MAM
Harsha Joshi appointed as VivaKi Exchange COO
MUMBAI: VivaKi India has appointed Harsha Joshi to the post of COO at VivaKi Exchange.
Joshi will spearhead and oversee the media buying for Starcom MediaVest Group and Zenith Optimedia. She will report into VivaKi Exchange CEO Mona Jain.
Prior to this Joshi was with Spatial Access Media Solutions where she was SA3- Media and International CEO.
Joshi has over two decades of media planning, buying and digital experience. She brings with her knowledge of media buying audit, which includes development of rate benchmarks and devising buying process and buying strategy across all media.
Joshi™s work span includes working on clients such as P&G, Godrej, Cadbury, Asian paints, Coco Cola, Britannia, Colgate and HUL.
VivaKi (India) country chair Srikant Sastri said, “VivaKi Exchange (VX) has a great reputation for delivering buying value to clients of both SMG & ZO. Having an experienced person like Harsha focus more deeply on this will bring greater investment acumen and innovation.”
Jain said, “Harsha brings to the table years of experience in media buying as well as media audit. Her collaborative approach and win-win attitude have earned her the respect of media owners and clients alike. Her deep knowledge of the media market and that of clients and media owners will help VX consolidate.”
Joshi said, “I am delighted to return to main stream media post my short, but successful stint in Media Audit which I will leverage to deliver better value to VX and its clients. I am looking forward to this new and exciting chapter in my career.”
VivaKi Exchange services from pre-buy evaluation to post-buy reporting and analysis. In addition it also offers a full-suite of marketing and audience data to better inform each buy. It is also involved in testing new models and automating transactional components of buying and measuring media when and where it benefits clients to do so.
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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.
