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What is the meaning of success? Does it mean the same thing to everyone? Does gender influence the interpretation of success? A lot of research has gone into the subject of success. What makes a person successful? How do we recognize success? To some, success may signify wealth; to others it is recognition. It could well be family for another set of people. In most cases it is a combination of many factors and attributes. Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) organized the third annual International Women’s Day panel discussion on Saturday March 8, 2014, at the Pearson Convention Centre, to discuss what success means to women. The theme of the panel discussion was On Success: A Woman’s Perspective.
Hon. Amrit Mangat, MPP and Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Children and Youth Services, Ontario, was the keynote speaker at the event and also read the special greetings from the Premier of Ontario. The panelists and the audience included highly successful women entrepreneurs, professionals, and public figures. The panelists were: Dr. Usha George, Professor & Dean, Ryerson University; Asha Luthra, Director, Balmoral Marketing, & Former President, ICCC; Raj Girn, President & CEO, Anokhi Media; Sunita Malik, Crown Attorney; Sarab Hans, Managing Director, Hans Dairy. Rajni Tekriwal, Corporate Secretary and Director, Women Entrepreneurs & Professionals (WEP) committee, moderated the discussion.
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Dr. Usha George during her presentation spoke about the need for women to work hard to attain their goals. However, she said, success often came not merely from working hard, but from working smart. She extoled the virtues of working smart, saying often it was the distinguishing features between the successful and the also-rans. Former President of Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce, Asha Luthra, who was the first woman President in the three-and-a-half decade history of the Chamber, said to her the single biggest contributor to success is the ability to say “No.” She said women who could say “no” tended to take care of themselves better because they were able to better manage expectations. She also said that single women often found it daunting to meet their responsibilities and also to succeed, but she said all they needed more was a good dose of determination.
Raj Girn shared her experiences as a young person growing up in the United Kingdom and emphasized that while personality did play a crucial role in a person’s success, personal appearance never really matter as much. Giving her own example, she said that she always focussed more on what she wanted to achieve rather than what others thought of her. Sunita Malik said women need to focus on what they want to achieve rather than living other people’s dreams – and by that she meant parents, husbands, children, in-laws. Giving her own example, she said she was expected to become a doctor or an engineer, and then a teacher, but she was determined to be a lawyer.
Sarab Hans emphasized that one of the keys to success it to ask the right person for the right help. She said people are willing to help others succeed, but often they are not aware that such help is sought. Women should develop confidence. In her introductory remarks and during the moderation of the discussion, Rajni Tekriwal said that while the definition of success was a matter of interpretation and would naturally differ from a person to person, in case of women, success had to mean being able to achieve something significant on their own. “I define success as a manifestation of good luck that results from inspiration, aspiration, desperation and perspiration,” she said, and added, “Success and happiness go hand in hand. Success is getting what you want and happiness is wanting what you get.”
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