Why fit in when you are born to stand out ?– Dr. Seuss

From being a double graduate, to a radio jockey, an investigative journalist and finally being the only female employee in Security Operations team at Adobe India, Bhawna’s story is one of breaking mould one after the other.

When she was growing up, she was always encouraged to speak her mind and challenge status quo. She credits her parents for setting the foundation for developing a mindset of fearlessness. Her bold career choices are a true reflection of that.

After graduating in Mass Communication, she started out at an Event management company and from there went on to being an investigative journalist at a TV news channel.

While at the news channel she received an offer from a leading Risk Management company to join their Marketing team for security and risk related products. She did not think twice about taking this plunge into the unknown world of corporate investigation and risk management. It was a completely different career path but she viewed it as an exciting new opportunity. This was her first orientation to the Security function and she realized soon that she was one of the very few women in this business. She recalls walking into client meetings with rooms full of men & receiving quizzical expressions and stares suggesting she was probably in the wrong room!

She realizes that there is a perception among many, that Security is a function that best suits men. But in Corporates, she feels the function is not limited to physical security but includes strategic care that should be provided to employees. It is an area where women can contribute significantly and play an active role. She is happy about being a part of Security Operations at Adobe, an area where she had very limited exposure , which broke biases of only hiring people with experience or male candidates for the role.