I’m a Woman. What’s your Superpower?

• As we celebrate Women's Day in two days, Heeru Dingra, CEO, WATConsult writes how there is a gender imbalance in the workplace today and how we can combat it together.
• Dingra further shares 6 c's that can help overcome gender biases.

Should men and women be compared at all times? Is it necessary to downplay the strengths of one, to play up the strengths of the other? Why is the average salary of men a benchmark for women? What if men made less money than women regardless of their education and experience level?

Yes, there’s a gender imbalance in the workplace, particularly across leadership roles, but this imbalance shouldn’t define women or anyone for that matter. Women and men are different in many core ways, grounded in their neurobiology and their cultural training. They bring distinct skills and perspectives to the workplace, including different attitudes to risks and collaboration. Rather than pitting them against each other, we must recognise, respect and embrace that both, men and women bring complementary skills to the table which, when nurtured and developed, can become a powerful and successful combination for any business.

Here is my humble contribution, the 6C’s to how women can combat gender equality issues at workplace:

Celebrate yourself: People wrongly assume women need a tough-as-nails attitude to get ahead, especially in male-dominated environments.Emotion, passion and compassion are valuable assets, not something to be ignored or hidden. Celebrate yourself and revel in your exceptional strengths. Be you, and not a version of yourself. Master how to declare your voice to the world and walk in your light. Be your own cheerleader! Women who advance are aware of their weaknesses but even more aware of their strengths. Know that you are precious and invaluable - from the crown of your head to the soles of your feet.

Chase quality over quantity of time: Since time immemorial, women have been considered the nurturing gender, caught in the middle with life split into two parts - where she feels she should be and where society says she should be. Because she plays so many roles, she is often guilty of not doing them well enough. There are work-life choices and they have consequences. There’s nothing wrong in acknowledging that you can’t do everything on your own and a little help could ease your enormous workload. Be truly present in whatever place you find yourself, and tune in fully to the people who are with you - whether employees, colleagues, customers, or your loved ones at home.

Credit yourself: The first person who needs to become more comfortable with your achievements is YOU. Many women intuitively embrace the idea that good leadership includes humility. If you think you deserve more, don’t shy away from asking - be it promotion, higher pay or better role. Women must know that giving themselves credit and receiving praise for their achievements and the achievements of their team is not a sign of pomposity. When you step out from fear and self-limiting beliefs that say you cannot credit yourself for your accomplishments, you will gain confidence – the confidence you need to innovate and lead.

Collaborate to accelerate: Even though women are generally strong collaborators and communicators, we tend to have fewer business-related connections than men. We are painfully shy of networking from fear of being judged or perceived as opportunistic, or even weak. But to be successful, we must be intentional about the way we network. It’s not enough to simply be sociable if our goal is to have a seat at the table where your ideas can be heard. We need to put some time into building these work relationships, just like we do all the other relationships in our lives. We must engage and collaborate with other fellow women, share our experiences and mentor the young minds. Women supporting other women is key to more women succeeding in business, particularly in leadership roles.

Conquer your fears: Success is found outside of one's comfort zone but is often hindered by the fear of the unknown. The best way to overcome fear is to acknowledge it: - deal with it. And don’t just deal with it— rather open your arms and welcome it as your old friend. If you're too rigid, you could miss one of those serendipitous "aha" moments that could inspire a creative solution or force a different approach. Women viewed as successful leaders are constantly stepping outside of their comfort zone. They are not afraid to take risky decisions, as they understand that it is crucial to the growth and development of an organization. Don’t be afraid to fall. Be comfortable being uncomfortable.

Challenge yourself: Society’s misguided perceptions and expectations is what makes many women fear ambition. Being ambitious is often painted as an unattractive and undesirable trait. But that’s so untrue. Ambition is about knowing your value and asserting it. If you want to rise to your full potential, seek out challenges that’ll help you grow. Be brave. Be bold. Go after your dreams. Hold your head high and don’t apologize for ambition or success.

Gender shouldn’t be a factor in whether or not a person can be a great leader — a person’s leadership abilities should depend on their individual strengths and personality traits.

- By Heeru Dingra, CEO, WATConsult