Women Who Lead, Do, and Change: Neeraja Ganesh

Neeraja Ganesh is a TEDx and global keynote speaker, leadership coach, and gender diversity advocate. She designs impactful programmes like “TrailBlazHERs” to empower women leaders and is widely recognised for her expertise in networking, storytelling, and leadership development. After 25 years in IT leadership, Neeraja now champions inclusion and growth through speaking, coaching, and innovative initiatives that inspire ordinary people to achieve extraordinary journeys.

Tell us a bit about yourself, your background and your current role.

I was a meek, timid, shy girl who had no friends in school. I was average at studies with not great looks. Not a great combination for a girl in school, right? I studied at an all girls convent school where we had about 60 students in every section. The teachers and students probably did not even care whether I was present in the class. I also came from a conservative family where there was no mention of me getting a job, let alone having a career. It was understood that I would get married after I graduated, and I was OK with this, because I believed my parents knew best and that was the way it had to be. So, I really didn’t grow up to be ambitious, in the real sense of the word.

However, as I finished my graduation (and my parents started searching for a boy for me to marry), I had a small itch to earn some money of my own. I narrate this story in my TEDx talk, about how I followed the herd to join a Science course in my 11th and 12th grade at school, because that’s what most students were doing to be able to get into either an Engineering college or Medical college. It was widely understood that that's what “good” students do, and that’s the only way to build your career and make money! Well, I did extremely bad in my 12th grade and did not get into a good Engineering college. This was my turning point to start reflecting on what I really wanted to do.

Since I loved Mathematics, I chose to study Mathematics, Economics and Statistics in my three-year undergraduate course and, I topped the college. That’s what happens when you follow your passion and not the herd!

My parents were still looking for the right man for me to get married to after my graduation (it used to be called an “arranged” marriage). I joined a computer course at NIIT, one of the world’s leading training organisations, which had been set up to help the upcoming IT industry in India to build Tech talent. I chose to study there because I wanted to do something quickly that would help me get a job and make some money before I got married. But I realised something – I was good at programming. I did well at the institute, got a job in a company called Sonata, and there was no looking back.

In the 25 years of my Technology career, I learnt a lot. Not only technical skills, but self-confidence – becoming an assertive and empathetic leader, with a passion to help women like me, who may have come from conservative backgrounds, with no intentions to have a illustrious career. I enable them to reflect on their core purpose and grow into individuals and professionals carving a place for themselves, both at home and in the larger ecosystem. That’s why, when I chose to move out of my corporate career in 2017, I started mentoring women. I picked up roles and projects which enabled me to create an impact on women. And today, I conduct my own training programmes to enable women to have a growth mindset. The most recent programme that I have launched is “TrailBlazHERs”, a 6-month programme with specific modules to equip women with the will and the skills required to aspire and grow in their lives!

Biggest win, biggest lesson 

There are many achievements that I am proud of, but let me talk about my selection for a Global Women’s Leadership development programme when I was at Capgemini. This was a very prestigious programme and selection was carried out by leaders who nominated their team members before there were multiple rounds of reviewing and assessing the finalists. I was one of the 11 women who were selected.

The global employee strength of Capgemini at the time was more than 150,000 employees and we were more than 100,000 employees in India. This was no easy selection, especially as I had joined the organisation just 2-3 years earlier, and I was working for a client account which meant I was working from the client office all the time. Hence, not too many Capgemini employees would even have seen me or interacted with me. The other women who were selected alongside me had been in the organisation for at least 15 years, and several had been with the organisation for 25 years. This meant they were very well known by the leadership and thus their nominations would have been easier to review and select. I was really proud that my work and leadership capability was assessed to be on par with such credible leaders of the organisation. 

This achievement taught me that:

• Visibility is important, but value shines brighter – the impact created speaks louder than presence. This proves that when your work is purposeful, consistent, and influential, it will find its way to the right people – even if you’re not always in the room.
• Credibility can be built quickly with the right mindset and performance – tenure doesn’t equal leadership – excellence, initiative, and influence do.
• Sponsors and champions matter – building relationships with people who recognise your contribution and can advocate for you when opportunities arise is important.

