Sumaiya Siddique, MBR Team

In this Women’s Day Special Edition, MBR team catches up with Ms. Zara Mahbub. Ms. Mahbub is the CEO of Dun & Bradstreet Data & Analytics Private Limited, which offers a suite of information solutions used extensively by Banks in Bangladesh, Financial Institutions, Government Departments, Multinationals, Corporate entities, Small and Medium sized enterprises, Exporters and Importers.

MBR: You have been a role model for many career aspirant women who want to be selfdependent. Will you please share with us your story that will motivate many ambitious women?

Zara Mahbub: Thank you so much for calling me a role model. I am grateful to be referred to with the term and it is a big honor and responsibility. My story is of someone who has always asked questions… someone who continues to challenge system, tradition and the status quo.

I have grown up playing cricket and football with the boys in our neighborhood and racing through Dhaka city in our cycles when it was unusual for traditional Muslim family girls to play these sports. When my friends were getting ready for their O’levels, I was encouraged by my aunt and mom to try out modeling. My parents were always supportive of everything we children set out to do and said life must be lived with studies, career, family, loved ones, religion, hobbies and responsibilities all in a balance as best as possible. My maternal grandmother was like a rock supporting us with strength at all times. In fact all the women in our family were extremely strong… and we were raised as children not as any gender. My parents taught us to respect everyone beyond their beliefs, religion, social status, gender, race, sexual orientation… these are considered pretty ‘woke’ today. We were always encouraged to do the right thing and to look at the big picture. Having grown up in a joint family we quickly learnt the importance of collective upbringing, joint ownership of material things and collective successes. My success was celebrated by all just the way my blunders were reprimanded by everyone. Zaru was everyone’s child. And it was totally ok.

Nothing was ever mine… it was ours. And if there was an imbalance in this ideology, we stopped questioned the imbalance and we strived to fix it. But that did not mean that we did not venture into new or different things. There was no preordained path for anyone to follow. So we were free to pursue whatever we wanted. Of course, there were disagreements and massive fights about the smallest of things but there was nothing that we could not move past and at our most difficult times we continue to stand together and prevail. We were trained for war… at the age of 21 I transferred my credits to North South from ABAC after my father suffered a heart attack and I had to take care of the family business while he recovered. We were trained to step in and take up the responsibility with strength minus the fear.And I think this particular training has been my story… actually our story.

After graduation and marriage that story continued into taking up new challenges in different fields… married life, MBA, different jobs, children and so much more. My in laws and I embraced each other at face value without pretense and expectations and it’s been a good journey so far (Alhamdulillah). I have been extremely lucky to have a partner who is very similar in his thoughts as mine, and we also choose to accept each other’s differences. Naveed continuously encourages me to walk the untrodden path and he has supported me throughout.

The work front has also been about making it my own. When you treat colleagues and work like your family and home, then your goals and visions are owned with more conviction. We meet and beat targets with more fervor when we own the role. Goals are met more easily when it’s a joint target, core values are inculcated more easily when we live by example. I have continued to take as many elements of my familial learnings into my professional world. It has not been easy. There have been layoffs and shutdowns and heartbreaks, and we have moved in different directions but one thing that has stayed with me is the connections I have made… be it colleagues, customers, strategic partners, we continue to be in touch. And that is what is the most important element in my life. My story has always been about that connection… whenever, wherever, however… It’s for life.

MBR: Each year bunch of female students graduate but remain unemployed. How do you suggest these female graduates to groom themselves beforehand?

Zara Mahbub: Grooming will have to start at home. One must be made ready right from birth with equal opportunity to meet the world. But I also recognize that not everyone gets that opportunity. So for anyone who has not had that opportunity, my first request is for you to partner with your families and loved ones for full support. Show them what your success will mean for them. Build your success circle.

Second, I would request you to do your homework about the job that you want, its future and your future. Is it what you want and can pursue for the rest of your life?

Third, nobody has the time to find you a job. Finding work itself is a full-time job so get organized about it and do a thorough research on what you are looking for and start looking far and wide with an open mind with a good resume. Find examples of what you have done in your life that will show whether or not you are a team player, goal oriented, focused, multitasker, etc. A mother going back from maternity leave is usually a fantastic candidate because of the patience and multitasking qualities that she has newly acquired!

Fourth, connect with people. Get on LinkedIn, Facebook or just pick up the phone and call - reach out to that person who can connect you to the person who’s looking for someone like you.

Fifth, get skilled. Get that training… do the time. Finally, always remember it is on you. So get out there on a mission and look your best with full ammunition. After all you will be competing with men and it is certainly not a level playing field for with them.

MBR: Will you kindly tell us how organizations can ensure gender equality and a safe environment for women?

Zara Mahbub: Organizations can ensure gender equality by taking a few basic steps. First, it needs to hire more women. Organizations must consciously hire more women.

Second, organizations need to take women into account when designing or building their facilities. Adequate number of washrooms, rest rooms, creche, breast feeding stations, prayer areas

Third, organizations need to recognize that women have different physiques and requirements than men. We need breaks during period pains, we need some breaks when we are pregnant, we get migraines more often than men... These are all natural and it’s not on us.

Fourth, gender equality needs to be hammered into everyone’s minds… Even the women! We are the first ones to forget that we can do a particular job as well as any other person. Afterall we did beat them in our course work at the universities. So it’s about time we took up the challenge at work too.

While I see our organizations moving towards accommodating these needs, there has to be a systemic change in the entire mindset to fully ensure gender equality and safety in the workplace.

MBR: You have been working in a number of industries: banking, IT, BPO for a long time. Will you please share with us the potential opportunities these industries offer to women?

Zara Mahbub: All the industries you mentioned have amazing opportunities for all, not just women. But if I must be specific, then yes, banking is an ageold traditional career path for women. Opportunities are endless in banking and financial institutions, but one has to keep in mind that these industries are also evolving into IT based digital platforms. So one needs to be ready for and train towards that inevitable shift.

IT and BPO are growing sectors that are excellent choices too. But I think it’s not about the industries… it’s again about mindset. Every industry has an opportunity that it offers. The main point is do I want to compete, take these opportunities and win? Do I want to stick around and absorb all the opportunities thrown at me and progress into higher roles? Or do I just take a job and make it just a job?

MBR: What are the possible challenges, women may face working in these particular industries?

Zara Mahbub: This is a deep-rooted question. The main challenges that I see in any industry is a woman’s confidence level. Can I do it?

We expect women to train themselves, walk in, take up a challenge and automatically break the glass ceilings? Sorry, but that doesn’t happen so easily. We raise our girls in glass cages all their lives and then suddenly expect them to waltz in, compete at equal levels and do a phenomenal job and shatter that ceiling! That’s not fair. For a gender that is not allowed to smile at and talk to strangers when we are growing up, expecting us to perform at equal levels is the biggest challenge.

So this has to begin at home. Our confidence levels have to be built at par with our siblings. We have to be told that we can do whatever we want. There is no girls’ job or boys’ job. And that is because there really isn’t! There is nothing a man can do that any other gender cannot.

Therefore, the main challenge that needs to be addressed is confidence level – at home and at work - my confidence, my employer’s confidence in me and my family’s belief that I can do anything in the world.

Confidence doesn’t come in a day… it comes over time with experience. We need to tell our daughters “Just as you study, do the laundry, help with cooking, lay the table and wash the dishes, you are already trained to multi task and take on complicated roles. So go get that training and continuously upskill yourself.” We need to train our boys to do the same at home and away so that our children grow up with confidence and strength and a sense of respect and equal responsibility.Armored with skills, confidence and strength, all other challenges will seem very trivial.