Diversity is corporate agenda; not a feminist notion: Byju’s Divya Gokulnath

“When women come together to support and cheer each other on, there’s nothing that can stand in their way,” says Divya Gokulnath, co-founder at Byju’s. A self-made, established entrepreneur and a woman at the helm, Gokulnath has leveraged her standing to implement a healthy gender balance at Byju’s. “If you look at the board, 33% women, top management: 33% women, throughout the organisation: 40% women. Very few tech companies have that. Now, that happens because women leaders will tend to hire more women leaders,” says Gokulnath.

The co-founder says that diversity is no more a feminist notion, rather almost a corporate agenda now. “And I believe that this corporate balance — there is just one way of doing it right and the way is if you think about it consciously since the inception of the company and not as an afterthought. This is not a number that we need to fill. This is something that needs to exist as part of your core thought process when you start up,” says Gokulnath.

A mother of two sons aged eight and one, Gokulnath is fiercely protective of her clan and she has an adequate answer to those who doubt the professional potential of working mothers: “Becoming a mother helps you prioritise like nothing else. Every minute of the day counts. You won’t waste a single minute. So at the end of it, you have a very well-planned person, highly prioritised person and someone who is very valuable to the workforce as well,” says Gokulnath. Her message to aspiring women entrepreneurs is to stand out. “It is good to be different... because you will be noticed more if you are,” says Gokulnath.