Dr. Falguni Vasavada on being authentically you in a world of expectations
What does it take to lead with purpose and authenticity in a world full of expectations?
In this episode of Be All You Can, Dr. Falguni Vasavada, one of the most inspirational business leaders in India, shares her journey from academia to becoming a powerful voice for gender equality and self-worth. She talks about breaking barriers, redefining life skills, and the importance of resilience and personal growth for every aspiring business leader.
From boardrooms to breakthroughs, this conversation is a masterclass in leadership, challenging stereotypes, and building successful, sustainable businesses. Tune in for insights that will inspire your journey toward economic independence and real change.
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Feb 20, 20260:01: To be who you are is an act of bravery.
0:04: It should not be, right?
0:05: It's an ironical statement full of irony.
0:10: Hello listeners and welcome to Be All You Can,
0:14: your go-to destination to explore stories, insights and experiences
0:18: to inspire you to be your most authentic and confident self.
0:22: I am Gaurav Chopra, part of the Appliance HR team, your host for today.
0:26: And I'm super excited to introduce our guest speaker today.
0:29: Many of you may have already been following
0:31: this incredible individual on social media.
0:35: She is a PhD holder and a renowned professor at MICA
0:39: with over two decades of teaching experience
0:41: in the area of marketing and advertising.
0:44: Beyond academics, she blogs on fashion, on styling,
0:49: on women empowerment, on gender, so on and so forth.
0:53: Please welcome Dr. Falguni Vasavar.
0:55: Thank you so much, Gaurav. Thank you for having me on the show.
0:58: Yes, ma'am.
1:00: So we are living in a world which is dominated by social media,
1:05: and most of us find ourselves either on Facebook or Instagram,
1:08: so on and so forth.
1:09: There is this pressure to confirm, to compare ourselves with others,
1:17: to build a perception of perfection on how people should be seeing us.
1:23: So in all of this, how do you think one should cultivate self-acceptance and love?
1:30: A very interesting question.
1:32: There is no denying that it's a world dominated by social media.
1:36: And I think it is like everything has two sides in a coin.
1:41: This also has two sides to it.
1:43: We all are social beings, okay?
1:44: We live in a society surrounded by people.
1:47: We have popular culture like media, Bollywood, you know,
1:50: representing certain narrative, and we try to abide by it.
1:54: So it was always there.
1:56: Firstly, let me say that.
1:58: But it has been made more visible thanks to social media.
2:01: So today we can see each other's lives through, you know, your stories, reels, tweets, Facebook posts.
2:08: So we know what is happening in everybody's life.
2:10: So today it's only more visible.
2:12: So how to develop self-acceptance comes from the real world.
2:16: It doesn't come from the social media world.
2:18: You have to develop your confidence in your own life in the real world, okay?
2:24: So your confidence to be who you are.
2:27: In fact, I was reading somewhere where it was mentioned that, you know, to be who you are is an act of bravery.
2:33: It should not be, right?
2:34: It's an ironical statement full of irony that to be who you are should be the most normal thing for you to be, okay?
2:42: You are not somebody else's idea of life and living.
2:46: So I think it comes with a lot of understanding who you are, what value you bring on table.
2:52: What are your value systems?
2:54: What are some non-negotiable boundaries that you want to set in your life?
2:59: The very fact that you have evolved out of the mental conditioning, biases, fear of judgment, you know, breaking of stereotypes.
3:07: And you become someone in life.
3:09: You have a domain expertise for which people look up to you.
3:12: So it happens gradually.
3:14: Wonderful.
3:15: Let's talk about patriarchal mindsets.
3:20: They still continue to persist in our society, even though we might say that we have progressed on that.
3:29: And sometimes these mindsets are even perpetuated by ladies themselves, by women themselves.
3:36: How do we effectively challenge and change these norms?
3:41: So definitely it's prevalent, okay, everywhere.
3:45: And it is a patriarchal world that we are living in.
3:49: And to the ladies who have a patriarchal mindset, it's a case of internalized patriarchy where their mental conditioning and whatever limited exposure they've got,
4:01: they have been made to believe that the world is full of hierarchy and the man is above the woman in the family.
4:08: That's how they have seen their forefathers.
4:11: That's how what they've seen.
4:12: They've never never got the potential or the capacity or the exposure to challenge these norms.
4:18: And that's where they start seeing men as a higher being than themselves.
4:23: Okay, so that's internalized.
4:24: Now, since it's internalized, I also want to promote patriarchy as a part of the system.
4:29: Right.
