MAM
Dentsu India appoints Malvika Mehra as chief creative officer
MUMBAI: Dentsu India – the holistic brand solutions agency from the house of Dentsu Aegis Network (DAN), has roped in Malvika Mehra, erstwhile founder and creative director of Tomorrow Creative Lab, as chief creative officer. As part of the mandate, Mehra will now be responsible for the agency’s creative duties across all offices. Dentsu India will also launch Dentsu India Tomorrow Lab – the new design and innovation unit, under her creative leadership.
More than two decades of successfully partnering clients in building famous brands across two advertising agencies (Ogilvy and Grey), and her own independent venture, Tomorrow, has earned Malvika a prominent name in the industry. Some of her more famous brand work has been on ITC Foods’ Bingo!, Vodafone, State Bank of India, Gillette, Reliance Telecom, Dell, Fiat, Honda, Duracell, and the Indian Army.
As an entrepreneur, under the Tomorrow brand, Malvika has handled brand strategy, design and communication for the artificial intelligence and data analytics company, Fractal Analytics Inc, Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Ashiana Housing, NDTV, Arvind Group, Hotstar, Oyo Rooms, Awfis Co-working Spaces, Streamcast Technologies, Vivaana Hospitality, and Generico Chemists amongst others.
A two-time Cannes Gold Lion and D&AD pencil winner, Malvika has served jury duty across categories like film, print and design at international advertising and design festivals like Cannes, Clio and Spikes Asia.
Speaking on the new appointment, Dentsu India CEO Simi Sabhaney said, “I am delighted to welcome Malvika to the Dentsu family. I have worked with her in the past, and I must say it was a rather fruitful experience. I respect Malvika for her fine design thinking ability, entrepreneurial spirit and her hunger to create great work that works.”
Malvika Mehra said, “Change is the only constant. Anyone worth his or her salt interested in creating game changing brands of the future, needs to be agile and learn to adapt, quickly. Joining Dentsu India as CCO, has been the most interesting pivot in my entrepreneurial journey. With the backing of the robust, truly collaborative DAN network and teams and a solid, go-getter business partner in Simi, I get to play that fancy word, intrapreneur for real. And continue to place the brand, at the golden intersection of ideas (of course), but also design and technology, for all our amazing clients.”
Brands
33 per cent of women believe the salary scale is rigged: Naukri report
Voices @ Work study finds rising calls for equal pay audits and lingering bias
MUMBAI: Progress may be visible in India’s workplaces, but many women still feel the need to tread carefully. A new report by Naukri reveals that one in two women hesitate to disclose marriage or maternity plans during job interviews, worried that such information could influence hiring decisions.
The findings come from the second edition of Naukri’s annual Voices @ Work International Women’s Day report, titled “What Women Professionals Want.” Drawing insights from more than 50,000 women across over 50 industries, the survey sheds light on evolving workplace aspirations alongside the biases that continue to hold women back.
One of the report’s most striking insights is the growing demand for equal pay audits. The share of women calling for regular pay parity checks has climbed to 27 per cent this year, up from 19 per cent a year ago. The demand now stands alongside menstrual leave as the most sought after workplace policy.
Interestingly, the call for pay transparency grows louder higher up the income ladder. Nearly half of women earning between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore annually say equal pay audits are a priority, suggesting that pay gaps become more visible as women move up the career ladder.
At the same time, confidence and ambition appear to be rising. About 83 per cent of women say they feel encouraged to pursue leadership roles, a significant jump from 66 per cent last year. Cities in southern India appear particularly supportive, with Hyderabad leading the way as 86 per cent of respondents there reported encouragement to step into leadership positions. The education sector recorded the highest sense of encouragement at 87 per cent.
Yet the report also highlights a growing trust deficit around pay equity. Nearly one in three women, or 33 per cent, say they do not believe men and women are paid equally at their workplace. That figure has risen from 25 per cent last year, pointing to widening perceptions of disparity as careers progress.
Bias in hiring and promotions continues to be the biggest hurdle. About 42 per cent of respondents say workplace bias is the main challenge for women from diverse backgrounds. The concern is consistent across major metros, with Chennai and Delhi NCR reporting similar levels.
Reluctance to discuss personal milestones during hiring processes is also widespread. While 34 per cent overall said they hesitate to share marriage or maternity plans in interviews, the anxiety increases with experience. Among professionals with 10 to 15 years of work experience, the figure rises to 40 per cent.
Info Edge group CMO Sumeet Singh, said the data reflects both progress and unfinished work. “Behind every data point in this report is a woman who is ambitious. The fact that 83 per cent feel encouraged to lead is something to celebrate. However, the fact that one in two still hide their marriage or maternity plans in interviews tells us the work is far from done. As India’s leading career platform, it felt not just important but necessary for us to shine a light on these gaps through the second edition of our report,” he said.
The report suggests that while ambition among women professionals is growing, structural changes around pay transparency, fair hiring and supportive policies will be key if workplaces hope to keep pace.
