Organisations should be more thoughtful and accommodating to help women do various roles in life: Shradha Agarwal

Women in the workplace–let alone leadership–have historically had a more challenging time than their male counterparts. Even when some women have managed to overcome societal conventions and restrictions, they have been faced with a glass ceiling, preventing their ascension to the top. 

As of Dec 7, 2022, women were CEOs at 9.4 percent of Fortune 500 companies. This inequality is a result of several factors such as systematic barriers, sexist stereotypes, and societal expectations. Despite this, women have gradually changed the landscape with persistent efforts. Some trailblazing women have even successfully broken glass ceilings and ascended to leadership positions. If not breaking the glass ceiling, they have launched their own ventures and established a prominent position in the industry. Shradha Agarwal, Co-Founder & CEO of Grapes is one such leader. 

With 15 years of experience in the industry, Shradha's journey is a testament to innovation and consistency. From beginnings as a Digital Affiliation Manager at Zoom Entertainment Television to her tenure with industry giants like Bharti Airtel Limited and Interactive Avenues, Agarwal’s trajectory is marked by constant evolution.

In an interview with Social Samosa, Agarwal shares insights from her journey. Having witnessed the evolution of the A&M industry first-hand, she answers some pertinent questions. She delves into the experiences that shaped her path, the challenges she overcame, the wisdom she's gained along the way, and more. 

Edited excerpts: 

Can you walk us through your journey, from your early days in the industry to being the Co-Founder and CEO of Grapes?

I feel grateful to be a part of the advertising and marketing sector, my journey of more than 15 years in the industry has been full of learning and enriching experiences. Having started my career as a Digital Affiliation Manager at Zoom Entertainment Television, and working with large companies like Bharti Airtel Limited, Interactive Avenues and more before stepping into the world of entrepreneurship. I joined hands with my husband Himanshu Arya and since then there has been no looking back. I have come a long way to don the responsibility as the Co-Founder and CEO of Grapes. Gaining in-depth knowledge of the industry over the years, starting from a handful of clients to now boasting a large number of clients from various sectors defines the agency’s growth. In the last few years, we have relentlessly focused on expansion, retaining clients and establishing new verticals to offer all solutions under one roof. Today, we have a robust team of creative, digital, PR, tech, and SEO and this growth has been fueled by the pursuit of excellence, coupled with a keen understanding of market trends and consumer behavior. 

Our ability to adapt to evolving needs and deliver tailor-made solutions has been instrumental in sticking to long-term relationships. As we navigate the future, I am excited about the possibilities that lie ahead and confident in our ability to chart new heights of success for Grapes.

What were some pivotal moments or experiences that shaped your path?

The transition from Grapes Digital to Grapes can be considered to be one of the biggest milestones in my career. When I started Grapes, it was recognized as a digital marketing agency in the market, but today beyond digital, we have been able to mark a strike when it comes to offering other services like creative, media, public relation, etc and this has really helped us in offering end-to-end services to our clients. 

In 2021, we rebranded  Grapes Digital to Grapes to be known as integrated communications agency, and the major shift we have changed in our style that we treat our brands as partners not just as servicing them because when your partner with any brand you live with them 24x7 and having a deeper level of collaboration allows us to drive disruption and weave magic through our creativity that helps us in bringing forth truly impactful campaigns and strategies. 

As a female leader in the advertising world, what personal milestones or achievements have been most significant to you along this journey?

Being part of a dynamic and highly competitive industry, I think it is an achievement when your work gets due recognition from the media landscape. I feel grateful to receive some of the prestigious titles and accolades in my journey and be a part of the industry developments. Apart from this, one of the significant achievements that I count is having the opportunity to share my knowledge with students through teaching engagements at some of the esteemed colleges. This experience has not only enhanced my leadership skills but provides me a platform to inspire and empower the next generation of industry professional

Can you tell us a bit about the policies at Grapes with regard to gender and inclusivity?

At Grapes, we continuously practice gender equality and include women at every stage of decision-making. Many leadership positions are held by some of the most diligent and capable women workforce. Along with this, to ensure that there is no discrimination, we strive to maintain pay parity by assessing employees on their talent and hard work rather than gender. We believe in giving due recognition to all the hard-working employees, giving them an opportunity to excel in their career and all of this is an analysis based on their work rather than gender. It’s completely against our work ethics. 

