As much as she was inspired by her mother’s achievement, she was determined to have her too. Sakshi Jadhav of Vishwakarma Founders India is a visionary who is successfully making her mark with her acumen and breaking stereotypes of society about women in manufacturing jobs.
When the team of Machine Maker met Mrs. Sakshi Jadhav, the Vice-Chairperson of Vishwakarma Founders India Pvt Ltd and the daughter of Mrs. Vaishali Vijay Jadhav, Chairman and founder of the company, we realised how a working woman raises the most confident and independent children as they always have someone to look up to. They have a woman in front of them, who is not ready to give up on her dreams!
In front of us, we had the living example of a very proud and absolutely confident daughter who was raised right by a brave mother who broke all the existing stereotypes of the time. Sakshi Jadhav was born in a big joint family consisting of ten brothers of her father and their families. Growing up in such an environment was always fun. But what, or rather, who stood out from the crowd was her mother.
Even though it was a big family, there wasn't even a single working woman. Each and everyone was a dedicated homemaker and they were content in that role. But not Vaishali Vijay Jadhav. She wasn't ready to simply live out her life in the four corners of her home. She was determined and ready to work hard to make her mark.
Not only that, she always admired how a businesswoman walked and talked and carried herself. That clear image of an authoritative woman was carved into her little mind like a manual in her journey. Even now she says that she looks up to her biggest client; Sundaram Fasteners, which is run by two very strong women and get inspired by the way they handle the firm.
Growing in a supportive environment
Inspiration, however, alone is not always enough. Without the proper support system, it's very hard for a woman to thrive in this society. Her parents were her support system. As much as he supported his wife, Vijay Jadhav used to push his daughter too. Even though he wasn't directly involved in the company affairs, the amount of support this man is providing to them throughout their personal and professional journey is incredible.
Vaishali Vijay Jadhav started Vishwakarma Founders India Pvt Ltd back in 2006 with the immense support of her husband and father-in-law. Sakshi repeatedly states how big a reassurance was the support from the men of the family. Growing up, little Sakshi was always in awe of her mother. She looked up to her mother for everything. The way her mother managed the firm and the family was truly commendable. Growing up under such a powerful influence paved the way in Sakshi's little mind to also follow the path.
Finding the True Calling
After completing her MBA in Pune, Sakshi went to London and did Masters in International Human Resource Management and worked there for a while. But later she felt like that wasn't her calling and decided to come back to India and help out her mother as she always wanted to do.
Sakshi says that her parents always used to tell her that “technical knowledge is something that you'll practically gain over years of experience but when it comes to people management skills and out of the box thinking, you will have to mingle with every kind of person. Developing a connection with people of all sorts of backgrounds will help a lot when you have to understand and manage situations involving them”. And that is why she decided not to join an engineering course because she was sure that she would learn everything along the way and she was right.
She can now thoroughly read every engineering design and drawing like any other professional. At the same time, not being an engineer actually helps her to provide and look at things from a different angle. Sakshi's main strength is working with techno-commercial data. She also works on the annual planning and execution of the entire company's growth, Marketing and makes sure everything is on track. But it wasn't the same when she started.
Out-of-the-Box Thinker
In her first years in the company, she openly admits that she wasn't even taken seriously by her clients just for the fact that she was a woman. “Everybody looked at them as some little girl who had no clue what she was doing. While setting up the firm, even machine manufacturers tried to make a profit out of her assumed ignorance but failed. Her mother had already set the company to a certain standard and continuing that legacy in all its glory itself was a task. Even though it took its due time, she is gracefully emerging from the shadow of being known as Vaishali Vijay Jadhav's daughter to Sakshi Jadhav; Vice-chairperson of Vishwakarma Founders.
And it is evident from her outside the box thinking. She believes that the entire system of recruiting has to change. “In Japan, companies market themselves which is the exact opposite of an interviewee marketing his/herself in front of the interviewer here in India. Companies should market themselves in forums and colleges and should showcase what they have to offer. By doing so, they can attract people who are genuinely interested to work with them.
A perfect example of this is Japan having a 100% success rate in retaining the recruited employees for a very long time” Sakshi says. She also adds a very interesting thought that she strictly roots for. “If a candidate possesses the skills and education required for the task, training them is an employer’s responsibility.”
Sakshi is a visionary when it comes to uplifting women. She points out that the problem faced by manufacturers when it comes to recruiting women is actually retaining them. In this industry, it takes about 6 months to a year for the training period to be over. But by this time most of the female employees will get married or pregnant or drop out because of the pressure from their families due to working in a male-dominated field.
The only solution is to sort out the ones who are very much passionate about the work they do. “What happens when you hire a woman who is absolutely devoted to her career is that she is very clear about what she wants in life. This kind of clarity is exactly what a girl should be provided from her educational period itself. It is hard to change the mentality and direction of a person after that period. We must inculcate the idea in girls that they can choose any field of work they want.
Girls who are interested in manufacturing should study mechanical engineering and work on shop floors instead of just limiting themselves to the office areas. Still, even today, we can see how there is a very limited number of women in manufacturing but at the same time, there is a considerable number of women doing Architecture. This is because of a trend set by the society that architecture like office jobs are more feminine and considered acceptable for a woman to work in. This thought, this stereotyping should end.”
Automation for Equality
The Government is implementing policies for women in the workplace. But Sakshi is not ready to just wait around for the Government to come in and do everything for her. She is doing her part. In the case of female workers, she makes sure that they are always on the general shift while all forms of transportation are available thus ensuring safe travel from the company to their homes.
Also, a big step towards empowering women who are working with her is automating the entire system at Vishwakarma's factory to make the process friendlier and easier for everyone to handle. The company has already invested around 2-3 crores for the sole purpose of complete automation. “Yes, women do have certain physical restraints when compared to men. But that is no excuse to consider them inferior beings. By automating the factory we are giving female employees a chance to be equal.” This initiative by Sakshi is going to revolutionize the manufacturing industry by fulfilling her dream to have “at least one entire shift of female employees who can do wonders”.