Have you faced any career challenges? 

I was leading a team which had many challenges that I needed to set right. One of them being the staff engagement score, which was the lowest in the organisation – 38%. I was working at the ANZ Bank, which is primarily an Australian and New Zealand institution, and at that time, they had limited presence in the Asia-Pacific region. That year, the CEO decided to expand into emerging Asian markets. This strategic pivot required new leadership, and they brought in a new Managing Director for the Asia-Pacific region. As often happens when leadership changes, this created a ripple effect throughout the organisation. The incoming leader also brought changes to the technology leadership structure, appointing someone from ANZ's Australian tech division to head up technology operations across Asia. Since I was leading the technology setup in India, I understood that changes were likely coming to our team as well. Everyone anticipated that the new leader would eventually bring in their own people, but they took their time making these transitions.

During those six months of uncertainty, I made every effort to connect with the new technology leader and understand his vision. I scheduled one-on-one meetings, sent regular email updates, and tried to demonstrate how I could contribute to their goals. Unfortunately, despite my persistent efforts, I received no response. He wouldn't attend our scheduled meetings, didn't reply to emails, and while he included me in weekly team leadership meetings where I could provide updates, there was no meaningful interaction beyond that.

I genuinely tried my best to build a working relationship because I wanted to be supportive of his vision and see how I could help enable their success. However, when it became clear that this approach wasn't working, I decided to focus on delivering results in my current role. I reasoned that if I made any mistakes, at least that might prompt some communication. So I concentrated on the challenge at hand – improving our staff engagement scores – and continued working toward our transformation goals.

Six months later, the technology leader travelled to Bangalore, India, and everyone knew the purpose was to announce changes to the India leadership team. It was understood that I would likely be replaced as part of bringing in his preferred team structure. However, on the very day he arrived in India, our staff engagement results were released, showing we had successfully reached 65%, one of the highest in the organisation that year.

The leader came to my desk and invited me to breakfast. During his three day visit, he spent considerable time with me, recognising the transformation I had achieved. He saw the results and realised he didn't want to lose someone who had demonstrated such capability. Our conversations shifted to discussing my future role and how we could shape the organisation's direction together.

I believe there may have been initial unconscious biases at play – perhaps assumptions about working with someone he had not collaborated with before, or preconceptions about leadership capabilities. While these concerns were never explicitly stated, they seemed to influence the initial lack of engagement.

Throughout this challenging period, I maintained my commitment to doing my best work, regardless of the uncertain outcome. I told myself that if he ultimately decided to move me out, that was his prerogative, but I would continue to deliver results until then. This persistence and focus on performance ultimately changed the trajectory of our working relationship.

Where do you still see gaps or barriers for women in digital, and what one action would accelerate change?

Despite progress, one of the biggest gaps I still see for women in digital is at the intersection of visibility, voice, and value. While more women are entering the tech and digital workforce, fewer are in decision-making roles where strategies, products, and platforms are defined. Often, women contribute deeply but remain unseen – with limited access to influential networks or sponsors who can amplify their growth. The other barrier is mindset – both systemic and self-imposed. Digital transformation demands bold, experimental thinking, but many women are still conditioned to seek perfection over progress. This inhibits risk-taking – a key trait needed in digital leadership.

If I had to choose one action to accelerate change, it would be to create deliberate sponsorship programmes for women in digital roles. Not mentorship alone, but sponsorship – where senior leaders not only guide women, but actively advocate for their inclusion in critical projects, decision tables, and visibility platforms. When women are seen leading complex digital initiatives, it rewires perception – for the individual and the ecosystem.

If you had five minutes with a woman who is just starting her digital career, what would you tell her to focus on first?

Be self-confident. As a starter, there would be many doubts that she may carry into her work. Doubts which may not have any roots, but these get instilled into the minds of every woman early on in their lives and they never go away, however good her capability is, or her achievements are. This brings down their self confidence and keeps them from putting up their hands for any new initiatives, challenges, or even to speak up their mind.

