Women in marketing roles have come far, but still have a long way to go

Women marketing executives at notable companies in India have overcome numerous challenges, including gender-based prejudices and the pay gap to reach the top.

According to specialist staffing firm Xpheno, only 18 percent of the10,000 or so experienced marketing leaders active in the Indian market are women.

However, the short supply and high demand for women leaders have kept compensation packages competitive and in some cases, even higher than those of their male counterparts.

Upasna Dash, the founder of Jajabor Brand Consultancy, told Storyboard18 that dedicating oneself to honing their craft and skillset can help women fight the unequal pay situation endemic in the workplace universally.

Women's representation in top marketing positions is higher in sectors like personal care products (43 percent); IT services and system design (40 percent); F&B (37 percent), non-governmental organisations (31 percent), business consulting and services (31 percent), and information and media (28 percent).

Ankita Srivastava, chief marketing officer at Nat Habit labelled the beauty and personal care industry, which her firm is part of, 'gender agnostic'.

"In my early stint at L’Oréal, women outnumbered men while at RB (Reckitt Benckiser) and Marico, women led large portfolios. At Raymond Consumer Care (now GCPL), I was identified as leading the largest business vertical despite the fact that I was young and a woman," she said.

Siddharth Verma, head, executive search, Xpheno, said that the median salary for marketing leader positions vary by the size, stage and sector that enterprises belong to. Packages also vary widely based on seniority, relevant experience, qualifications and other factors.

According to Verma, "Individual packages range from Rs 1.1 crore all the way up to Rs 4 crore-plus on the other end. These numbers are not necessarily thumb rules or fixed references, and a lot of packages do exist at both the low and high end of the range."

Keerti Singh, co-founder and vice president of marketing at HitWicket, which owns the eponymous online game, agreed that compensation is aligned with the responsibilities and delivery.

"When I was at Amazon, my salary was higher than some of my male counterparts in the same role, but it was due to the output and results I delivered," Singh added.

Several women marketing executives also mentioned some innate strengths that have helped them excel in their careers.

Nisha Khatri, head of marketing at ethnic wear firm Libas, said, "Over time, I have come to appreciate the value-add empathy brings as a skillset. As Bill Gates said ‘Empathy is the biggest skill we are all yet to acquire,’ but with women leaders, the conversation becomes much easier. They are more mindful of both personal and professional growth of their team members."

"Our innate resilience to challenges really helps us to get through the ebbs and flows of life, especially in a country like India," Dash of Jajabor said.