By Rani Yadav-Ranjan
C200 member Rani Yadav-Ranjan is a recognized thought leader and expert in innovation, driving Technology & Innovation within Ericsson’s Global AI Accelerator. Currently serving as Global Head of Ericsson SnapCode.ai, Rani has led with innovation in roles at Universities, startups, and global companies.
In today’s highly competitive and fast-paced business environment, agility in implementing new ideas is the key to sparking innovation, retaining market share, and promoting business growth. At the same time, companies are still struggling to make meaningful and sustainable progress toward gender diversity and equality, especially within their leadership ranks.
Perhaps we’ve been thinking the wrong way about tackling these issues: promoting intrapreneurship, especially for women, addresses these two strategic organizational objectives in cooperation, not separately. Despite a ‘commitment to innovation,’ though, most companies do not promote an environment that provides a path to pioneering new ideas inside the company.
Focusing on women’s intrapreneurship can propel idea-focused women into leadership positions through opportunities to establish and scale internal ventures, helping to slow the churn of the revolving door. McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace 2022 report highlights the fact that women leaders are leaving their companies at the highest rate we’ve ever seen—and at a much higher rate than their male counterparts.
Women and men team members collaborating in front of a white board that has notes on it.
Engaging women to experiment with new concepts within the resources of the company can drive meaningful impact. I have experienced this firsthand as an intrapreneur in the telecom AI/ML space. I joined the leadership team of Ericsson’s AI Accelerator to address critical business/product problems through technology—which evolved into launching my ideas internally and leading projects that are impacting the organization well beyond my original job description.
Embarking on a new business venture is grueling; most startups do not succeed. Perhaps this is due in part to founders spending the bulk of their time pitching VCs to raise capital instead of refining their idea. When I tried my hand at entrepreneurship, despite having a great idea, I had trouble persuading VCs to invest in my first startup. I realized I was not alone: there is much research exposing the overall lack of gender equality in funding new businesses.
Harvard Business Review’s article, Women-Led Startups Received Just 2.3% of VC Funding in 2020 reported a substantial drop in venture capital funding for women founders. Although their research confirmed that when women-led startups do get funded they’re more likely to be successful, “the pandemic made investors more wary of risks and more likely to stick to their existing networks — which is very much a ‘boys’ club’ and tougher for women to break into.”
Women are uniquely qualified to succeed as organizational intrapreneurs.
Innovation is often driven by the frustration of a real problem, and women offer a distinct understanding and empathy for the challenges consumers face. Their unique perspective on the user experience, especially for products with female end-users, lends itself to innovation. The diversity of a women-led venture can reduce the bias of old ideas and provide nuance for original thinking.
Traditional and perceived characteristics of women in the workplace also ring true, such as an ability to multitask, develop, and motivate others, as well as focus on relationship building, collaboration, and teamwork—all defining qualities of a transformative leader.
Inspired female employees have the operational experience to balance the strategic needs of the company with creative customer solutions. However, most corporations are not set up to support innovative thinking and instead remain stuck in established systems that can suffocate new ideas with legal, financial, compliance, or bureaucracy hurdles.
That’s why Google’s innovative ‘20% time’ program was truly a groundbreaking proposition. The concept enabled Google employees 20% of their work week to explore new projects that could benefit Google. The ability to work on side projects unrelated to their primary workload led to the foundation of significant company advances such as Gmail and AdSense.
Allowing employee time to work on their own projects for even five hours a week can make the difference between a profitable company venture and an employee’s side hustle. Instead of working weekends and nights to further their inspiration, team members are given opportunities to become more engaged and energized at work. Ideas can translate to company products and revenue quickly when innovators are provided the resources to fail fast, run fast, and grow fast.
Salman Taj, VP of Innovation Silicon Valley, Ericsson Business Area Technologies & New Businesses, reinforces the importance of an intrapreneurship program. “Ericsson One is Ericsson’s internal incubator. We have built an organization which supports ALL innovators wishing to disrupt any industry—regardless of previous entrepreneurship experience.”
I have benefitted from exploratory time through the Ericsson One incubation program, which allowed me, along with other teammates, to create Ericsson SnapCode.ai—a patent-pending Low Code Platform with Blockchain Trusted Data Layer. Working within this intrapreneurial incubator, we’re able to direct our efforts to creating an ecosystem of products and solutions that let developers focus on business logic without worrying about the underlying infrastructure.
The case is strong for women’s intrapreneurship.
The upheaval we experienced in 2020 redefined the needs of the workforce. Companies that haven’t made changes must adjust in order to retain and attract the best talent. This Corporate DNA shift should include women intrapreneurs.
As a member of C200, I’m surrounded by fellow women executives working to encourage the next generation of leadership. Our conversation often turns to innovating our own companies through industry disruption—and most industries’ lack of supporting mechanisms for women’s ideas. Their suggestions are often overlooked, even in cultures boasting of ‘best idea wins’ attitudes. For women leaders (and the company) to grow, organizations must provide the infrastructure for intrapreneurship.
Inclusive innovation is good for business. Companies that create an environment for intrapreneurs to thrive will not only retain good ideas in-house, but they’ll also preserve the tactical & operational knowledge required to win in competitive markets.
