International Women’s Day is observed on 8 March each year, celebrating women’s right to equality and liberation along with the equal opportunities. The theme this year is ‘Give to Gain’, emphasising the importance of mentorship and paying-it-forward.
But even while women battle social and corporate challenges to break the glass ceiling, many are still torn between childcare, family needs, elder care and other personal commitments that sometimes put a pause on their career trajectory.
Mint spoke to Sreedevi Palit, Director, Human Resources, and Head D&I India at IT major Cognizant on her career journey, and how she’s shaped company policies that ensure an inclusive workplace for women in a sector such as IT, that is typically male dominated.
‘Defining work-life balance, avoiding guilt and imposter syndrome’
Recalling the two flagship programmes Palit helped create at Cognizant that make her proud, the executive noted that the key driver was ensuring that women could define their work-life balance and avoid guilt and imposter syndrome with a growth mindset.
Having spent two decades of her career at Cognizant, Palit pointed to 2018’s Propel programme, for women leaders at the senior level. “The aim was to amplify what women bring in — building your own brand, your network of supporters, and how to pay forward. Till 2026, we had 30 cohort of women globally.”
The second programme is called RISE, for women who are at mid-career level — where some step away from the workforce, because of conflicting personal and professional commitments. “We help them own their career journey, define their work-life balance, avoid guilt and imposter syndrome with a growth mindset, stress the importance of networking and financial literacy,” Palit said.
Overall, she believes that building the ecosystem is important. “In 2023, we launched the SHAKTI initiative, bringing together our women-centric policies. This include Be Gritty for freshers, MATRI for pre- and post-maternity transition and integration, and building a pipeline for ecosystem support”.
‘You are your best advocate, be intentional’
Palit was also emphatic that it is important to own your journey and learn how to position yourself. Especially when it comes to those rejoining the workforce after a maternity leave or health break. “It’s a long road and you need to be intentional. First thing to do is define your goals,” she advised.
According to Palit, you are your best advocate. Giving an example from her own career, she recalled that prioritising becomes very important. “When you need to prioritise caregiving (like me), how do you do that without guilt? It’s important to not look over your shoulder to compare with others… that tends to take you down the path of self-pity. Instead, building a narrative and learning how to position yourself is important. You are your best advocate,” she stressed.
Second, never stop learning. “It is about powering down, not dropping out. If you take a break, it is also important that you continue to learn. Technology is changing fast and educating yourself and building your skills is important. Find your sponsors and mentors, because you can’t do this all alone,” she advised.
Embrace differences: ‘Everyone’s lived experience is very different’
On her own challenges and they shaped her views on diversity and inclusion, Palit narrated how early in her career at Cognizant, she had an opportunity to work in the UK and India. “That was the first time I was going outside my comfort zone and doing things on my own. Something that stuck by me was my father’s words: “Never get frazzled by a challenge that comes in.” So, I embraced it and that gave me a huge opportunity to work in a multi-cultural organisation,” she shared.
That was a turning point. “The benefit that I reaped was bringing in curiosity, not being judgmental, and understanding that everyone’s lived experiences is very different. So early on, I understood that’s the seed for being inclusive,” Palit noted.
This also helped when she was developing the Propel and RISE programmes, Palit added. “I was also subconsciously looking at my journey. Did I network well? Or just rely on my manager? After a certain level, you need somebody to advocate for you. So, how are you going to ensure that you are visible?”
She added that as a caregiver, it’s been difficult to find a balance amid the frustration and trade-offs. “I would say owning a career becomes very, very important. Sometimes you face frustration over some of the trade-offs. But after a certain time, the penny dropped. I realized that this is what I want to do, I’m finding the balance. I’ll have to define it that way and not feel guilty about it. That’s how I have moved on, and I tried to do the best that I can,” she added.
‘You do not necessarily have to be the man in the room’
Palit also reflected on the double standards facing women in leadership roles — where qualities that men are praised about, are instead criticised in women (e.g. go-getter vs aggressive, expressive vs nagging, etc.). She said that this conversation needs to be reframed because the default idea of “leadership” for many is automatically linked to masculinity.
She feels that women should “bring what you have”, in order to not get stuck in that mold. “You do not necessarily have to be the man in the room,” she noted and advised women to create their narrative and seek opportunities, using their unique strengths.
Palit also however acknowledged that one cannot do this alone. Pay parity is still some time away and there are unavoidable breaks for some women, so finding the right sponsor is very important, she added. “What we instill for men and women through our programmes is the element of pay-it-forward. Once you have picked up the skills, it is a huge opportunity to pay forward to the ones that are coming after you. That’s a huge responsibility on them,” she added.
‘Allyship is sometimes difficult’
On ensuring that the policies are put into practice, Palit noted that this requires a shift in mindset and that’s where allyship plays its role. But allyship is sometimes difficult in the fast-paced work environment.
“So, we have designed our allyship program to include men and women. And it’s not just a training program. We create labs with specific scenarios — like women returning from maternity leave — and create a safe space to interact,” she shared on Cognizant’s practices.
Further, to ensure that this carries into the real work environment, there is a commitment plan whereby senior leaders and managers measure the definitive actions undertaken, Palit added. “That gets a conversation going — I commit to this step and also a call for action, where they go back and measure what was actually done. Because unless it’s measured, it still remains a rhetoric,” she noted.
‘Imposter syndrome is a killer, just go for it!’
Addressing young women entering the workforce and those seeking to break into the boardrooms, Palit has one advice — go for it.
She noted that studies show how women display higher level of imposter syndrome, where they only grab an opportunity if they check nine out of ten boxes, while men would proceed with five on the list. “We need to re-calibrate that. It is okay not to (have everything) and keep opportunity to learn more and therefore grow more. So, shifting that narrative in your head is very, very important,” she noted.
Palit pointed that there will be naysayers and opposition, so in such cases, start small. “There will be people who come as obstacles… you may not get support, so the first move is very, very critical. Telling yourself that this is where I want to be, and setting small goals. It’s okay, not being very ambitious,” she added.
Again, she also emphasised the need for a support system and gaining a mentor who will stick their neck out and advocate for you. “It’s important to get the necessary skills, shadow someone to learn the craft of the trade and then, accordingly, move forward. Don’t step back because of failure, you learn and move forward. And I think it’s a journey,” she added.
‘Give to Gain’ a call for action for every organisation
Keeping in mind the ‘Give to Gain’ theme of this International Women’s Day 2026, Palit feels that this is a call to action for every organisation, with emphasis on reciprocity and support. She stressed the need to especially platform under-represented women, with a mindset of “when they thrive, we all rise”.
“These policies need to be made consciously. From an organizational standpoint, we need to dismiss the misconception that giving means subtraction — that’s not the case, it is a multiplier effect! So, it is an organisation’s responsibility to very intentionally give visibility because there’s power in a paying it forward. And that’s a call for action, no two ways about it!”
