When IBM India Chairman Vanitha Narayanan faced 'grandmother peer pressure'

The pressures of juggling home and work are never far away. Last week, IBM hosted a dinner in Mumbai, where senior female leaders gathered to talk about ‘advancing women’s leadership’. The chairman of its India branch, Vanitha Narayanan, also shared her thoughts on the subject.

During a panel discussion that Narayanan moderated, she spoke about facing “grandmother peer pressure”, on a lighter note. She turned grandmother recently and decided to take a few weeks off to spend with her daughter and new grandchild.

But the pressure was to take more time off than she already had.


“The pressure never goes away. It could be the grandmother peer pressure. ‘Why can’t you take leave and take care of the grandchild?’” Narayanan said.

In the end, it all worked out as things do in most progressive households today.

“I took a few weeks off and then my son-in-law took six weeks paternity leave. And then, his parents spent some time [with the new mother and grandchild],” Narayanan said.