad: Think what you'd do if you were on the other side of the gender divide. Just go by your conscience. Renuka Ramnath: Think, act, and work from your heart. Then you'll get closer. Siddhartha Basu: If you look at certain areas like politics, have women proved themselves to be more ethical than men? Swati Piramal: Politicians are genetically different from all other species. Meenakshi Madhvani: There was a study done on rural women leaders. It was found that villages with women sarpanchs showed dramatic development. Women were less corrupt in siphoning off money. Scott Bayman, CEO, GE India: What would be your advice to the young woman manager? What should she do to progress? Ranjana Kumar: She should be thorough. She has to constantly upgrade herself. She has to be totally professional. Only then will she earn the respect of her peers.