Although International Women’s Day has passed, we are dedicating the entire month of March to spotlighting 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 Shoumili Maitra, Client Director at Landor.
Shoumili reflects on what the IWD 2026 theme means to her — personally and professionally — and shares how her understanding of fairness has evolved over the course of her career. She also speaks to what has genuinely improved for women in the workplace and where she believes more attention and action are still needed.
She also discusses the responsibility senior leaders hold in shaping equitable cultures beyond statements and policies, and the workplace change she most hopes the next generation of women will benefit from.
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, the word that stands out most is action.
Rights and justice are powerful ideals, but action is what makes them tangible. It’s what moves equality from a conversation to a lived reality.
Professionally, as a Client Director at Landor, I think a lot about the influence brands have on culture. Branding isn’t just aesthetics or messaging, it shapes what people see as possible, normal and aspirational. So action, for me, means going beyond token representation.
It’s about asking harder questions: whose voices are missing from the table? are we portraying women with nuance or defaulting to easy stereotypes? Because every piece of communication either reinforces the status quo or quietly challenges it. And that choice is ours.
Rights and justice are powerful ideals, but action is what makes them tangible. It’s what moves equality from a conversation to a lived reality.
Personally, action feels more intimate and human. It’s about showing up consistently, helping others build confidence, resilience, and belief in their own potential. Even small steps, repeated over time, create ripples far bigger than they seem.
That, to me, is action in its truest form. That’s where change truly begins.
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?
My path into branding wasn’t exactly planned. I majored in Economics through the London School of Economics, which sparked my interest in understanding how people think and make decisions. That curiosity led me to begin my career in marketing research, a subject I had genuinely enjoyed studying.
There wasn’t one defining moment or a single early role model. Instead, it has been a steady accumulation of experiences, teams and mentors that shaped my perspective over time.
While I valued the rigour and clarity research brought, I soon found myself wanting to go beyond analysing behaviour to shaping it. I was increasingly drawn to blue sky thinking, where strategy meets imagination and ideas can influence culture more directly. Branding felt like that intersection. It combined logic with storytelling and gave me the chance to build, not just evaluate. That shift, from explaining the world as it is to imagining what it could be, is what truly set my career in motion.
There wasn’t one defining moment or a single early role model. Instead, it has been a steady accumulation of experiences, teams and mentors that shaped my perspective over time. Each one taught me how to think sharper, lead with empathy and create space for others. In hindsight, it’s that gradual build, rather than any one big turning point, that has defined my journey.
How has your understanding of fairness changed as you’ve gained experience and seniority?
Early in my career, I understood fairness in simple terms. Equal opportunity, equal treatment, a level playing field. It felt straightforward and procedural. Over time, I’ve realised fairness is far less passive than that. It isn’t just a principle you agree with. It’s an active responsibility you practise every day.
In the workplace, fairness often shows up in small decisions. Whose voice gets heard. Who gets the stretch opportunity.
It’s not about treating everyone the same, but recognising that people start from very different places and may need different kinds of support to truly thrive. That takes listening more closely, understanding context and sometimes stepping in with intention, not just good intent.
In the workplace, fairness often shows up in small decisions. Whose voice gets heard. Who gets the stretch opportunity. Who might be overlooked simply because they are quieter or less visible. Who you choose to advocate for or mentor. Individually, these moments feel minor, but over time they shape confidence, access and careers.
For me now, fairness isn’t about sameness. It’s about empathy, access and deliberate action.
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?
A lot has surely improved. Conversations that once felt difficult or sidelined are now happening far more openly. There’s greater visibility of women in leadership, more flexibility in how we work, and a broader acceptance that careers don’t have to follow one rigid path to be successful. Even the language has evolved. Topics like burnout, boundaries and caregiving responsibilities are now acknowledged as part of working life, not exceptions to it.
The gaps aren’t always explicit; they show up in who gets trusted with high-impact assignments, whose ideas are taken seriously, who is seen as ‘leadership material’, and who gets overlooked simply for being less visible or balancing other responsibilities.