4:30: So my hope is people like you, the youngsters, people like me who challenge it at every place.
4:36: Right.
4:37: Where possible, you have to break the shackle.
4:40: You have to challenge it, whether it is in your personal life, whether it is in your professional life, because patriarchy is a mindset.
4:47: Also, this whole idea of that as women, we will have to prove ourselves more in our professional lives, in our personal lives to be equal.
4:57: So firstly, we have to break our own bias.
4:59: Okay.
5:00: And we have to unlearn what we have seen while growing up because our formative years, we have observed our grandparents, our parents.
5:08: Right.
5:09: And all that will come with a lot of evolution of thought, which is which will be thanks to your education and your financial independence, which will give you exposure.
5:20: Right.
5:20: Because experiences also cost a thing.
5:23: Right.
5:23: And to get more experiences and exposure, you need to be financially independent.
5:28: So I think mindset wise, we have to start from ourselves, question the set norm and then proceed and start questioning wherever it is possible.
5:40: So, for example, if somebody is doing mansplaining in my work environment, I should not be in my comfort zone saying,
5:48: Kaun argue karega?
5:49: You know, why should I say every time?
5:52: Why should I be the bad person?
5:53: No, you have to choose your fights.
5:55: And some fights are good fights.
5:57: Okay.
5:58: So some difficult dialogues will be needed.
6:01: Some difficult conversations will be needed with self and with others.
6:05: You know, at home, and we spoke about that, the societal expectations place household running largely in the domain of the lady of the house.
6:17: And even though men, you know, have been taking, I would say baby steps, you know, taking on more household and child care responsibilities, we still have a long way to go.
6:26: How could we shift this narrative and redistribute these responsibilities more equitably?
6:32: You spoke about, you know, tough dialogues, tough conversations with partners, with people in the family.
6:40: Yes.
6:41: How could women kind of spawn this at their homes?
6:46: Sure.
6:46: In fact, I remember a hilarious post on Instagram, which said that, you know, it's okay, you are working in the Chandrayaan project.
6:53: You know, before going to ISRO, make two aloo parathas and go.
6:57: What about breakfast?
6:59: I remember I made a reel with a Snapchat filter where I'm driving a helicopter, saying that wherever I'm globetrotting at six o'clock, I'm coming home to give the menu to my cook.
7:10: So I'm an empowered woman.
7:11: I have a cook.
7:12: You know, I'm free.
7:13: I'm liberated.
7:15: But still, menu giving is the part which comes under a woman's thing, right?
7:19: These are tidbits that I'm sharing of what, but you are correct, 100% right, that yes, I'm seeing progress.
7:26: It's not that that men are not getting involved.
7:29: They are.
7:30: But if you ask me the percentage, it will be 1% of the total population.
7:35: So what can be done?
7:36: Okay, let's come to the solution.
7:38: Let's not focus on the problem right now.
7:40: Let's focus on the solution.
7:42: Solution is the whole change of the narrative of what are life skills.
7:47: These are not lady skills.
7:48: Okay, these are not female skills.
7:51: So cooking, cleaning, right, household keeping, filling petrol in your car, banking, all are life skills.
8:00: Okay.
8:00: And they should be gender neutral.
8:03: So anybody and everybody should at least be equipped to perform these life skills at a basic level.
8:10: For that, you will start young.
8:12: And when I say start young, you will have to train your daughters and your sons to get equally involved in the household.
8:22: Right.
8:22: Starts from there.
8:24: Because somewhere we have invested in raising strong daughters, but we have failed in raising sons who understand what strong partners they are going to get.
8:35: Right.
8:36: Second is for women.
8:38: Okay.
8:38: Women will be able to change this only when they stop being territorial.
8:43: There is a chemical locha here also in women.
8:47: Okay.
8:47: There is a problem here as well.
8:49: They can't do it like me.
8:52: It took all these years for pampers to come and say in an ad that it takes two to make a baby.
88:58: It should take two to raise a baby.
9:00: Till then, Gaurav, do you believe as an advertising professor, 20 years of diaper advertisements, I didn't see a man changing a diaper in a single ad.
9:11: Yes.
9:12: Do you think, you know, ladies place upon themselves this additional burden of being perfect all the time?
9:19: Of course.
9:21: So, see, I'll tell you, world has progressed.
9:24: That's why women have left being only in the kitchen.
9:27: Right.
9:27: They're in the kitchen, they're in the house, but they're also in corporates.
9:30: They're also working like me full time.
