Paramita Bhattacharya is the Chief Marketing Officer at Blurb, a company that provides users with a self-publishing and marketing platform that enables them to design, publish, promote and sell books and magazines in print as well as digital formats. At Blurb, she is responsible for the company’s marketing, communications, customer service and e-commerce/digital sales functions. Prior to joining Blurb in 2020, she held leadership roles at Nokia, Hitachi Vantara and Adobe. Recognized as a Top 50 Woman Leader in SaaS and also a part of the Asian Americans Hall of Fame Top 100, Paramita has a stellar track record in digital transformation, marketing, go-to-market strategies, brand development, customer experience, corporate communications and more.

Interviewed by Ritu Josan

// In a recent research study conducted by Grant Thornton, it was reported that only 29% of senior management positions in companies are occupied by women. What are your thoughts on the gender gap in the corporate world? 

In recent years, there has been significant momentum in reducing the gender gap in the corporate world, especially in senior management positions. But with COVID-19 and its impact on women’s careers, I think we will see some regression and losses. It may not be immediately felt but it is likely to have a long-lasting impact. As the corporate world takes stock of the post-COVID environment, companies need to make sustained and deliberate efforts to reduce and help women overcome the challenges posed as a result of this pandemic. It is critical to support women in entry- and mid-level management positions so that they continue to progress and be promoted to senior positions in the coming years. We need to have a continuous, strong pipeline if we want more women in senior management and C-suite positions.

// How can companies change their work culture and processes to enable more women leaders in senior management?

It starts at the top. Company boards and C-suite should have a mandate. They must direct their organizations to create sustainable programs around diversity hiring, access to mentorship within and outside the company, manager training to identify viable promotion paths, and equitable behavior and best practices for women leadership development. This also means managers and supervisors at all levels within the company be monitored, held accountable and even rewarded if successful in their efforts. While the mandate and accountability remain at the top, the culture component is part of the ground as well and must be fostered across the organization in rank and file. 

// Have you faced any challenges as a woman in a senior leadership position? How did you overcome them?

Sadly, I am often the only woman at the leadership table and that has its own challenges. The tenor, quality and the diversity of viewpoints are sometimes missing. And just having a voice at the table does not mean I am necessarily always heard and have to make the additional effort. Career advancement is a significant challenge I have faced in my journey. The best way to overcome this has been to constantly advocate for myself as well as build those key organizational relationships that can champion and support me. But what has been missing in these workplace relationships is the ability to bond with similar thinking women or count on women mentors since the pool of women is small at the leadership level. I have learned to overcome that through women’s networks outside of the company and drawn support from others in those networks who are in similar positions and facing similar challenges.

// How has COVID-19 affected your work-life balance?

I would say COVID-19 has brought good and bad aspects to work-life balance. I absolutely love the idea of not having to commute to office, which used to be an hour’s drive each way. But now that time is replaced with longer hours at my home desk, which means I am working longer than I used to. I have also felt more relaxed not having to do business travel either. COVID’s impact has certainly allowed me more time with my family, which I appreciate. I am also fortunate to have a grown-up child and, therefore, do not have to deal with some of the childcare challenges that some of my team members and colleagues have to. 

// Has your company’s business strategy changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic? If yes, how?

Certainly. During the early months of the pandemic, we saw a hit in our sales and immediately pivoted our customer engagement strategies to reflect the new reality. As time progressed, we evolved our e-commerce model and product portfolio mix along with new customer acquisition, retention, pricing and customer service plans to deliver greater success, while at the same time being challenged with COVID-related disruption in our physical production plants and shipping/delivery infrastructure. We have remained agile throughout this, with multiple business planning scenarios and building resiliency in our teams so they can implement changes at short notice while maintaining an optimized cost delivery model. 

// What are your thoughts on remote work processes in your organization? Will this trend continue even after the pandemic is over?

Remote work has always been a part of our company - similar to other Technology companies here in the San Francisco Bay area. Of course, COVID shifted it to full scale from once/twice a week, and that meant every process, meeting and interaction now had to be managed remotely. We did integrate a few best practices immediately that helped us minimize the scale of this disruption, including having cross-functional 10-minute daily stand-ups for urgent issues, increasing the use of messaging channels to keep the communication flowing and more rigorous check-ins to ensure everyone in the organization was managing well. I fully expect this trend to continue for us and many other companies, especially in the technology industry where remote work is largely successful. However, I do see the need for some groups to work out of the office more often when the world opens up, but not at the level we have seen in the past. 

// If you could share one piece of advice with other women in the corporate world, what would it be?

My advice would be: take other women with you. If you are a woman in a leadership position, then champion for other women in whatever possible way you can. Seize the opportunity, be bold and take risks if feasible, look for a sponsor in the organization, find yourself a mentor and, most importantly, don’t take no for an answer. Listen to your self-doubt but don’t let that hold you back. And always advocate for yourself.