Being confident about their capabilities as they step into their career. This can propel them faster and enable them to grow in the organisation despite any challenges that may come in their way.

What do you think companies can do to support career progress for women working in digital roles?

From an organisational perspective, I see three critical areas where we can accelerate progress toward gender equity in the workplace.

1. Moving Toward Gender-Neutral Policies

One of the most impactful changes organisations can make is shifting from gendered policies to inclusive, universal ones. Take maternity leave as an example. Currently, when managers are hiring, there's often an unconscious calculation happening: "If I hire a woman, she might get pregnant, take six months off, possibly extend that leave, and then I'll need to manage that absence." (In India, it’s mandatory to give six months maternity leave to a woman).

However, if we transform maternity leave into comprehensive parental leave policies – where any parent can take time off regardless of gender – this bias naturally disappears. During the hiring process, managers can no longer make assumptions about who might use family leave because it becomes truly universal.

I've seen a powerful example of this approach in action. In my state, labour laws prohibit women from working in offices after 8.00pm due to security concerns. Companies could work around this by providing security guards and transportation, but this creates additional costs that sometimes influences hiring decisions. One forward-thinking organisation took a different approach: they implemented a universal "no work after 8.00pm" policy for all employees, regardless of gender. This eliminated the need for special accommodations and removed the bias that might favour hiring men over women.

2. Challenging Our Own Mindsets

The second area involves examining our own assumptions and biases. This applies not just to hiring managers, but to all of us in leadership positions. We need to actively question our decision-making processes and ensure they're based on capability and performance rather than unconscious stereotypes.

3. Redefining True Allyship

The third area is what I call "evolved allyship" – particularly male allyship. Many people understand allyship as simply supporting decisions made by women colleagues. While support is important, true allyship sometimes means asking challenging questions and offering different perspectives.

I recall hearing about a woman who shared that when she decided to take an extended career break after having children, everyone in her family and friend circle was supportive. But as she reflected later, she realised that this universal support was actually part of the problem. No one challenged her decision or asked important questions like: "Why are you the one taking the break? What support systems could we put in place to help you continue your career? What would need to change for you to stay engaged professionally?"

As allies, especially male allies, our role extends beyond just being supportive. Sometimes the most valuable thing we can do is ask the difficult questions that help people examine their choices and explore alternatives they might not have considered. This kind of thoughtful challenge, when done with genuine care and respect, can open up infinite possibilities.

When we combine gender-neutral policies, conscious bias examination, and evolved allyship, we create organisational cultures where talent can truly thrive regardless of gender.

What three digital tools or platforms could you not run your work without? 

• Google calendar – This is what keeps me organised and sane, given that I am a freelancer, and have multiple clients with conflicting delivery dates. At the same time, I enjoy my personal time and family time. To ensure that everything is taken care of (which is what I call work life integration), I put everything into my Google calendar (whether it is a dentist appointment for my daughter or mother, or my shopping or my podcast appearances).
• MS Office  – Absolute must. My work revolves around making presentations, training programmes, tracking expenses and invoices, anything and everything that an office would have a dedicated person or team for. Since I am a solopreneur, I do everything myself and hence, all the MS Office tools are a must for me.
• In today’s age of AI, I am also bitten by the AI bug. So, ChatGPT, Claude are my buddies at the moment.

In the next 12 months, which emerging trend or shift should our community keep on their radar? 

In the next 12 months, the trend that should absolutely be on our community's radar is Agentic AI – artificial intelligence systems that can act autonomously, make decisions, and execute complex tasks without constant human intervention. For leaders and professionals, the opportunity  – and responsibility  – lies in learning how to co-lead with such systems: How do we delegate meaningfully? How do we design work for this human-AI collaboration? How do we ensure alignment with ethics, inclusion, and purpose?

Over the next 12 months, those who begin experimenting with agentic systems  – not just technically, but behaviourally and strategically  – will be far better prepared for the next wave of digital transformation.