Against The Odds

YouTube CEO, Susan Wojcicki, is one of the earliest members of the Google team and it was in her garage in the US that the Google founders laid the foundation of the $136 billion technology giant. She went on to become the first marketing manager of the company, way back in 1999. Therefore, it was surprising to hear from a senior business leader like her, who is also on the board of Google and plays a key role in decision making, say that being a board level woman leader isn't easy. Wojcicki says that though it's most often unintentional and unconscious, her male counterparts have many a time tried to overpower her in boardroom discussions. Getting her voice heard has not always been easy and that over the years she has come up with techniques to make sure she is not taken lightly. "I always get my opinion across. I always say what's in my mind. I don't give up, I keep saying it," she says.

Pippa Scaife, Commercial Director, Emerging Brands, CNN, echoes the thought. "I have been in lots of companies and lots of situations when your male peers don't necessarily act as if you are a peer in the meeting. You have to shout and sometimes you have to make sure you are part