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Ingrid Srinath: “It’s not enough to just get women into positions of leadership. You want to get feminists into positions of leadership and build more feminist work cultures.”
Advertising guru turned social justice activist on her x100 impact vision for Co-Impact, the need for philanthropy to act faster, and why building feminist work cultures matter.
Ingrid Srinath is a social justice and human rights champion, activist and campaigner in India and around the world. Her work in the nonprofit, civil society and philanthropic sectors spanning over two decades began after she transitioned from a 12-year career in advertising. She is the Founding Director of the Centre for Social Impact and Philanthropy (CSIP) at Ashoka University, India’s first and only academic centre for the study of philanthropy and civil society. Ingrid currently serves on the Co-Impact governance board as well as multiple international and Indian boards.
Q&A
What drew you to work with Co-Impact as a board member?
After 20 years working in and around philanthropy as a grant maker, a grantseeker, an advocate, a campaigner, and an activist, I could see everything that was wrong with philanthropy and what needed to change. There were too few people that were moving in that direction. So, for me Co-Impact was one of the best ways to engage with a group of people that are leading that change and who have the capacity and potential to influence others to do the same.
How would you describe your role as a Co-Impact board member?
There’s the primary role which is the fiduciary and governance role. The second is to oversee, advise or nudge strategy in the direction of our shared mission – whenever that advice is sought. The third one is an ambassadorial role. For example, I live in India, so if there was a need for a board member to represent or speak about Co-Impact in that region or if the Asia-based team thinks I can open some doors or make connections, then I would be happy to do it within my role as a Co-Impact Board member and ambassador.
What do you hope to see in 5 to 10 years as a result of Co-Impact’s work?
What Co-impact is already achieving is just incredible. It takes on the most long-standing, most entrenched problems in the world and in a very short period of time, is moving the needle across multiple countries on complex and entrenched issues. So, already there is a fantastic body of work. One of the things we can do even more is to influence philanthropy to change. The crises we are dealing with are gathering pace and momentum. Issues like climate change, inequality, war or conflict are not waiting for anyone. We need philanthropy to act quicker and address, with larger sums of money, the issues that really matter in a way that makes change happen at scale – which is exactly what Co-Impact does.
Co-Impact has the evidence that this model works! I’d like to see us multiply our impact. If we put a billion dollars to work, could our influence leverage that 100 times over, to have 100 billion dollars going to systems change?
What’s something unique or interesting about Co-Impact?
There’s much greater attention at Co-Impact to living the values in every aspect of the work – whether that is in interactions with partners, for example, being careful not to take credit for partners’ work or impact. Co-Impact has built a culture that is in sync with its values, from democracy and consensus building in decision-making to valuing people, and building an environment where everyone can thrive.
What does women’s leadership look like for you?
Representation is important. We need to recognize that and to fight for that everyday. In any organization or institution that you are a part of and have influence within, you should make sure that there are more women being recruited, more women being promoted, more women in leadership and more women in governance.
But it’s not enough to just get women into positions of leadership. You want feminist leadership and work cultures that allow women to thrive. Environments that allow women and men to play their full, complementary, roles as professionals, as parents, as partners and as community members.
Finally, it is also simply about championing. We need to champion other women leaders. If someone calls me to speak on a topic, I can champion by saying ‘I can’t but I know this amazing 25-year-old who would do a much better job than me’ and by doing that, give them that platform and opportunity to grow into leadership.
What’s your practice for self-care or collective care?
I have an extremely supportive family. I also love live music and consume as much as I can of it to stay sane.
Collectively, we need to recognize that the levels of burnout we currently feel are real and there are no quick and easy solutions. There are valid reasons to be anxious, depressed and stressed but what we can do is make it clear that it is okay to be overwhelmed. I think the first breakthrough for me was the day I walked into a Zoom call and I said, who else is feeling overwhelmed today? And suddenly a lot of hands went up with people saying yes, me too.
The second is to look after each other. Whether it’s a formal buddy system or whether it’s just making it clear that the workspace is an appropriate place to talk about what’s going on in your life. In my generation, what workplaces said to women was that you bring your brain to work and you leave all the other stuff at home. I don’t think you can do the job you’re paid to do well if you don’t bring your whole self to your work, so it’s important to make that clear. In my last workplace we went as far as to provide unlimited access to mental health support of any kind. Finally, as leaders, we need to share vulnerability so that people know that it’s okay to be vulnerable and to practice self-care.
