“DIB (Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging) has been my focus for a very long time now. My post doctoral research is in gender diversity and I periodically write research based editorial articles in national dailies”
It would be impossible to contain Dr Bindu Sivasankaran Nair under a single label. For the uninitiated, she might effortlessly introduce herself as a writer, speaker, published author and the founder of BEYOND Pink App. Delving deep into conversations with her, one would learn that what she holds closest to heart is a profound understanding of women and a constant quest for what needs to be done for the meticulous growth and seamless inclusivity of that gender.
“DIB (Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging) has been my focus for a very long time now. My post doctoral research is on gender diversity and I periodically write research based editorial articles in national dailies,”says Bindu.
Over the last two decades she has been a part of large organisations, both Indian and multinational and has held both senior leadership and strategic consultant roles.
However, her tryst with a media entity happened after joining Insight Media City, the organisation that owns Flowers TV and Twenty Four News, as its Head-HR.
BEYOND Pink App provides short news and content that are curated keeping women in mind. For Bindu, the idea to create a platform like this came from her need to do something that would profoundly impact a large number of women. She explains “ Today, talks around the need for women to play a more active socio-economic and political roles are pretty intense. This would be difficult to achieve without parity in information and news consumption. According to data, there’s a substantial gender gap in news and information consumption. Many factors contribute to this gap including poor women representation in media’s decision making roles, news headlines being predominantly male centric and news being conceived and assimilated from a very male point of view. Bridging the information gap seemed like an impactful idea. That’s how BEYOND Pink App was conceived and born.”
When quizzed about an advice she would give her younger self who has just joined the media industry, she says “In an ever changing, digital, technology & AI driven environment, many work values of the past might even look obsolete. However, there are many relevant competencies and values professionals should uphold and be committed to that include integrity, commitment, flexibility and SEED-Q (social, emotional, ethical and diversity quotient). Further, if one wants to enjoy what one does, it’s important to pick what you like to do. Be it a job/career or be it a business/startup.”
On how she deals with challenging situations in her work environment, she says, “All of us evolve and it’s not a one day process. Today I pause instead of panicking when confronted with a difficult situation. When you pause you think about solutions and in panic you commit more mistakes. Philosophically speaking sometimes even if you don’t do anything, solutions will evolve.”
“As you are aware I’m an entrepreneur as well and currently nurturing BEYOND Pink App to take it to the next level. I have always chosen things which I like to do both as a professional and as an entrepreneur. I’m passionately committed to BEYOND Pink App as DIB is the area that excites me. And what is even more important and compelling is the social value that it can deliver.”
