In this episode of Iron Lady Speaks, we sit down with Charu Sharma—a global technology leader with close to two decades of experience—who opens up about the one word that sent her down the wrong path for years: “grooming.”

She talks about what it is like to build a career in spaces most people do not fully understand, chase technical depth to fix a problem that was never technical, and discover the truth through a twelve-minute video that finally showed her what she had actually been living through.

In this conversation, she shares:

• How she went from being a “super below-average” student to becoming one of the leading voices in security and privacy

• Why she spent years pursuing certifications and deeper engineering expertise to solve a problem that had nothing to do with skill

• What it took to unlearn years of being told she was not fair enough to be seen

• Why she believes, “You get what you ask for—but you need to ask for it”

• How “The Question Behind the Question” helped her move out of victimhood

• What she wants every woman navigating bias in silence to know before spending another year misreading the feedback

A raw and honest conversation for every woman who has been solving the wrong problem for years without realising it.

Iron Lady Speaks is where women who have already made it come back to show others the way.

21 years in quality. Always the head of the department. Always interacting with CEOs. And still believing that her work alone would take care of everything.

In this episode of Iron Lady Speaks, Mohini Hanwate, Global Quality Lead at a top MNC, opens up about the one belief that kept her comfortable and stuck at the same time — "my work will speak for me."

She talks about what it's like leading a function that's always seen as "support." The challenge of doing everything right and still not being noticed. And the moment she realised she'd never once negotiated her salary in 21 years of her career.

In this conversation, she shares: How she went beyond basic quality compliance to driving real business value Why support functions are the first to get cut and how she survived The myth of "my work will speak for me" and what actually speaks Why she says "I get what I negotiate for, not what I deserve" What she wants to do for women in the quality function going forward

A raw, honest conversation for every woman in a support function who's been doing the work but not getting the recognition.

Iron Lady Speaks features real journeys from women leaders in the Iron Lady community.

👉 Explore the 100 Board Members Program: https://iamironlady.com/100-board-members

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In this episode of Iron Lady Speaks, Lakshmi Nayak — one of India's top ten legal specialists, Senior Director, and board member at a global MNC — shares her extraordinary journey.

She opens up about the reality of leading from roles that rarely get noticed. The behind-the-scenes work that keeps organisations running but never gets the recognition. The moment she asked herself — "Am I really enough to be on a global board?" And what it took to move past that self-doubt.

In this conversation, she talks about: The invisible weight of protecting a company's brand with ethics and integrity What happens when you have the answers but can't influence the room The self-doubt that comes even when you're the most capable person at the table How the right tools and ecosystem changed everything for her

A raw, honest conversation on leadership, influence, and what it really takes to move from being an overhead to being undeniable.

Iron Lady Speaks features real journeys from women leaders in the Iron Lady community.

👉 Want to build enterprise-level leadership capability? Explore the 100 Board Members Program: https://iamironlady.com/100-board-members

#IronLadySpeaks #Leadership #WomenLeadership #LegalLeadership #BoardMember #WomenInLaw