Vineeta Singh, Co-Founder of SUGAR Cosmetics
Shark Tank India judge and Co-Founder of SUGAR Cosmetics Vineeta Singh is a popular face in the start-up world. Speaking at a chat show with actor Kareena Kapoor Khan, the entrepreneur opened up about facing sexism in the industry after joining the workforce. The businesswoman also revealed that an investor refused to give her a cheque until her husband joined the company.
She said that such encounters also occur because there "less than 20 per cent workforce" is women. "I have had various types of sexist encounters starting with the fact that I was told we don't invest in women-founded companies. So only when your husband joins the business, we will give you the cheque," she told Ms Kapoor during the chat show What Women Want.
The businesswoman also recollected another occasion from her internship days in which she was encouraged to dress differently because of her gender and she did so since she wanted to get hired by the company. She said, "When I was doing my internship at ITC, there was a time when I was told that the jeans and the tight tops that I wear to the factory are not okay. So, I remember, overnight, I had called my mother from Delhi to Saharanpur with these big baggy shirts, men's shirts, and every single day of my 2-month internship I wore those oversized men's shirts because I didn't want that to be the reason I didn't get a job offer."
She also stated that this had occurred to her 20 years ago and now she fights back if she hears something of this nature. "Times have really changed. I think today people would not have the guts to say these things to your face," she further added.