It’s the kind of question that successful women are often asked when International Women’s Day is approaching. “Which powerful woman do you admire the most?”
For a moment, Ashmita Krishna Sharma was lost for words. The Masters graduate in Financial Economics and Law (2012) couldn’t decide between so many excellent candidates before inspiration struck: “Captain Janeway from the TV series Star Trek Voyager!”
The science fiction show, which first aired in 1995, was ahead of its time. The starship captain brought her crew safely home from a far-flung part of the galaxy, surviving many adventures along the way and always practising diversity and inclusion. Ashmita has written a popular blogpost on her company website on what we can all learn from Captain Janeway such as her advice that ‘diversity of thinking often results in better problem solving.’
Meaningful change
After ten years in the corporate world, Ashmita now runs her own change management business. Sparkling Gems supports business people as they take the first steps to transform their organisation into one with diversity, inclusion and equality at its core.
“Having met people from many cultures and many backgrounds both at university and in my career, I’ve found underlying values are usually the same for everyone. We all need a decent work/life balance, good health is essential and creating equal opportunities is vital.” Ashmita reckons that if we achieve these aims while respecting our differences, it will help everyone to let their talents shine in the world."
“I am optimistic that meaningful change will come from young people who are passionate about these issues. Climate change and energy transition are also key and must be addressed without delay. The next generation is holding us accountable and wants to know what we are doing about it.” We have a duty towards our current and future generations.
"The next generation is holding us accountable and wants to know what we are doing about it.”
A turning point
Growing up in the Netherlands with Hindustani and Indian heritage, Ashmita was keen to become a lawyer “because I liked talking and wanted to get involved in social action.” She opted for the dual Bachelor and Masters degree at EUR, combining law and economics with involvement in youth politics and active membership of the FSR – Financial Study Association. She also studied in Vienna and Moscow.
Following university, Ashmita first joined the graduate programme at Shell working in energy transmission and renewables, then became a consultant in change management at Deloitte and eventually moved to the healthcare company Mediq. In this role, she combined the ‘day job’ in finance with growing responsibility for recruitment and increasing interest in diversity, inclusion, and equity.
The year 2020 proved a turning point for the young businesswoman. The murder of George Floyd, an unarmed African American man, by a policeman in Minneapolis, made Ashmita reflect on her career: “After ten years in the corporate world, I found myself asking what I had done to contribute to the causes I cared about. I remembered an earlier conversation with a colleague who had expressed surprise that I treated a cleaner and a Head of Department in just the same way; they said it was silly and I was disappointed. Diversity, inclusion and equality need to become more prominent in business so I decided to support companies to engage with these principles.”
Making DEI the norm
Starting a business in mid-summer turned out to be a challenge. Ashmita put her earlier enthusiasm for entrepreneurship at EUR to the test and gave herself a target of three months to earn enough to pay the bills. Hard work paid off and her business is now doing well as she aims to make diversity, inclusion and equity the norm in every organisation. “I’m the founder of Sparkling Gems, but I am not alone. Sparkling Gems is a networking organization working together with many other (DEI) professionals and solution providers in a personal passion of mine: gamification.”
On International Women’s Day, Ashmita hopes today’s young women achieve their aims and ambitions, whether they want to aim for the stars or stay closer to home.
“My advice is to be authentic, know who you are, where you come from and what is important to you. You shouldn’t feel pushed into living your life in a way that other people say you should. It’s also important to keep learning and developing as it will help you to grow and flourish. Let your own gem sparkle.”