What if the man deciding who sits in the boardroom was also the man telling you the pipeline was never the problem? Pankaj Raj, Co-founder and Director of Search Value, has placed leaders at CXO and board level across India, Southeast Asia, Europe and the Americas for nearly two decades. He was recently inducted into the Board Stewardship Hall of Fame as a Steward of Corporate Governance. And in a conversation that did not stay comfortable for long, he said something most men in his position quietly think but rarely say out loud.

“Stop analysing the why when a woman rises. She got the job because she deserved to get the job.”

Pankaj Raj, Co-founder & Director, Search Value

Search Value was built not on advertising or marketing, but on referrals. For 16 years, the firm grew because the work spoke for itself. Pankaj draws a direct line between that philosophy and what he observes in women leaders: let the work do the talking. But he is also clear-eyed about what that quiet approach costs women that it does not cost men.

Women still need to align a lot of their ecosystem to be able to make that choice. Men inform that ecosystem. Women align it. That is the difference.

On the question of whether compensation becomes a barrier when the strongest candidate is a woman, his answer is unequivocal. In 18 years of executive search, he has not once encountered a client who offered less because the candidate was a woman. But he is equally direct about what he has encountered: ageism. Clients asking for young and dynamic. The assumption that those two things must go together.

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And when it cost him the mandate, he stood his ground anyway.

“Judge the person for who she or he is, not the biological age of the person. We would lose 100 such mandates. Some principles you stand for.”

Pankaj Raj, Co-founder & Director, Search Value

At Search Value, the women leaders run the company. Pankaj says this without fanfare, almost as a matter of fact. He describes himself as the occasional face. The clients know who is really driving the work.

On Corporate Governance and boards, he makes a distinction that matters: the pipeline of women leaders is no longer the problem. The people deciding what the pipeline should look like, that is where the question needs to be asked.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

What this conversation asks you to sit with

1. The pipeline is not the problem. At board level, there are enough and more women leaders. The question is who is deciding what the pipeline should look like.

2. Gender pay gaps in external hiring are no longer the norm. Within organisations, the gap may still exist. But when companies go outside to hire at CXO level, the conversation has changed.

3. Ageism is the bias no one is talking about enough. The assumption that young and dynamic go together is costing organisations experienced, high-impact leaders of every gender.

4. Women do not want to be diversity hires. A good woman leader will walk away from a role offered for the optics. Inclusion has to be about the problem statement, not the gender.

5. Allyship is not a gender act, it is a seniority act. If you are senior to someone, help them. That applies whether you are a man or a woman.

Quotes to carry with you

“A good woman leader would hate to join a role, CXO or board, if it is a diversity hire.”

“Women run this firm. I am just the occasional face. The clients know who is really doing the work.”

“An organisation is judged by what it is after you leave, not what it is when you are in it.”

“Look around you. Find one or two women who need help. Help them. You will feel really proud of yourself.”

“Today nobody is hiring somebody because she is a lady candidate. Nobody. May the best person win.”

“Leaders of both genders bring very different perspectives into a meeting. Do not just tick a box because the regulator tells you to.”

This is a conversation about power, about who holds it, and about what happens when the person deciding who leads is also willing to question why the room still looks the way it does. Pankaj Raj is not performing allyship. He is practising it, one mandate at a time. Even when it costs him.

AboutHer Magazine . Season 4 . A Feedspot Top 10 Women’s Podcast . aboutherbysangeeta.com