Watch: Radhika Gupta on the need for gender diversity

Radhika Gupta, managing director and CEO of Edelweiss Asset Management, made her debut on the Fortune India Most Powerful Women (MPW) in Business list in 2020. Under her leadership, Edelweiss Mutual Fund (MF) operated by Edelweiss Asset Management has been the fastest growing fund house with quarterly average assets under management (AUM) of over ₹41,423 crore at the end of December 2020, growing by nearly 234% over ₹12,414 crore at the end of December 2019.

Thanking various stalwarts, including veteran banker K.V. Kamath, Gupta says that the broader financial services industry has traditionally been the flag-bearer of gender diversity, with a lot of women in leadership roles, and a sizeable presence at the workplace. However that diversity has not spread to the MF industry, as there have been very few women CEOs , or head of equities, or sales. “Of the 150-200 leadership positions in the MF industry, maybe five-seven are occupied by women,” says Gupta.

Without undermining the loss that people at large have suffered due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Gupta says that for her, it had its benefits. For example, last year, she spent a month around Diwali at her New Delhi home with her parents, something that she had not done since she was 17. “The pandemic has brought balance in my life in a truer sense,” she says. “If utilised right, the pandemic can be the best for both women and employers,” says Gupta. “It gives employers a chance to tap female talent from different parts of the country and not just restrict [it] to tier 1 cities.” It will also help women who want to get back to the workforce, as eight hour work days can be achieved from home while managing other responsibilities, she says.