Anisha Raghavan is a successful business woman by all accounts. She has an MBA from Harvard Business School, held various leadership roles in brand and marketing, including stints at consumer giants like PepsiCo and Unilever. She has risen through the ranks and won recognition and awards through her journey, including the Silver Effie, the Jay Chiat Gold and the Allure Best of Beauty Breakthrough Awards. But she still has one icon she holds in awe.
Raghavan’s success stems from her belief that strong, capable women break boundaries. But she inherits this quality from her mother, who was the first in her family to become a doctor and then to immigrate to the US in the 1970s on her own to complete a residency. Raghavan’s mother challenged social norms that existed within both Indian and American cultures.
“She is truly the superwoman I’ve always wanted to be,” Raghavan says.
Raghavan’s message for women is simple: “We need to lift each other.” For her part, Raghavan has positioned herself as an influential figure for women across the globe. Currently spearheading No7 Unstoppable Together, her project to support women, is certainly grander.
The campaign addresses stereotypes and challenges that hold women back. The No7 Unstoppable Together Job Summit is a free, virtual event for everyone – those who have left their jobs and those who want to help – whether in the corporate or service worker sectors. It brings together women to help each other, the big names including Arianna Huffington, Maria Shriver, Tamron Hall and Dr. C. Nicole Mason of the Institute of Women’s Policy Research.
Speaking on the No7 Unstoppable campaign, Raghavan said, “The topic of the SHEcovery is of particular interest to me as it affects so many of my colleagues, friends and family.” The Institute of Women’s Policy Research coined the terms SHEcession and SHEcovery. While SHEcessions focuses on how pandemic-related job and income losses are particularly affecting women, SHEcovery aims to empower women to come back stronger than ever with new career options and opportunities.
Asked about biases and barriers in her career, Raghavan said, “I am fortunate to have worked in industries with strong female representation. But biases still exist, particularly when women are direct. Then they get unfairly labeled as being difficult. I don’t shy from expressing my point of view – and while that’s seen as an asset, now that I’m at a senior level, at an earlier stage of my career I was told to tone it down.”
Raghavan advises millennial women to seek the right mentors or career networks to get to the next level of leadership. She describes them as “people who can listen to your goals and help you build confidence or navigate the path to just go for it. In today’s world of connectivity and especially now in the Covid era, there are more ways to find like-minded people and connect than ever before.”
She believes that women need to stop doubting themselves.
“Women are known for editing themselves in their heads before speaking in a group, or for second-guessing a job application if they don’t meet every single qualification. In some boardrooms, we have to show up with twice the confidence to be taken seriously. We aren’t paid at equity and are pressured to be primary caregivers at home, so the battle to ‘make it’ often feels far too steep uphill. We have a long way to go still to get to true gender equity.”
Recognizing how the COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected women – women lost 156,000 jobs, while men gained 16,000 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics – Raghavan aims to bring meaningful programs like No7 Unstoppable Together to help women across the globe.
The No7 summit will also offer inspiration, practical tips and resources around topics, such as finding company cultures that support working parents, creating social networks and pivoting one’s career. The job summit is being activated with powerful partners: Fortune, Hello Sunshine and The Female Quotient.
The No7 Unstoppable Together Job Summit is on Wednesday, February 24 2021, 4-8 pm EST. For more details, and to sign up for the summit, click here. Share with friends using hashtag #unstoppabletogether and tagging @No7USA.
Read about what holds women back and how women like Kamala Harris break barriers and others like Neha Dewan and South Asian Women organize to campaign for change.