Inspiring stories of the women brigade at SBI will leave you in awe

India’s biggest lender-State Bank of India-boasts of more employees than any other bank at 34%. However, the number of women at the top notch positions is quite small at nearly 4%.

SBI’s chairwoman Arundhati Bhattacharya also introduced a two-year sabbatical for married women so that they are able to pursue their careers.

She believes women should be ready to take up challenges in all spheres of life if they want to climb the ladder to the top.

Here are 5 other women to lead the brigade at the SBI

Padmaja Chunduru, Country Head - US Operations
Chunduru believes in work-life balance and have fixed goals.

"Women should not aspire to be the best everywhere. It is better to fix goals. This may call for trade-offs. It is ok if you are not the best everywhere. You can still be a good mother even if you are a successful career women," she told ET.

What changed her approach to life and career was transfer from Bay Of Bengal Coast to Pacific Coast - Los Angeles.

Varsha Purandare, MD, SBI Capital Markets
She became the first woman to trade currencies at the SBI when it was a male dominated area.

She handled one of the most crowded branches in Ahmedabad and was selected to convert core banking solution technology platform in 2005.

"Women should not opt out of promotion. Instead, they should look for support system. Also, as a lady, you have to be doubly efficient just to prove that you are on a par with male counterparts,” she told ET.

Vasudha Sundararaman, MD, SBI-SG Global Securities Service

A rural posting at a village in Bongaigaon district in Assam gave many life lessons to Sundararaman.

In her career spanning 36 years, she is one of the most skilled in retail banking.

Her husband's job required him to travel for days, while she had to manage kids and also work. "Since we have a demanding job and responsibilities at home, we need to spend time productively in office so that we do not compromise on our responsibilities on either end. Women need to plan work and use time effectively. Once you learn that, it helps as you move up the chain in office."

Jayanthi Lakshmi, CGM, SBI (real estate and housing)

She is a passionate stamp collector and has 15,000 of them.

She has worked in six different states and raised kids without any family support. "It was tough to raise kids without any support. In fact, transfers is a reason why a lot of women do not take promotions. After scale 5, you are moved out of your home state and that becomes difficult particularly when it comes to child's education," she says.

She handles home loans and real estate portfolio, the fastest growing segment.

Manju Agarwal, Deputy Managing Director
She had left a high paying job to be a home-maker. But it was in her destiny that she landed a job with SBI amid family circumstances. "I had to leave the infant with my mother for 40 days since I had to go for the induction programme, and that was the most difficult moment."

She saw many transfers in her career. Her life was tough, especially when her son passed away in an accident at seven. But she stayed back.
"If quitting is an option to support your children then try to take a sabbatical. And don't hesitate to draw support from family,” she advised to working women.

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