9:32: But somewhere they have kept piling up the work and they want to be known as the perfect brand manager, the perfect professor, the perfect mother, the perfect daughter-in-law, the perfect wife, the perfect, you know, wife, woman of the house.
9:49: This quest for perfection is flawed.
9:53: It is stressful.
9:54: It will give you anxiety.
9:56: Your mental health will be at a toss and somewhere you will vent out.
10:00: So it will affect on your relationships also.
10:03: Right.
10:03: So it is a long term impact, short term to long term.
10:07: And that's why I always tell in one of my TEDx talk, I said that, that as a woman, be ready to get A plus in your priority area.
10:15: In your non-priority areas, it is OK to get a B plus.
10:19: In some places you can be an F and that's why you will have to outsource the work.
10:24: Wonderful, wonderful simile from the academic world.
10:28: And I would agree with you.
10:31: You can't be a superhero all the time.
10:34: And I, you know, to a lady, one would say it's OK not to be OK at times and embrace it.
10:41: Don't fret over it.
10:43: It's OK to ask for help.
10:45: It's OK to say I can't do it.
10:47: It's OK to get tired.
10:48: You spoke about the family.
10:51: You spoke about how, you know, from the formative years of children, they need to see the right kind of expectations coming from both the boy and the girl of the house.
11:08: Which can then lead to when children grow up, become more equitable in their expectations, both from themselves as well as from the lady of the house.
11:20: How can corporations embrace a more gender diverse world?
11:25: What are the kind of things that they could do to become more gender diverse?
11:30: Yes, one is, of course, conscious level of diversity and inclusion in your recruitment policies.
11:35: Second, bringing the women back after motherhood to the workforces, because most of them are keen, but they don't see opportunities because of the gap.
11:45: Right.
So they need a system push.
11:47: So this systematic barrier can be removed by organizations.
11:51: That is number two.
11:51: Number three, having a conscious effort to have equal representation of women in decision making places like policy making committees,
12:03: you know, decision making leadership. Right.
12:06: So which is going to impact the organizational policy.
12:10: Right. So policy making units, decision making committees and bodies should have an equal representation of women.
12:19: And broadly, fourth point is having fairness in all processes where based on merit decisions are taken and not based on gender.
12:29: And I think fairness also means like, you know, it's a very popular thing that we keep hearing that the moment you are pregnant and you are nearing your maternity break,
12:38: you are taken off from important projects. Your client is given to your other peer network, you know, your male peer, because now you are going to be absent.
12:48: So I think overall overhauling of the system with fairness as my main ingredient has to be there.
12:55: You know, that reminds me of these two pretty advertisements that I've seen.
13:00: And I'm sure you would also have seen those from the House of Savita.
13:06: Yes.
13:06: Where a pregnant lady comes for an interview. Yes, I have seen.
13:11: They were really heartwarming and relate to the kind of situation a lady, you know, who's wanting to work.
13:19: But then, you know, because of her maternal, you know, responsibilities, may perhaps not even get that opportunity.
13:26: Yes. Also, Gaurav, for example, a very simple thing that, you know, anybody going on a maternity leave,
13:33: which as per government of India is six months, telling her that for another six months we'll give you work from home or we'll give you flexi hours, not even work from home.
13:43: Flexi hours. I think this will go a long way in retaining that employee and not letting her lose out at mid-career level so that she never reaches the leadership position.
13:55: You're right.
I think somewhere these are some speed breakers that perhaps lead to the proverbial glass ceiling in organizations also.
14:04: You hardly have a pool of candidates left, you know, by the time the opportunities come your way.
14:10: I agree.
14:10: So coming from the world of advertising media, what role do you think can TV shows, movies, advertisements play in influencing?
14:21: Oh, huge. Huge. OK.
14:25: Gender stereotypes and breaking gender stereotypes.
14:28: Huge, because advertising mostly cements stereotypes, right?
14:34: It should break the stereotypes. And thankfully now we have very bold examples of Dow, which is talking about body positivity and body security.
14:45: Right. Or, for example, I remember a hair oil brand which talked about a cancer patient, a woman losing her hair and, you know, brave and beautiful.
14:55: Or, for example, there was a brand which talked about how we stereotype women based on their body shape, thinking she can never be a trekker.
15:03: So there are many such examples. But advertising has a big duty because it is a mass media, right?
15:10: Even if it is happening on social media, it is reaching to way more people.
15:15: Films and Bollywood media at a larger level show more rawness, show more vulnerability, you know, show more failures.
15:24: Because even a woman can fail, right? Like a man can fail, women can also fail.
15:29: Stop doing digital distortion of, you know, photographs through Photoshop and the like.