Several studies show that women tend to leave the workforce when they go through significant life milestones (marriage, becoming a parent, etc.). Especially after the pandemic, a lot of women haven’t returned to the workplace. What are your thoughts on this? How can more women be encouraged to stay in the workplace?

Even though we have come a long way, in terms of representation of women in the workplace, there are still many challenges making it difficult for women to manage both their professional and personal life. There is no denying that there are a lot of expectations from women in terms of caregiving responsibilities. However, with a unified effort, we can bring a lot of positive changes, encouraging women to continue their jobs even after marriage or becoming parents. Both the workplace and society need to be understanding and flexible enough to help women grow and evolve in their sphere. Society should work towards breaking the stereotypes and reducing the responsibility on women. At the same time, organizations should be more thoughtful and accommodating to help women don the various roles in life. Also, women are great learners, they adapt to things quickly. 

Throughout your journey, have there been any women mentors or role models who have influenced or inspired you? If so, how have they shaped your perspective?

I am immensely inspired by Pooja Arya Narayan, my sister-in-law. She has been a great inspiration to me. Despite her husband’s job being in India, she left the country and moved to Dubai for a better opportunity. She has always motivated me immensely to keep striving to achieve the unattainable in life.

Another role model is Ghazal Alagh, Chief Executive and Co-Founder of MamaEarth. Her determination and resilience along with string vision has taken her company to new heights of success. Coming with the ability to balance personal life while excelling in business is a testament to her strength to pursue the passion regardless of societal expectations.

Women in pop culture are often depicted as always on the go. We rarely see them resting and just existing. I Want to understand how you prioritize self-care and relaxation to unwind from the pressures of work?

I firmly believe that it is important to give time to self-care and for me travelling helps me to discover new avenues in life. Trying new things always keeps me motivated, I am always on the lookout for new adventures experiences whenever possible.On weekends, I especially like to spend time with my kids. Be it a lunch date, a shopping excursion, or movies, such moments with my kids are truly refreshing.

From the point you started your career, what changes have you noticed in the representation of women?

Since I started my career in 2008, the industry has undergone significant evolution. Participation of women in the workforce is on the rise. Over the years I have seen more and more women pursuing their careers in advertising and marketing. They are leaving no stone unturned and are scripting some phenomenal work in the process. It's been inspiring to observe more and more women boldly pursuing their careers in this dynamic field, undeterred by challenges and determined to make their mark. From conceptualizing campaigns to driving strategic initiatives, and establishing clients reputation, womens undoubtedly are leaving an indelible impact.

With the experience that you have now, what advice would you give to your younger self starting in the industry?

One advice that I would give to my younger self would be to not refrain from experimenting with any new thing. The marketing and advertising sector has a lot of potential with no boundaries, it’s one of the sectors that gives you ample opportunities to rise and shine and be on your toes. In the initial days, don’t give much attention to work-life balance and focus on improving yourself and treat every opportunity as an avenue to learn new skills. One should not be bound by unnecessary intimidation rather than embrace creativity with alacrity to explore the extraordinary in the industry.

How do you see the involvement of women in decision-making processes within organizations in the current scenario? A lot of women have spoken about how they are excluded from key boardroom conversations, especially on the client side. What initiatives do you believe are crucial for fostering greater representation and participation of women in these processes?

Things are changing with time. Taking instance from my experience in the A&M industry, I am seeing a transformation with regards to women being given equal opportunities. They are invariably becoming part of the boardrooms where they are emerging as better decision-makers in an organization. We at Grapes ourselves, promote an inclusive culture that ensures equal opportunities for all. To further strengthen this, we encourage pay parity in our organization, where salary is decided on the basis of the person's designation and is not influenced by gender.  One of the ethos of our agency is that we follow gender inclusivity across all verticals and we hire on-basis talent, regardless gender.  Also, for the following year, we are dedicated to maintaining a 50-50 gender ratio in the coming years as well to ensure a healthy and diverse mix of talent within the company.

Reflecting on your journey, what advice would you give to other women aspiring to make their mark in the A&M field?

Looking at the potential of the A&M industry, there are a lot of opportunities for women in the sector. Understanding that women are better listeners and good storytellers, they can play a crucial role in giving a diverse perspective to the narration. Drawing a holistic picture, women can come up with impactful stories that can cater to the needs of the audience.