Amid all the conventions and stereotypes that engulf Indian women, there have increasingly been examples of those too, who have dared to break norms and be exceptions. Ranjna Patel is one of them.
At the age of a grandmother, the latest addition to Ranjna’s extensively impressive profile is the designation of a leading Indian bank’s director. However, when Bank of Baroda decided to get her on board, she wasn’t sure if she had the skills to justify her role.
“I have business expertise but no banking knowledge,” she says, reverberating her utmost wonder at the news first. “So I think this position is going to be more strategic, that of a trusty,” she adds on a matter-of-factly level.
Talking about the lack of a banking background, the dynamic businesswoman has never really had any formal education in business too. Attributing her sharp business skills to “common sense”, it’s been 35 years of prolific entrepreneurship for Ranjna. For the unaware, she is the driving force behind the success story of East Tamaki Healthcare – a chain of 15 clinics in South Auckland providing cost effective medical treatment to patients, which she started with her husband, Dr Kanti Patel, three decades ago.
“My husband gave me the chance. He has visionary ideas and I have the practical acumen and community reach to execute those ideas. I am a critique of his ideation and good with detailed operational work, and getting things done. So we rely on each other,” she tells us.
Coming from a conservative Gujarati family, it must have been quite a challenge for Ranjna way back in the 70s, to help her husband start his business in Auckland as opposed to taking care of the house. “Well, support starts from home. Like-mindedness is the key. Also, I have always believed that barriers work in favour of Indian women. When a working woman is expected to be a homemaker too, it only helps in bringing out her capabilities. That’s the strength of Indian women,” she reveals.
But for Ranjna, life doesn’t stop at home and work. She has consistently used her business and delivery model, along with the vast talent of people behind her; to bring about the required change in the community. Through her expertise and manpower, she has been highlighting various women’s issues and fighting for causes like domestic violence and equal opportunities for women.
Her ministerial appointment on the National Advisory Council on the Employment of Women and her roles as an executive committee member of the women’s wing at the Manukau Indian Association and as the chairperson of NZICA (New Zealand Indian Central Association) Women’s wing, enables her to continue contributing towards the Indian community.
Here’s one woman who’s surely raring to go at nearly 60.