A few months ago, when I met two of my ex-colleagues, one of them (let’s call her ‘A’) revealed she had put down her papers and would soon be joining a startup. The other colleague (or B), not a great supporter of startups, said: “How could you? The startup would make your life hell; no structure, no processes, odd working hours and pressure from investors to start revenue generation may not help you in the longer run. Startups are a complete no-no for women.”
To this, A replied saying they are offering work from home and, perks equivalent to what I am currently drawing--at least with the flexibility, I could manage my work, kid, and home easily. Moreover, I would be directly working with founders, so exposure and lot of learning would help my career in the longer run. I feel startups are saviors to many women who want to be financially independent yet be connected to their sweet home.
Women and startups: Are they made for each other, or is the association like expecting Inzamam-ul-Haq to score four runs in a single ball, by running between the wickets?
Joining startup as a lateral hire or a fresher?
Would you join a startup after gaining experience from an MNC or would you be more keen to start your career with a startup as a fresher? Vandana, who made a switch says, “Startup life is more challenging than a monotonous job where everyone works in silos. It offers more exposure and great learning experience in all the fields, as you will be working in a small team with people of different skill sets. It also allows you to share your innovative ideas and try on different roles & responsibilities. Most importantly, you’re not just a cog in the wheel; you know exactly how your work impacts the company’s overall objectives and growth, and that is very empowering.”
On the other hand, Archana, who chose to start her career with a startup, says “At the start of one’s career, I feel the emphasis on learning should be a lot more rather than on money and other perks, and a startup is where you get to learn the practicality of your teachings. Startups provide a challenging environment, to test your limit, and reach new heights; you could work closely with the founders. As founders are enthusiastic and keen on taking their business to new heights, you have a very positive working environment. The direct interaction helps your career as it’s just your work that speaks, and nothing more.”
Gender disparity--Does it exist in startups?
As startups are small, with a limited number of employees, do you think we could eradicate gender disparity? Vandana says, “I truly believe that there are fewer chances of gender disparity in a startup, as the payer [the founding members] is the one who interacts with us directly. So, you work, and you earn! In bigger organizations with multiple levels of hierarchy, bell curve and other factors make it quite difficult to fill that gap; so even on this count, I believe that a startup scores over a big company.”
Unstructured working hours, no job security--Would startups be the right choice for a woman?
Would you choose a job where you would have to work long hours, such as late nights/weekends (working from home) or would you choose a 9-5 job? How about if the idea fails? How do you fill up the financial obligations? MNC’s offer job security [on stability] and choosing startups could be a riskier proposition. So how do you decide what to choose?
Vandana narrated her experience when she switched from an MNC to a startup: “I was a little worried as working at a startup is riskier; it would take time for the startup to be profitable and stable. But when it comes to opportunity, it’s inevitable that you have lots of responsibility and accountability, and that will put you in a position to make a huge impact, which to my mind is totally worth taking a risk of working with a startup.”
However, while Vandana chose to switch to a startup, a few other women [whom we spoke to] were a bit hesitant to make a switch, owing to a financial obligation. So, one needs to weigh pros and cons before making a job switch.
Have startups helped women who are willing to work as a freelancer/ returning professional/ part-timer?
Jyoti, who is working as a freelancer, says, “Definitely, yes! After my son was born, I was unable to join back at work. MNC’s were a little skeptical about offering the option to work from home full-time. I found startups were more open to such offers; and were perfectly fine with offering me the position of work-from-home content manager--that too on a full-time basis. So there I was managing a team of writers and online marketers all from home while taking care of my son at the same time. All thanks to startups!”
However, the flip side is that many MNC’s are also trying to woo the potential female candidates and launching programs to shape their careers. Many MNC’s like Microsoft, IBM, Genpact have conducted exclusive drives to hire women who have taken a break from their career after stepping into motherhood or for other reasons.
Working as a freelancer--What would you choose: an MNC or a startup?
One of my neighbours who is working as a freelancer says, “If I get an MNC on my resume, I get more calls from prospective clients, which does not happen with a startup. However, when it comes to payments, as MNC’s are more process-oriented, it takes months to get payment released. In startups, you work, and you get paid at least on a monthly basis.”
Are startups life-savers for women?
Of the six women we interviewed, four said ‘Yes’ stating reasons such as flexibility in working hours, leave policy, recognition, transparency in payments and above all the satisfaction of work at the individual level. Two women who were inclined towards ‘No’ stated that with fixed hours and a fixed salary, it’s easy to manage your family and work as there is no “surprise office work” when you are just about to head for a movie.
Startups are about passion; MNC’s are about revenues and processes. They both have risks and uncertainties attached to them. We have seen women like Ramkripa Ananthan, Indra Nooyi, Arundhati Bhattacharya or Chanda Kochar making a place in the list of most influential women, and entrepreneurs like Sairee Chahal, or Shradha Sharma who made a choice by taking an alternative path and bringing on their own ideas onto the table.
So it’s just a matter of choice. What do you choose?