Co-founder of Imarticus Learning and investment banker Sonya Hooja tells Renu Dhole how modern banking is encouraging more women to work in finance and also helping them emerge as strong leaders

We see glowing pictures of successful career women painted across the media. But what often doesn’t come forth are the stories of their struggles. The work/ home balance that these driven women seem to strike so effortlessly is eulogised, but what few can see is that it is a tightrope walk that often leaves them exhausted. So when I get a chance to interact with Sonya Hooja, co-founder of Imarticus Learning and a successful investment banker, I find myself searching for what it took for her to be successful rather than the list of her achievements, which remain luminous.

It becomes a heartfelt conversation between two women, rather than an interview with a high-achiever businesswoman. It is in the course of this candid chit-chat that she confesses that it is “stressful” managing the home front and being in the thick of a demanding profession. On cue, I sweep aside the shining credentials that prefix her name (she has a BA Honours in Economics from Rutgers University, USA, and an MBA from INSEAD) and reach straight for the woman herself.

“It is important for organisations to create the right environment for women to grow. We require a change in the mindset of industries. The emphasis should not be just on showing up for work, but on getting work done. That will result in a lot of flexibility at workplaces, which will benefit women,” she says, thinking aloud. What gives her hope is that things are beginning to change. “In the last decade or so, modern banking has made a lot of adjustments to encourage women to work and succeed in the field. A strong women leadership is already emerging and there are prominent role models women can look up to. It is a very evolving, dynamic industry which is starting to adopt women-friendly policies,” she says when I ask her if she faced any biases when she stepped into this prominently male domain.

What prepped her to enter the traditional male bastion was an upbringing that made her believe she was not one of the ‘weaker sex’. “My family never harped on gender roles. I was always encouraged to follow my interests and be ambitious. I had always harboured a liking for math, analytical science and logic. I think my choosing this field was a natural progression of that. My mixed education — I studied here and abroad — also helped a lot,” she explains.

She agrees that women have to work harder than men in order to be successful in their professions. “That is true. Women take on more personal responsibilities than their male counterparts and work really hard to be good at both. There are challenges to their time and they have to resort to multi-tasking.”

Does this take away something from their potential? After all, girls have always outdone boys in education. But few manage to reach the top, a destination crowded by men. “I don’t really see a way out of that. If women take one or two years off from work because of personal obligations, and then there is a direct comparison with their male colleagues at work, they do lose out. This will continue to happen unless the focus is shifted from just how many working hours you put in. More importance should be accorded to the deliverables rather than facetime. In the West, a lot of firms already have daycare centres for children of women employees. That should make it a lot easier for women employees to be on par with men,” she thinks.

With women like her at the helm, we can at least hope that workplaces that understand the challenges that women face, that are sensitive to their needs, will soon be a reality in India too.

Imarticus Learning

Mumbai-based Imarticus Learning offers comprehensive industry specific training programmes in various sectors such as financial services. It focuses on training and provides career options within the investment banking industry, an attractive career choice that is currently inaccessible to many due to lack of awareness and relevant skills. Imarticus will soon be opening a branch in Pune.

The big buzz about investment banking

Throwing some light on the new buzzword ‘investment banking’, Sonya explains, “Investment banking, particularly in India, is an extremely dynamic field and has multiple facets. Simply put, investment banks work with various institutions, firms and governments to raise capital by issuance of securities. They also assist in mergers and acquisitions, trading and research activities. In India, this industry also includes multinational captives, which essentially have set up intensive corporate functions, leveraging India as a cost arbitrage and a value destination. The recent limelight is due to large regulatory and risk reforms that are taking place in the industry, which is changing the way investment banks operate. In India particularly, there is also a large requirement for skilled talent to propel its growth, and to deliver more value-added services, internally as well as to its wider client base.”