Shveta Sharma, CEO, Hotel-Spider did MA in English with an aim to become a lecturer in that field. However, destiny had its own plans. She started her career with an Indian hotel chain at the contact centre operations in 2007. Over the years, Shveta has moved from the hospitality industry to an inbound travel company to representation business.

“The toughest of all was to get back to work after my maternity break. India is one country which has to buckle up when it comes to giving equal opportunities to women after pregnancy, to support working moms with flexible working hours and of course people have to believe that postpartum depression is a real thing,” stated Shveta.

She further said, “Going back to work before I was mentally ready was tough. I still joined because I felt crazy sitting at home and I wanted to get back to a normal routine. But I didn’t have anybody who told me that it was ok to feel crazy, and I won’t feel the same always. I learned my way out of those depressing times. But that didn’t impact my productivity or changed my talent or skills.”

According to Shveta, becoming a mother and having a career are two separate things. “I tasted success before my pregnancy and it was my husband who made me strong enough to not let go that hard work even after my baby. So yeah, don’t feel guilty if you are career-oriented. Work and become a role model for your child, choose what you want to do and don’t let the world judge you and make you feel down.” Today, Shveta deals in technology for hotel distribution and luxury travel and works with a team which also consists of new-moms.

So let’s create an equal opportunity world for new moms too and see how we all #RiseLikeAPhoenix together.