Access to Capital Remains a Consistent Barrier for Women Entrepreneurs: Saregama Vice Chair Avarna Jain

I can only speak from my own experience and I have never personally felt evaluated differently because I am a woman. Perhaps that is a function of my family environment, or the circumstances in which I grew up and work. I was always encouraged to focus on competence, not comparison.

At Saregama, expectations are performance-driven. The business is over a century old; it demands rigour from anyone who leads it. The landscape overall has certainly evolved, with more women stepping into decision-making roles in legacy groups. But in my own journey, the benchmark has simply been delivery.

Not in a gendered sense. The pressure was never about being a woman, it was about being responsible for an institution like Saregama, which carries enormous cultural and commercial significance.

Any leader in that position would feel the weight of stewardship. My focus was on ensuring relevance in a digital-first era, strengthening IP ownership, and building for the long term. The pressure comes from ambition for the business, not from identity.

There is unquestionably more representation today, but what interests me more is influence.

In sectors like music and media, power increasingly sits with those who control IP and capital allocation. At Saregama, that means strategic rights acquisition, catalogue monetisation and global partnerships.

Through platforms like The Hollywood Reporter India, I see women negotiating from positions of strength. The shift is happening, and it feels structural rather than cosmetic.

Again, I can only speak personally, ambition was never discouraged in my family. It was a given, that if you were in a role, you would perform to the fullest of your ability - whether it was in school exams or at home. This has been true for me as a kid and is the standard I hold myself to even today.

More broadly, perceptions are evolving. In fast-moving industries like music, media and digital content, results override stereotypes. The revered Sanjay Leela Bhansali Productions recently became part of Saregama . Mr Bhansali had faith in this partnership and in a way validated all the hard work that we as a team put in over the years . Performance has a way of neutralising labels.

Access to capital remains the most consistent structural barrier, but it is deeply interconnected with the care economy.

At multiple forums of the BRICS Women’s Business Alliance, we’ve discussed how women-led businesses often operate within a dual responsibility framework. Women are building enterprises while simultaneously carrying a disproportionate share of caregiving, for children, elders and households.

This affects risk appetite, scalability and investor perception. Capital markets still tend to reward uninterrupted growth trajectories, without always accounting for invisible care burdens that disproportionately impact women.

If we are serious about unlocking women-led economic growth, we must address both, create more intentional capital pools for women entrepreneurs and strengthen policies and infrastructure around childcare and eldercare.

When care work is recognised as economic infrastructure, not just personal responsibility, women-led businesses can scale faster and more sustainably.

I like to believe I still have a lot to learn myself and a long way to go. However, since you ask - Focus on building deep capability.

Whether it is understanding royalties and licensing at Saregama, or analysing balance sheets in any other sector — financial and strategic literacy build lasting authority. I also firmly believe in investing in the right people - you are as strong as your team. Bring in those with domain knowledge and expertise and then empower them.

Leadership is not about proving a point. It is about creating value consistently.

Absolutely. You really can’t ignore more than half your audience!

Women today are economically decisive and culturally influential. In music, they drive discovery and trends. In media, they shape narratives. That shift changes commissioning strategies, marketing approaches and brand partnerships at Saregama and across all our media platforms.

The realisation that legacy must evolve. Stay true to your roots, but don’t be scared to make changes.

At Saregama, balancing a historic catalogue with aggressive digital transformation required clarity of purpose. Leadership, for me, became about preserving cultural heritage while ensuring contemporary relevance.