Women-led. Leadership at Mehera Shaw

March 08, 2021

 

As the co-owner and executive director of Mehera Shaw, I have often been asked what it’s like as a women, to run a fair trade, artisan manufacturing company based in India.  The deeper implication of the question is usually how I manage in a patriarchal society.  Yes, it is a challenge on many fronts. 

 

I had to learn on the ground.  I came from an academic background and had to learn about business, working in India and being a director all at the same time.  The very reason my husband and I started this business was to ensure fair trade labor standards would be at the core of our company.  As director, I had to learn what this really meant in daily practice and how to ensure those standards —equity, living wages, on time wages, safe working environment, to name a few— were maintained.  It was a steep learning curve and while it has gotten easier, it is always a process of learning, understanding, adjusting.

 

I am also a foreigner.  While I have a deep connection to India stretching back to my grandparents time and have been visiting, living in and studying India all my life, I continue to learn more on a daily basis, about India and working within the artisan context in India.  It is a balancing act.  Being a foreigner has been both an advantage and disadvantage. As an American, I feel I come from a background which has helped me be more assertive and set expectations. I’ve addressed gender equality within our company regularly, the need for it, the significance of it and how to maintain it in the workplace.  I discuss the need educate girl children and value women’s rights with our team.  It was very hard making these points in the early days of our company, but now I see many ways in which both men and women are changing their perspectives and putting values of equality into daily practice. 

 

In the early days of our company, I had expectations that didn’t match the circumstances of the work.  I’ve learned through experience to take the context into consideration at all times. I am always adjusting and deepening my understanding.  After a lifetime of learning about India and twenty plus years as a business owner in India, I find myself humbled on a daily basis by what our team accomplishes, their skills, their dedication.  I also see a change in both men and women in our company, toward upholding fair trade values themselves. 

 

At the core of my own leadership style as a woman, is showing respect—for the individuals, their skills, their families, the context of their lives and the culture.  I find leadership is more about understanding every situation from another person’s perspective than telling people what to do.  Putting people first isn’t just a nice tagline, it is a practice. It means I need to listen, understand what our team is facing, what the challenges are, what’s working, what’s not.  Solicit and listen to suggestions.  Convey my appreciation, my trust, my support.  Develop training programs, better protocols and approaches when issues arise.

 

We have grown up together as a company, and developed a set of standards for the work, the finished product, for teamwork.  To me, leadership is about supporting our team so that everyone is a valued member and instilling that sense of teamwork, pride in one’s work, self respect and dignity in each and every person.

--Shari Keller

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