Working Moms: The Powerhouse of PhonePe

All mothers are superheroes — They have the superpower to spread happiness, manage multiple priorities, and solve all problems. Motherhood strengthens resilience, resourcefulness, and influencing skills. Being a mother is like a crash course from the best management school in the world. That’s why PhonePe has consistently made efforts to be an inclusive workplace for mothers and create a nurturing, supportive, and welcoming environment for them. Learn more about PhonePe’s parental support efforts here.

Here are a few inspirational stories of mothers@PhonePe balancing motherhood and their professional lives:

Baby Pruthvi, Senior Manager, Design, CX & Ops, PhonePe

As a new mother, initially, it was tough to balance motherhood and my career, but the mother-friendly HR policies helped a lot. After I returned to work, I led a critical project BOT SWAT and it earned us the CX Game Changer Award from Freshworks. Such instances have been reassuring as PhonePe has been supportive throughout my transition to work, giving me suitable projects that I can handle. I was also provided with flexible work timings to accommodate my baby’s routine. My manager and the team have always been encouraging and supportive, which helped me manage my personal and professional life effectively. As a working mother, my experience at PhonePe has been amazing!

Advice for fellow mothers: Believe in yourself and focus on delivering the best. In other words, you do you!

Valencia Lobo, Head of Insurance Operations, PhonePe

I joined PhonePe in 2020 when my son was just 1.8 years old. Balancing motherhood and a career is never easy, but thanks to the proximity of PhonePe office and the flexibility in my working hours, I was able to tend to my son’s needs, whether it is school pickup/drop or doctor appointments while not compromising on work deadlines. My proudest moment was when I worked on a major project migrating insurance services to PhonePe insurance broking while managing my son at the same time. With support from my family at home and understanding colleagues/managers at work, I have not faced any challenges as a working mother.

Advice for fellow mothers: Don’t compromise, as things do fall into place eventually. Give it time, and it will become manageable.

Sonika Chandra, Head of Consumer Platform & Payments, PhonePe

What worked well for me as a mother at the start, was having the clarity that motherhood and my career were not going to be trade-offs with each other. Each aspect played a really important role in my life and I needed both to be happy. It really helped that I had a wonderful support system in the form of colleagues, managers, and family. Having an enabling and supportive work and personal environment has been a critical part of my growth. In fact, I got my toughest assignment just two months after I came back from my maternity leave, and it gave me immense confidence to see the trust that my fellow colleagues had in me. After that, I felt that I could handle anything. This further motivated me to figure out the right routine and creative ways in which to spend time with my son!

Advice for fellow mothers: Don’t be so hard on yourself, do what works for you and that which makes you happy. You don’t have to prove a point to anyone. Most importantly — take it one day at a time!

Ruchi Tripathi, Service Management, CX & Ops, PhonePe

As a new mother, I was struggling with motherhood and getting back to work because I don’t have any support at home. But thanks to my supportive manager, the buddy program, and the creche facility at PhonePe, I had a positive experience transitioning to work. The creche facility gave me the confidence that my child is well taken care of. This gives me peace of mind while I am at work. As for the buddy program, I was assigned a fellow PhonePe-r who is an experienced working mom. She helped me with any questions I had on what it means to be a working mom so that I knew well in advance what to expect for balancing the act at home and the office.

Advice for fellow mothers: Stay confident and don’t listen to anyone who tells you to compromise your dreams, goals, and career. Use facilities and available resources provided at work to balance work and parenting effectively.

Priya Dharshini, Software Engineer, PhonePe

Before and after motherhood, I was involved in a code modularisation project in the payments business. I started working on it during my pregnancy and resumed work after my maternity leave. During my transition to work, my team has been supportive even in small things like including me in the same projects I managed before my maternity leave and avoiding con-calls in the evenings. During the early stages of my daughter’s life, I had support from my family, which allowed me to balance my career. But I’ve faced challenging times during my second pregnancy when I didn’t have much support at home. However, managing both roles became easier with a balance. I got house help/nanny for the kids and tried avoiding work conversations once I am home.

Advice for fellow mothers: It is possible to balance both worlds without compromising your career so look for opportunities that allow you to do it.

Monalisa Tripathy, Engineering Manager, PhonePe

My manager and team have always been available to help. It made a lot of difference for me, especially during COVID lockdown days when there was no support from my family or house help. Even in PhonePe, despite coming from a non-fintech background, my managers and team were always supportive and encouraging which helped me deliver critical projects at ease and also made the work-motherhood balance achievable. Their trust in me and my decisions empowered me to take on challenges and grow in my career. With proper time management and prioritization, balancing my career and parenthood has been achievable. I owe a great deal of my success to the support I have received from PhonePe.

Advice for fellow mothers: Being a working mother will be full of uncertainties in the beginning. Do not fear it; if you fail it’s a learning, but if you overcome these initial challenges, it’s an achievement.