Vibha Padalkar - The Woman in Charge at HDFC Life

Today, she has become the CEO and MD of HDFC Life after over 10 years with the company. She's one of the few women in India who has secured a seat for herself in the corner room, but her career hasn't always been easy. For the last 24 years, she's also been a mother. She says that it was definitely one of the most challenging roles she's had, but as somebody who was always clear about her career and what she wanted from it, she chalked out with her husband their respective parental roles. There were times when she paced herself  took on smaller portfolios so that she could spend time with her son. When opportunities presented themselves, however, she'd ask her partner to spend more time with their son, and he willingly obliged.

At one point during her career, while working on an important project, she had to spend long hours each day in the office. She realised that she would hardly spend any time with her son who was asleep when she left each morning and already in bed when she came home every night. So, she did what most mothers would do. She would make the 30-minute journey home in the evening to put her son to bed. Once he was tucked in and asleep, she'd head back to office to complete her work, often working past midnight. It was far from easy, but for Vibha it was necessary to balance her professional and family life perfectly. Despite the long hours, the working mom always ensured that every free moment she had was spent with her son and family.

Vibha Padalkar is truly an inspiration to women around the world. But she knows that she hasn't come this far by herself. She is quick to thank her husband and son, who has helped to attain new heights at the workplace. Despite her seemingly perfect balancing act, there were times when she almost threw in the towel. Most new parents face a trying time when they feel like one of them should stay home. However, she thinks that by sticking together through the tough times, you'll emerge on the other side, victorious and glad for the struggles that helped you learn and grow. She always thanks her son, who never cried and asked her to skip a day of work. According to her, he knew how important her work was to her and would fall ill only on Friday evenings, so she wouldn't have to miss work to look after him over the weekend.

Looking to the future of women in the workplace, Vibha thinks that organisations can make a few changes to help new mothers. Providing them with the opportunity to work from home is something that she thinks will greatly help young families. Additionally, she encourages working women to always set clear goals in their minds. Once the goal is set, she urges women to work hard to achieve them. Most importantly, though, she thinks that women need to choose the right life partner. Without a good support system at home, it will be almost impossible for women to succeed.

Thank you for leading the way for working mothers everywhere.

ARN: ED/05/19/13800