A journey of how a woman shattered the glass ceiling to prepare a future where more women will occupy leadership roles.
“I still struggle with the fact that when I attend meetings, I am more than often the only female in the room. I want to see more women. I want to see more female leaders.”
These words from Anusha Ramraj, CFO of CCI South Africa, resonate for many women operating in traditionally male-dominated spaces. As a leader in the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, Anusha has carved her own path, overcoming perceptions and proving her mettle repeatedly.
“Trust me, I own it. I’m completely comfortable in my own skin. I can tell a person where to get off. I know how to run a business and understand that it has many moving components. Do not underestimate me on the basis of being a woman,” she says confidently.
Anusha’s rise has been unconventional. Unlike most CFOs, she doesn’t hold a traditional CA qualification. Instead, her background is in law and social sciences. When she first took a call centre job earning R1,100 monthly after struggling to find corporate opportunities, her father questioned why she was settling for so little with a degree. “Watch me,” she replied, determined to grow within the company.
What she lacked in a formal finance qualification, she made up for with ambition, tenacity and an innate aptitude for numbers. “I was ambitious enough to say, ‘I’m not going to be sitting here on phones for the rest of my life. There’s other stuff I want to do with my life.’
“I volunteered for additional administration work from supervisors and managers in the hope of learning more. I self-taught myself Excel and Microsoft. I introduced myself to the directors of the business. When promotions came up and opportunities presented themselves, I always applied, and every time I excelled.”
Anusha steadily climbed the corporate ladder, studying further, teaching herself along the way and making sacrifices like working through lunch breaks and longer hours. Her self-education and relentless drive did not go unnoticed by leadership. Today, she heads the finance function and manages an extensive portfolio within CCI South Africa, overseeing a large team that started with her across multiple South African companies.
Her journey exemplifies the opportunities the BPO sector creates, especially for South Africa’s youth plagued by high unemployment. “BPO allows for individuals to overcome barriers to entry. You don’t need formal education and you don’t need work experience,” Anusha explains. “It’s a simple model – with a focus on disadvantaged youth and females – we recruit, we train, and then we place individuals into entry-level digital jobs with opportunities to grow and develop into careers.”
CCI’s model is centred on impact sourcing – the intentional hiring of disadvantaged individuals to drive social and economic empowerment. Over 80 percent of CCI’s South African workforce is comprised of black employees, with close to 70 percent being women, explains Anusha. “We firmly believe women build communities. Our demographics shifting to 80 percent black, of which about 70 percent are women, illustrates our commitment to transformation and empowering women.”
The multiplier effect is profound. “These women contribute to average households of four to five individuals,” she says. “Think about the impact – you create jobs, reduce crime by keeping youth off the streets, increase education and skills. And almost 90 percent of a woman’s income gets reinvested into their families and communities.”
However, Anusha recognises that women still face unique obstacles in rising to top leadership roles like hers. “Many women don’t go beyond the first level because they want to focus on being less stressed and having a more balanced lifestyle with everything that they have to juggle. From an empowerment perspective, sometimes you have to make tough choices – in my case, family, or career.
“Don’t get me wrong. My family is and has always been my priority and I do what I do so that we can all benefit. I decided that if I didn’t focus on my career and growth, I would not be able to contribute to our lifestyles and enjoy the personal growth that I had always dreamed of. It took me a while to convince myself that this is best for everybody: the long hours. The late nights. The times where you go home to shower, have a couple of hours of sleep, and go back to the office because you have to meet that deadline. It gets tough. And that’s why having a strong focus and family support system is so important.”
Anusha’s solution? “There is no guarantee that if you have reached the top, you will have a perfectly balanced lifestyle and it gets easier. You need to be prepared to up your game, make tough decisions, still put in extra hours and be available. Always surround yourself with the right people and support. In business, we need more women mentoring other women. We need more men supporting women, sponsoring women. Being able to advocate for what that means from a woman’s perspective in our industry is really close to my heart.”
The CFO practises what she preaches, driving development of her staff and creating advancement opportunities within her team. Her department now of just over 34 employees, a department having only started with her, exemplifies investment in creating jobs, growth, upskilling and ultimately mentoring finance’s next generation.
“If you grow in your position, you take your people along with you on that journey. It’s only natural. You can’t give them everything at once, but I have always maintained that together we will eventually get there. And we have,” Anusha states. Many in her team have tenures spanning 10 to 20 years, working through the ranks, growing from accounts or payroll clerks to managers and heads of departments.
Her unconventional journey from a call centre agent who nearly didn’t pursue a corporate career due to lack of opportunities, to CFO and industry leader overseeing responsibilities within one of the largest BPOs in South Africa, makes Anusha keenly aware of the transformative power mentors wield in nurturing talent. “I have always been blessed to have the support from the leaders that I have worked with and as a leader now, I have to support my people and others to grow and to prepare them to be ready for that next step.
Anusha is unapologetic about prioritising her career, brushing off perceptions. “I love what I do and even when I have those rough days, rather than being miserable, I always remember that what makes me do what I do is the impact we actually have on the lives that we touch.”
Her leadership mantra focuses on adding value, continuous support, talent development and mentorship as a catalyst for meaningful change. As she makes clear, empowering others is key to uplifting communities and achieving real diversity and inclusion.
