It’s different to be Mansi. Not because of her profession, not also because her company represents a traditionally male-dominated industry, but because she is highly principled and has relentlessly worked towards living in the ‘NOW’ at every moment. Not something that can be easily made part of one’s psyche.
For Mansi, gender discrimination and stereotypes, though real, are not obstacles. In fact, she believes a woman can add better value to every aspect of her life, including her job.
She learnt a hard lesson in her childhood when her family had to literally leave everything behind to save their lives and relocate, that every moment in life is precious.
Born in 1972 in Haryana as the youngest of three children to the Kashmiri father and the Punjabi mother, Ms. Mansi pursued her every goal with single-minded determination. If she lacked mention in school sports, she trained herself till she won a medal or two. After earning her engineering and MBA degrees, when she married an Oriya gentleman, she made it a point to learn his mother tongue so that she merged with her new family seamlessly.
Having lived in different States across India, including Srinagar, Haryana, Punjab, UP and Maharashtra, and having worked around the world with global brands, Ms. Mansi has become a ‘true global citizen’.
She shares: “I have worked in sales, strategy, procurement, marketing, consumer insights and data analytics in healthcare, diapers, beauty and skin care domains. My engineering studies developed analytical abilities in me and taught me how to handle stress on an ongoing basis. I was the first gold medalist in my engineering college. I was active in theatre, and led mountain hiking teams among other things which taught me people skills.”
Life added another hard lesson when she had to single-handedly deal with work-home duties with two small children while her husband was based elsewhere. She reminisces: “There were times when I was hit by the question – why am I doing this? But I have always known that I can either quit or see how tough I can be. And, every time, my answer has been the latter.”
Ms. Mansi believes in the power of her instinct, but knows that it takes courage to act on it. According to her, the best way to solve any issue is to keep objectivity. She shares an instance: “When a senior male executive commented that women merely come in for short job hops and are not really in the knowhow of the subject, I questioned the stereotype playing in his head and highlighted that in a professional environment there cannot be a discussion about the gender.”
She acknowledges the existence of glass ceiling and deals with it using a ‘three quadrant framework’ that is made up of what an individual, culture and the company need to do: “As an individual, one needs to self-ignite and build capabilities. The company will help the individual build them while the society will take time to change.”
Everything in her life points to a certain wholesomeness, and that’s why as a health enthusiast Ms. Mansi has learnt Odissi dance post her marriage along with her daughter and has run 37 marathons till date. She believes: “Sports teaches discipline and perseverance and dance taught me mind-body-soul integration. I am lucky that my company provides me with excellent opportunities to put these two into practice.”
What can be more authentic than her message to her daughter: “Do not think about what but who you want to be.” And there lies the secret of being Mansi Madan Tripathy.