With International Women’s Day just past, we are continuing to spotlight voices from across the industry as part of our IWD Voices series. Leaders will share their journeys, experiences, insights, and the lessons that have shaped them.
Next up, we speak with Sadhvi Sharma, Co-Founder at TheHireHub.AI.
In our conversation, Sadhvi reflects on how the same qualities are read differently depending on who displays them, and how her understanding of fairness has shifted from equal treatment to deliberate, calibrated support.
She also discusses the responsibility senior leaders carry in moving beyond policies to shape culture, and the internalized guilt around ambition and boundaries that she hopes the next generation of women will not have to carry.
The theme for International Women’s Day 2026 is “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls.” What does this mean to you professionally and personally?
To me, it isn’t just a celebration. It’s a quiet reminder. That more than half the world carries immense capability, intelligence, and strength, and yet recognition doesn’t always come as easily as it should.
In the corporate world, I’ve often noticed how the same qualities are described differently depending on who displays them. Confidence can be read as aggression. Clarity can be called “too much.” Ambition can feel uncomfortable, especially when it comes from a woman.
Inclusion is something we speak about often, and that’s important. But it becomes meaningful only when it moves beyond statements and into everyday decisions such as hiring choices, promotions, feedback, pay structures, and opportunities.
For me, real progress looks steady and intentional. It is being aware of our biases. It is choosing fairness in small moments. It is creating environments where women don’t have to soften themselves to be accepted.
Because many of the traits that are misunderstood are, in reality, leadership strengths such as resilience, conviction, emotional intelligence, and courage.
And perhaps that is what this day asks of us. Not just to celebrate women, but to build systems where they do not have to fight quite as hard to belong.
What first drew you to your industry, and was there a defining moment that set your career in motion? Was there a role model who influenced you early on?
I was drawn to psychology before I was drawn to business. I have always been curious about people. What drives them. What holds them back. How power operates in subtle ways.
That curiosity evolved into learning more about organizational development and human capital. I became deeply interested in how workplaces shape identity and opportunity. That naturally led me to talent strategy and executive search.
The defining moment for me was not glamorous. It was observing how leadership decisions quietly altered the trajectory of entire organizations. Who rose. Who stagnated. Who burned out. I realized that influence does not only sit at the top. It sits in who gets placed at the top.
Early on, I was influenced by strong, intelligent women who carried authority without theatrics. They did not dominate rooms. They understood them. That distinction shaped my view of power. Leadership is not noise. It is clarity and positioning.
That is where I understood that access to leadership is not just about opportunity. It is about structural sponsorship.
How has your understanding of fairness changed as you’ve gained experience and seniority?
Early in my career, I believed fairness meant treating everyone the same.
With experience, I have learned that fairness means calibrated support. Equality assumes everyone starts from the same place. Equity recognizes that they do not.
Some people need access. Some need advocacy. Some need protection from bias that others will never experience. Fairness is not neutral. It requires deliberate design.
It also requires self-reflection. It is uncomfortable to confront unconscious bias, including your own. It is uncomfortable to notice that confidence in men is praised, while the same behaviour in women is labelled aggressive. It is uncomfortable to ask who gets interrupted and who gets credited.
Fairness cannot be passive. It has to be discussed openly, even when the environment resists it. Sometimes it means putting the difficult conversation on the table and refusing to let it be dismissed.
As conversations around women and work have evolved, what do you think has genuinely improved—and where do you think more attention and action are still needed?
There has been real progress.
Women speak more openly about ambition now. That shift matters. More women are being entrusted with roles that were historically coded as male. The idea that leadership has a gender is being challenged.
In progressive organizations, maternity is less likely to be career-ending. Conversations around mental health and burnout are more normalized. Period leave and diversity initiatives are being discussed with seriousness rather than discomfort.
But there is still work to be done.
Emotional labour remains disproportionately female. Women leaders are still evaluated on likeability alongside competence. Sponsorship gaps persist, especially in mid-career stages. Financial literacy and participation in wealth-building mechanisms like ESOPs and equity ownership are not democratized enough for women.
The next frontier is not panels or symbolic inclusion. It is capital allocation and decision-making power.
Is there a project or initiative you’ve worked on related to women’s empowerment that you’re particularly proud of? What made it meaningful to you?
Two phases of my career stand out.
During my time at Dr. B R Ambedkar Medical College, I worked on issues surrounding mental health in women. What stayed with me was how invisible emotional strain can be, especially when it is normalized. That experience grounded my understanding of how systemic pressures affect women long before they enter corporate spaces.
More women are being entrusted with roles that were historically coded as male. The idea that leadership has a gender is being challenged.
Later, as Chief of Staff at Athena Executive Search and Consulting, I was responsible for driving DE&I and L&D initiatives internally. We conducted workshops and sessions around inclusivity and equity in the workplace. What made it meaningful was not the sessions themselves, but the conversations that followed. When people begin to question their assumptions, culture shifts quietly but powerfully.
Those experiences shaped my belief that change is both structural and psychological.
Now, building in HR tech, my focus is on enabling organizations to measure talent and performance more objectively. Data cannot solve bias on its own, but when used responsibly, it can reduce the subjectivity that often disadvantages women.
What responsibility do senior leaders have in shaping more equitable workplaces, beyond statements or policies?
Senior leaders carry the responsibility of moving from performative allyship to structural accountability.
Policies are the baseline. Culture is the real lever.
Leadership must attach DEI outcomes to compensation. What gets measured and rewarded gets prioritized. Gender ratios in leadership should be tracked transparently. Subtle disrespect should not be dismissed as a personality conflict. Sponsorship must go beyond mentorship. Mentorship advises. Sponsorship advocates in rooms you are not in.
I want the next generation of women to enter the workforce without internalized guilt.
Culture is shaped in closed rooms where decisions are made, not on public panels where statements are delivered.
If leaders are not willing to challenge their own comfort, equity will remain aspirational.
What is one change you would like to see in workplaces for the next generation of women?
I want the next generation of women to enter the workforce without internalized guilt.
Guilt for being ambitious.
Guilt for setting boundaries.
Guilt for earning more.
Guilt for choosing differently.
I also want them to feel confident in using their voice. To say clearly what they believe is right and wrong. To consider themselves important enough to contribute to conversations that shape systems. To step forward without constantly questioning whether they belong.
At the same time, I hope they stay grounded. Power without self awareness is not progress.
If Rights. Justice. Action. is to mean anything, it must translate into measurable shifts in power and participation. Not just inspiring messages, but visible structural change.
And as women leaders, we must model that shift openly.
