Sanjay Menon is the Managing Director (MD) of Sapient, a part of Publicis Groupe. He drives the strategy, capability development, and growth of Sapient's India presence and maintains its status as a hub of the company's globally distributed delivery network. A 16-year veteran, Menon has been instrumental in growing Sapient's India operations since its inception. He successfully served in various business and delivery roles including running key account P&Ls, managing global delivery for some of the business units, as well as growing digital marketing services capability from India.

"As a leader with global exposure in the enterprise realm as well as in marketing capabilities side, I am excited to help brands visualize and achieve new possibilities by connecting the power of creative ideation with designing experiences that are delivered through the power of technology." - Sanjay Menon

And he believes that bringing women back to work is a winning move for the economy and our society at large.

This is his blog on the topic... 

We all love Mad Men, a show set in a 1960's advertisement agency. But did you ever delve into the women characters in the series?

The ‘60s were when women went up in arms – a decade of radical cultural and societal change.

They entered the workforce in record-breaking numbers, helped lead protests against the Vietnam War, and promoted civil rights for African Americans. However, despite all that, they realized that equality remained a distant dream. Not only did they get ‘female-only’ jobs (where looking good was an important qualification) but there were huge gender discriminations in earnings, education, placement, and even harassment at the workplace.

We’re now in 2017; a lot has changed, but we’re still not fully there.

It is an undisputable fact that diversity of thought, experience and perspective makes an organization successful. In these disrupted times of ever-changing consumer expectations, the key to success lies in breakthrough thinking and that can only come from a multifaceted and diverse talent mix. The organizations that want to be in the leadership bracket of their segment, therefore, choose to ensure they are more inclusive and are harnessing the talent potential the world has to offer. 

Having more women in the workplace is not only the right thing to do but also the smart thing to do.

You can’t be looking to be successful by not tapping into 50% of the talent that society has to offer.

More inclusive workplaces also make for a stronger and more diverse culture. Women in leadership roles across the world have more than established that organizations that adopt a limited gender lens to how they think about roles are curtailing their chances of going anywhere in their space. It is heartening to see more companies do things in this space but a lot more needs to be done. This is an area in which everyone needs to collaborate, share more ideas, and create an impact collectively.

Sapient is purpose-built to enable human potential and making sure we harness the power of women in the talent force is a natural orientation.

We are excited about the new construct of SPRING - it addresses the aspects of helping women returning to work after a break integrate effectively. This is a segment that has been a leaky bucket for the industry at large since women who take a break for a bunch of different reasons find it very difficult to get a foothold back in the current industry.

We are taking a different stand on this.

We want to take equal if not more accountability in helping women returning to work integrate into the workplace in roles where they can create impact commensurate with their capability and potential. This means shying away from looking at “safe” roles and truly pursuing all relevant ones. There is a level of support required in this integration which we are happy to invest in because we see the win-win this offers to everyone involved in making more potent talent come back into the mainstream.

What do you think you would need if you were to re-enter the workplace after a hiatus?

Do you think diversity and inclusivity makes a difference to an organization? What can be done to change things? I would look forward to hearing your thoughts whoever you are, because this is something for us to collectively address.*

If you're a woman on a break and you want to restart your career in a company that has recognized, understood, and addressed the issues that women face when returning to work, then look no further than the SPRING back into work program at Sapient in India! 

Click HERE to browse their open job roles, APPLY to them, and FOLLOW the company if the roles on offer right now aren't made for you. Chances are that soon enough, one will be. 

*This blog first appeared here.