15:35: So I think so many things and show reality because you know that, you know, you know how many people are moved and are glued to Anupama as a serial, right?
15:47: It's a national obsession.
15:47: Now you can look at the impact that it will have. Right.
15:53: So you have to understand that the content that you are creating in the form of web series, television series, advertising, you know,
16:02: all is going to have a major impact on masses' mindset.
16:08: Yeah. And that's why you have a larger role to play.
16:11: Yeah.
16:11: So a lot of ladies enter the workplace every year.
16:16: They're starting their careers and sometimes they find it difficult to manage their home and their work life.
16:22: What would be your message to them? Follow my formula.
16:27: It's been 26 years that I've been a full time working woman.
16:31: And of course, I'm the woman of the home also. Right.
16:37: And how have I managed?
16:37: Okay. So plan, prioritize and outsource. First is plan your life well.
16:44: By planning, you would know your priorities well. Okay. By priorities, I mean, what do you need to prioritize?
16:50: Suppose if right now I am applying for promotion, then my work is my priority.
16:56: My performance at work is my priority. But if I have a one year old at home, my son or my daughter would be my priority.
17:04: Right.
17:04: So your priorities help you understand where should you be physically and mentally present and where you can be physically absent and only mentally present.
17:14: Understand which are the areas where your mental engagement is not needed. Physical engagement is not needed.
17:21: Outsource. Wonderful.
17:25: Right.
17:25: Second is as women, we have to grow beyond kitchen politics.
17:30: That is all very petty. Okay.
17:30: Because women are pitted against women in a patriarchal world.
17:35: Because if women unite, the patriarchal world will lose its shine. It will crumble.
17:40: Exactly.
17:42: So please, please come out of this mindset of kitchen politics.
17:47: My point is yours is a clarion call for women to unite in their experiences, to support each other.
17:57: Be empathetic towards each other and build a beautiful life for themselves.
18:03: In fact, it's not a part of your question, but I want to tell as a senior woman who has just hit her 50.
18:10: Okay.
18:10: And I've been 26 years in the industry, I'm 50 years old.
18:14: It is my duty to be the safe space for younger women in my organization.
18:19: Yeah.
18:19: It's my duty. This is my CSR. This is my giving back.
18:23: Okay. Because the journey that I've gone through has lots of lessons.
18:27: How I've grown has lots of lessons.
18:30: If I can use it to the advantage of not letting a younger Falguni go through that entire process and speed up, amplify her journey, I should do it.
18:40: So that's why we need more women at leadership roles. There will be safe space for younger women.
18:47: Wonderful. Thank you so much, Dr. Vasavada, for this super insightful conversation.
18:54: We have some fun questions for you.
18:58: These will be quick.
18:58: Okay. Rapid fire.
19:00: Yes. Yes. So we won't give you time to think.
19:03: So who's your inspiration?
19:06: Oh, many. At home, my mother and my mother-in-law, both were working women.
19:09: My dadi was also working women.
19:11: Outside, people like Sudha Murthy, Jacinda Ardern, Michelle Obama, Indra Nooyi and the likes.
19:18: Nice. Your life's motto?
19:20: Take the most of what you have.
19:24: Do not focus on what you don't have because otherwise your eyesight will become hazy.
19:29: What's the best piece of advice that you have received?
19:32: Okay. I usually give advice.
19:35: That's right. You are normally the one offering advice.
19:39: Okay.
19:39: But I can tell you, the best piece of advice I've received from my mother, who was full-time working,
19:44: she told me that always remember, buy one piece of jewelry less, but have enough support to run the house.
19:53: One thing or thought process you would like to change in our society.
19:57: There's so many things that you spoke of, but that one thing that you would want to change in the society.
20:04: Understanding the worth of every individual.
20:08: And outside of work, even though I know you write a blog on Facebook, what's your favorite hobby?
220:16: Instagram reels, making content on Instagram.
20:21: I love making reels on Instagram because that's my passion areas and gives me a huge platform to reach to people on gender equality, marriage, motherhood, stereotypes,
20:34: you know, fashion and beauty and your body positivity all combined together.
20:39: I love social media.
20:41: Thank you so much.
20:43: And thank you for inspiring our colleagues with your life experiences, with your work.
20:51: It's truly been a treasure trove, if I may say so.
20:56: Thanks for listening to Be All You Can.
20:58: A podcast by Godrej Enterprises Group.
21:02: Exploring the passion, purpose and dreams of pioneers.
21:06: Stay tuned for more stories that inspire action and impact.