I’ve also been fortunate to see what progress looks like up close at Landor, where we have a women-heavy leadership team. Working closely with leaders like Lulu Raghavan, who guides the region as APAC President, Geet Nazir, who leads our India studio, and my manager Ronita Mukerjee, who heads the Client Servicing team, has quietly normalised something powerful: women leading regions, studios and teams with clarity and ease.
That kind of everyday representation quietly expands what feels possible.
But visibility alone isn’t equity.
Generally speaking, where more attention and action are still needed is in the quieter, often unspoken biases that continue to shape women’s experiences at work. The gaps aren’t always explicit; they show up in who gets trusted with high-impact assignments, whose ideas are taken seriously, who is seen as ‘leadership material’, and who gets overlooked simply for being less visible or balancing other responsibilities.
These small, subjective decisions compound over time and quietly influence women’s confidence, growth and progression. For me, real progress now means being far more intentional about access and opportunity for women, not just representation.
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?
One initiative that’s been especially meaningful to me has been my mentoring work with the LightHouse Project. Over the past few years, I’ve worked one on one with a young girl from an underserved background through structured sessions focused on building foundational life skills such as communication, emotional resilience and confidence, so she feels better equipped to navigate opportunities in her education and eventually the professional world.
What makes it meaningful is how personal and tangible the impact feels. It isn’t large scale or headline worthy. It’s small, consistent conversations that slowly build self belief. Watching her grow more assured in how she expresses herself and navigates decisions has reinforced for me that empowerment often starts with the basics, helping someone simply feel seen and capable.
Helping even one girl believe in her potential can create a ripple effect far beyond what we see. That, to me, is what empowerment truly looks like.
This instinct to show up for others was ingrained in me early on. My mother encouraged me to take part in small community efforts supporting children and families with fewer opportunities, lessons that quietly shaped my sense of responsibility.
So while my professional work focuses on brands and businesses, this one-on-one engagement feels like impact at its most human. Helping even one girl believe in her potential can create a ripple effect far beyond what we see. That, to me, is what empowerment truly looks like.
What responsibility do senior leaders have in shaping more equitable workplaces, beyond statements or policies?
Senior leaders shape culture more than anything else, and culture isn’t built through policies or statements. It’s built through everyday behaviour.
Equity shows up in the signals leaders send through their actions, in the opportunities they create, the trust they place in people and the consistency with which they support their teams. Over time, those choices quietly determine who feels valued and who has room to grow.
It’s less about saying the right things and more about consistently doing the right things. People notice that difference very quickly.
What is one change you would like to see in workplaces for the next generation of women?
I would love to see workplaces designed with more flexibility and trust by default, rather than expecting women to constantly adapt themselves to rigid systems.
Too often, success is still tied to a very linear model of working, one that doesn’t account for different life stages, caregiving responsibilities or simply different ways of working. The next generation shouldn’t have to choose between ambition and balance, or feel like they are asking for exceptions to succeed.
Too often, success is still tied to a very linear model of working, one that doesn’t account for different life stages, caregiving responsibilities or simply different ways of working.
My hope is for environments where flexibility, empathy and equitable opportunity are built into the structure from the start, so women can focus on doing their best work without having to justify their circumstances. That shift, from accommodation to intention, would make a meaningful difference.
Quick Hits:
A trend you are excited about, or not excited about
AI is the shift I’m most excited about. It’s not a trend, it’s becoming foundational. It removes the repetitive work and accelerates execution, freeing us up to think more strategically and creatively.
What I’m cautious about is treating it like a shortcut. Without human judgment and originality, faster doesn’t always mean better.
A creative campaign or representation of women that inspired you or made you feel seen
One campaign that’s always stayed with me is Nike’s ‘Dream Crazier’.
It takes a word often used to diminish women and flips it into a badge of strength. What’s labelled ‘crazy’ becomes passion, resilience and courage. It’s a simple but powerful reminder that progress often comes from challenging expectations, and that the right story can expand what women believe is possible for themselves.
A piece of advice that stayed with you longer than expected:
‘You don’t have to be the loudest person in the room to have impact, just be prepared and be consistent.’ –
One does not need to dominate every conversation to make a difference. Doing the work well, thinking deeply and showing up consistently builds far more credibility over time than volume ever could. That mindset has definitely shaped how I approach work.
