We have an epic team at NYSHEX! To celebrate International Women’s Day, we interviewed two of our powerhouse NYSHEX women to ask them their thoughts about the future and what they would say to the next generation of women in shipping.
What makes you unique or something about you that few know?
- Jenny: Most people eat to live. I live to eat. It’s more than just taste and substance. A new dish can be an experience akin to sightseeing and traveling. Food brings people together and as often as it may be that it’s taken for granted, it’s an indispensable and often sacred thing that can be infinitely explored.
- Sharmishtha: I am a good communicator and find it easy to relate to other people. Few people know that I love planning/organizing events and traveling. This helps me to meet like-minded peopled and collaborate with them
What is your favorite thing about being a woman?
- Jenny: My favorite thing about being a woman has to be the bond I can have with other women—the relationships and love between my girlfriends, my family, and even new friendships that are easily formed from the support of other women. I find the “as women, we should stick together” mentality to be empowering.
- Sharmishtha: Women are great problem solvers as they can decode verbal clues and body languages easily. We are great at multi-tasking which allows us to rapidly switch and prioritize different tasks.
What made you decide to get into shipping?
- Jenny: I wasn’t too familiar with the shipping industry and when I graduated from college, I was interested in working somewhere I would be learning from day one.
- Sharmishtha: The majority of my past experience has been in finance where I enjoyed building trading platforms, but I always wanted to do something unique that was out of my comfort zone. Shipping was just the right path.
What do you believe will be the biggest challenge for the generation of women behind you?
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- Jenny: I want to see young girls in the next generation continuing to enter male-dominated fields. In recent years, this has become more possible with STEM programs created to provide them with the resources and support to succeed in fields where women have long been underrepresented.
- Sharmishtha: In shipping, a lot of problems remain unsolved – or, if solved – it’s a low-tech solution that doesn’t scale. An innovator can really make a huge impact in this industry so I want to encourage women to rise to the challenge.
What qualities make a good leader?
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- Jenny: The most important quality of a good leader is compassion. It is an admirable trait to be able to put oneself in another’s shoes because the natural consequence is the ability to truly value the efforts of others.
- Sharmishtha: A good leader is someone who is leads by example and someone who can inspire colleagues even in the toughest times to maintain momentum.
If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would that be?
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- Jenny: As ubiquitous as it may be, it would have to be “stop comparing yourself to others.” Each one of us has a different path and walks at a different pace. The moment we stop comparing ourselves to other people, whether that’s comparing academics or careers or personal lives, that is when we can truly make progress with ourselves.
- Sharmishtha: To build on my emotional quotient so that I am better prepared to face this competitive world.
Happy International Women’s Day to all the ladies, both in the workplace and at home, propelling the world forward!