‘Don’t Let Marital Life Decide Your Career’

When Amisha Vora entered the male bastion of stock broking in the late eighties, men in the business were not used to having a woman among them. Their conversations were usually peppered with expletives. But Vora’s presence brought in a change.

For Vora, 48, joint managing director of Prabhudas Lilladher Group, finding feet in the industry wasn’t difficult. Dealing with clients was not as much a challenge as the exhaustive work culture with no cap on office hours. Vora, who completed CA along with graduation at the age of 21, entered the finance world and matrimony at almost the same time. Coming from a community deeply rooted in business, Vora was sure she wanted a full-time career and marriage didn’t hinder her ambition.

“We were four sisters and my father, who was a banker, always encouraged us to work hard and considered us no less than sons,” says Vora, emphasizing that her husband was unequivocally supportive of her career.

She started in 1988 as a researcher with JM Financial, owned by Nimesh Kampani, who is related to her family. After being with the firm for a couple of years, the entrepreneurial bug bit her. She along with a JM Financial colleague founded an advisory firm, believing that with the country opening up to foreign investments, the opportunities would be big. But the venture took a toll on personal and social engagements, says Vora, whose son is now 21.

In the late 1990s, Vora joined Prabhudas Lilladher, the country’s oldest brokerage, as head of sales. Today, she owns 25% stake in the financial services firm. “Besides my father and my husband, Arun Sheth (CMD of the firm and also a relative) has played an important role in my success. He has been the ethical pillar in my career,” says Vora.

Vora says challenges are short term and they last till you can mentally overcome them. “You shouldn’t give up,” Vora advises women. But she also says that it is not the women who need advice, it is their parents. She narrates an incident at a college where she was called to give away awards. While 85% of the prizes were bagged by girls, she was mobbed by their parents with complaints that the girls didn’t want to get married after completing education. “Parents should understand that their expectations from educated daughters are wrong. Girls have the right to decide their career path rather than letting their marital lives decide it.”

Vora believes in equal opportunities for her employees and personally counsels the women staff. “For women to stand out, it is important for them to show commitment towards work,” she says. At leadership positions, the challenges are different. “At this level, it is no more about an individual. We have to work towards sorting out differences of opinion so that the team can move forward in one direction.”

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