Rakhi Deepak Founder of SagTaur National Secretary - FSAI.
Women’s Day Celebration 2020

Getting my message across on relevant and interesting topics as a system integrator who has been in business close to 2 decades and being an entrepreneur as well always is something I am grateful for. Which is why, I am happy to share my thoughts on Safe Secure magazine as well. I have always believed that almost all kinds of jobs in any industry or sector can be done either men or women with the right kind of training and managing. That's why I find it surprising when I am asked the question with regards to 60% of my staff being women. People are people. And gender does not form the basis for my hiring ever. The desired or relevant qualities, the right kind of experience or even in the lack of previous two, if the right attitude is there, I will go ahead and take the risk. Have I burnt my fingers? Of course, yes. But every time I encounter a challenge with regards to people, I just ask myself, how will I deal with them or the situation differently the next time if I encounter and I move on. Having said that, I have found that when women are given independence and feedback, they make a great attempt at taking it well most of the times. At SagTaur, our ideology has always been the right and equal focus in managing the expectations and aspirations of internal customers which is our employees and our external customers which could be either our vendors, product partners or end customers.

In Fact, the tagline of SagTaur is Safety in TRUST-ed Hands. I often get asked this question about surviving in a male dominated domain. Frankly, most of the times I get reminded of this aspect only when someone reminds me of it. Else I am sure my gender does not play any role in my approach to business or the way all my stakeholders perceive me. In the beginning I might have faced the whole range of reactions- right from skepticism to misgivings to disbelief to wonder. But ultimately, I must express my gratitude here because the whole industry has supported me tremendously. I literally pick up the phone and reach out to some of the best stalwarts in this domain. In fact that's why I have also enjoyed the natural progression into my role as ex treasurer and current secretary of FSAI. The message that I would like to share in this capacity is that- once you have a little experience both in life and our respective work areas, we must all think of contributing back to our community. We must all take a little effort in influencing broader issues and agendas of the industry which is beyond our regular business and lives. That these opportunities also serve as great networking spaces, gives you an edge with regards to product innovation and other knowhow and also elevates your profile are reasons why all of us must participate as role takers within the body or as delegates and contributors during seminars and conferences. If I have to sum up all my experiences into one line, I remember a quote by Marcel Proust- The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.