Here is what Neema Nair had to share

“Excellence, to me, is figuring out what I want to do and driving it to become self-sustaining. We would not exist if we were always trying to be perfectionists.

Given the way we have been nurtured, we end up putting ourselves under immense pressure. One way of easing that is by building a village around us. I have a village that supports me so I can go to work and be professional yet come back home and be the mother I am.”

Here is what Grace Griese had to share

“When we envision what we can achieve, it becomes easier to achieve it. And this is where mentors matter.
They offer us options we may not have thought of ourselves.
Top 3 lessons from my mentors:

• Be excellent at what you do. There are no shortcuts to building a brand
• Be inclusive. People offer tremendous support for what they help create
• Be a leader. Leadership is influence.

There is a difference in how women give and receive feedback and how men do it. If you truly want your colleague to improve, it’s important to offer candid feedback. I believe in the sisterhood of women where I can lean in, support and lift other women. But on the whole, women are fearful of competition and afraid to be part of such sisterhoods. It breaks my heart but I haven’t yet found a solution to this.

Self-care is very important. Having a grounded parallel life, a spiritual perspective and staying physically active goes a long way toward mental wellbeing.”

Here is what Meredith Reffey had to share

“When I started thinking about work and the home and tried to find a balance, I realized, there’s no such thing as a balance. That balancing scale is all about juggling.

Women need to start thinking of everything they have to do and want to do as balls – plastic and glass balls. Sometimes, volunteering with my child’s PTA is a plastic ball. I can ease things for myself by simply writing a check for them. However, a glass ball would be, going to my child’s PTM to check on their progress at school. But I know that that will glass ball will shift if I have pressing deadlines at work. And this is where your partner can contribute.”

Here is what Julia Zhu had to share

“The automotive industry is an extremely dynamic one but not bereft of gender bias. Despite having increasing numbers of women, globally, as buyers and users of cars, the industry still uses male dummies to test car crashes! In fact, the book Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez explores how a world designed and built for and by men ignores a significant half of the population and often with disastrous consequences.

You need to define your idea of excellence. Do not let others dictate that to you. Identify your capacity and how you can achieve that.”

Here is what Ashley Taylor had to share

“As women in technology, we often end up thinking that we have to prove ourselves to do better than the next guy. The stories we tell ourselves in our heads serves only one purpose – to limit us. You need to advocate for yourself from the get-go else it is hard to develop yourself in your career.

I believe that being a working mother makes me a better person. I have two young children and I have to be as patient with them as I am at work with my colleagues. I have to work on similar ways to communicate at home and work. That’s how my children know that mummy’s at work now but later, we can have fun, play and plan vacations.”

Here is what Manaswini Rath had to share

• What my mentors taught me:
  Be clear with what you want in life. You may or may not have the support you need as you head out but that confusion is only in your mind
• Use your strengths as a woman to multitask, be creative and stay patient. Leverage these to make a difference in the world
• Go the extra mile both at home and at work

Most times, we try to juggle different roles — at home and at work. But it’s important to be focused on what you’re doing at that point in time to deliver quality. Be present and in the moment. That will give you the strength to balance everything.