Superwomen 2022: Ask for help & voice your issue when you have one says Moneka Khurana

Like everything else, the pandemic has redefined the word Superwomen too. Moneka Khurana of MMA India talks about how skilling and education are necessary to rapidly embrace new technology.

Moneka Khurana, Country Head of MMA India and a winner of Social Samosa Superwomen 2022, talks about work-life balance, challenges women face in WFH, and other industry trends.

Edited Excerpts:

What do you think it means to be a superwoman in the New Normal?

A superwoman in the new normal is agile, open-minded, and willing to unlearn the normal and start afresh in the new normal

A big part of success is mental health & work-life balance - how do you ensure to create work-life balance for yourself & those around you?

I ensure work-life balance by enabling a P0 and P1 approach to priorities ensuring that P2 and P3 don’t take away the attention and focus at any given time unless P0 and P1 are done with be it work or personal priorities

Secondly, I don’t schedule early morning and late evening calls meetings to be able to disconnect and balance the week. Around me, I try and pre-plan and work ahead of the deadlines to ensure the balance is not disturbed by cramming last-minute deadlines.

At the same time productively utilizing the day to not overrun work in the evening is key for me

While a lot has changed for the better in the A&M industry, what kind of challenges continue to exist for women? Especially with the whole WFH & hybrid work situation

Challenges of juggling work and family absolutely do continue since WFH further accentuates the responsibility and ownership, to oversee and run the show. There are several women who are keen to work from home and have been asked to move back physically which in turn is becoming. A challenge to pursue the job opportunity hence leading to several women opting out in a situation where the organization is not accepting of the remote working format.

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What in your opinion, helped you excel in your career?

In my opinion, the willingness to experiment with a new medium and remaining persistent even when digital went through its phases of a bust after the boom.

Lastly, I was very open to asking for flexibility when I needed it in my early days of motherhood as well as taking radical calls to dial down mid-way in my career and then get back full fledge to ensure the needed balance could be struck between career and home.

This in turn led to a lot of satisfaction of having done justice at both ends and moving forward.

One Superwoman you look up to & why

Preeti Reddy, MMA India Board Member; Chairwoman - Insights Division, South AsiaKantar, is who I look up to for several reasons –

• She has immense experience knowledge but remains hugely grounded
• She has a fabulous EQ and is totally a peoples person and is super humble
• She has managed to see through a very successful career and yet balanced her family commitments extremely well
• Lastly, she has been able to give back to the industry/contribute very richly and more important support and inspire several women in their career pursuits despite playing several demanding roles in her career

One thing you would like to change about this industry

I would like the industry to treat their agencies/solution providers like partners and not like vendors which are very key since they play a huge and very valuable role in the ecosystem of building and driving business success. This must change

One thing that this industry desperately needs

Skilling and education to rapidly embrace new technology frameworks, creative formats, and platforms that drive growth and transformation.

One tip for all aspiring A&M professionals out there

Ask for help and voice your issue when you have one there will be a way around don’t suppress and compromise during any life stage of work.