Motherhood Is Not A Step Down: Owning Your Ambition After Becoming A Mom with Nikita Kawdiya

Motherhood Is Not A Step Down: Owning Your Ambition After Becoming A Mom with Nikita Kawdiya

Motherhood should not be treated as a reason for ambitious women to shrink. In this episode of Fearless Career Moves, Richa Bansal sits down with Nikita Kawdiya, a product leader and former Fearless Hire client, to talk about ambition after motherhood, self-promotion, leadership language, support systems, and getting comfortable talking about the business impact behind your work. Nikita shares what it felt like to be told she might need to take a step down after becoming a mother, why she refused to let that define her next move, and how she learned to own the big numbers behind her product leadership. The conversation also covers how women can stop reducing their work to task lists, start connecting their impact to dollars and outcomes, negotiate with more confidence, and replace default apologies with stronger language. For women who are tired of being capable but under-credited, this episode is a practical reminder that owning your value is not bragging. It is leadership. Start listening and ask yourself where you might be underselling your own impact. Tune in to the full episode of Motherhood Is Not A Step Down: Owning Your Ambition After Becoming A Mom with Nikita Kawdiya Nikita Kawdiya is a Director of Product with 16+ years of experience leading CX-driven transformations, defining product vision, leading high-performing teams, and managing $20M+ annual budgets across Fortune 100 FinTech and Digital Banking organisations, including Prudential Financial and Citibank. She has led 0 to 1 product launches, scaled platforms to 1M users, and delivered measurable customer and business impact across mobile, web, B2C, B2B, and B2B2C SaaS environments. Connect with Nikita: Li: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikitakawdiya/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikitakawdiya/] Richa Bansal is the founder of Pinkcareers and host of the Fearless Career Moves Podcast. Through her signature program, The Fearless Hire, she helps ambitious women cut through the noise, clarify what they actually want, and step into high-impact leadership roles on their own terms. Website: https://www.pinkcareers.com/ [https://www.pinkcareers.com/] LinkedIn (Richa): https://www.linkedin.com/in/richabansal10/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/richabansal10/] The Fearless Hire: https://www.pinkcareers.com/ [https://www.pinkcareers.com/] Instagram (Richa): https://www.instagram.com/careersbyrichabansal/ [https://www.instagram.com/careersbyrichabansal/] #FearlessCareerMoves #WomenInLeadership #CareerConfidence #WorkingMoms #SelfAdvocacy

Why High-Performing Women Still Get Overlooked For Promotion

High-performing women are often told they are doing great, but doing great is not always what gets them promoted. In this solo episode of Fearless Career Moves, Richa Bansal breaks down why ambitious women in tech can have the experience, education, expertise, and strong performance reviews, and still get overlooked for promotion. She explains why hard work often leads to more work instead of more power, why promotion decisions are grounded in business impact, and why a direct manager liking someone is not the same as having the right sponsors in the room. Richa also shares tactical ways to stop waiting for recognition and start building a stronger promotion case. From creating an impact tracker to using the SOARR storytelling formula, connecting work to leadership priorities, and knowing market worth before it is needed, this episode gives ambitious women practical tools to be seen as ready for the next level. Start listening and ask yourself whether your work is being seen as leadership-ready work. Tune in to the full episode of Why High-Performing Women Still Get Overlooked For Promotion. Richa Bansal is the founder of Pinkcareers and host of the Fearless Career Moves Podcast. Through her signature program, The Fearless Hire, she helps ambitious women cut through the noise, clarify what they actually want, and step into high-impact leadership roles on their own terms. Website: https://www.pinkcareers.com/ [https://www.pinkcareers.com/] LinkedIn (Richa): https://www.linkedin.com/in/richabansal10/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/richabansal10/] The Fearless Hire: https://www.pinkcareers.com/ [https://www.pinkcareers.com/] Instagram (Richa): https://www.instagram.com/careersbyrichabansal/ [https://www.instagram.com/careersbyrichabansal/] #FearlessCareerMoves #WomenInLeadership #CareerGrowth #CareerOwnership #KnowYourWorth

How Product Managers Can Stay Relevant in the AI Era with Aakash Gupta

AI is changing product management fast, but not every PM needs to panic, pivot, or chase the same role. In this episode of Fearless Career Moves, I sit down with Aakash Gupta, also known as the AIPM guy, to talk about what product managers actually need to do to stay relevant as AI changes the role. Aakash is a product and growth leader who has led teams at thredUP, Affirm, and Apollo.io, and he now writes Product Growth and AI by Aakash, hosts The Growth Podcast, and helps product managers break into AI PM. We get practical about what AI PM really means, why every PM needs to understand both AI productivity and AI feature building, and how to build credible AI experience even when your current product does not have AI work. Aakash breaks down courses, certificates, side projects, candidate market fit, niche positioning, LinkedIn strategy, and how to show proof in interviews instead of relying on polished talking points. Start listening and ask yourself where your next career move needs more strategy, more proof, and less panic. Tune in to the full episode of How Product Managers Can Stay Relevant in the AI Era. Aakash Gupta is a product and growth leader who has led growth and product work at thredUP, Affirm, and Apollo.io. He writes Product Growth, hosts The Growth Podcast, and runs Land a PM Job, a live cohort for product managers looking to break into AI PM and future-proof their careers. If you're a product manager ready to make that move, connect with him on https://www.linkedin.com/in/aakashgupta-pm/LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/aagupta/] or follow his newsletter at product-growth.com [http://product-growth.com] for practical advice on building AI skills and shipping real product value. Richa Bansal is the founder of Pinkcareers and host of the Fearless Career Moves Podcast. Through her signature program, The Fearless Hire, she helps ambitious women cut through the noise, clarify what they actually want, and step into high-impact leadership roles on their own terms. Website: https://www.pinkcareers.com/ [https://www.pinkcareers.com/] LinkedIn (Richa): https://www.linkedin.com/in/richabansal10/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/richabansal10/] The Fearless Hire: https://www.pinkcareers.com/ [https://www.pinkcareers.com/] Instagram (Richa): https://www.instagram.com/careersbyrichabansal/ [https://www.instagram.com/careersbyrichabansal/] #FearlessCareerMoves #ProductManagement #AIProductManagement #WomenInTech #CareerGrowth

Redefining "Having It All": Career, Motherhood & Raising a Neurodivergent Child with Anjali Goyal

Some of the most ambitious women carry the heaviest invisible loads, and the world keeps telling them the answer is to want less. In this episode of Fearless Career Moves, I sit down with my longtime friend Anjali Goyal, Amazon leader, former startup operator, and mother of two, to talk about what it actually takes to build a thriving career across four countries while raising a son on the autism spectrum. Anjali shares the moment her husband said "one of us needs to leave our job" and what she heard versus what he actually said, the years of unsolicited advice pointed squarely at her working, and the conscious two-decade negotiation she and her partner have made to take turns at intensity without either one giving up on ambition. We also get honest about the noise, LinkedIn comparisons, well-meaning relatives, cultural expectations, and how women can stop being victims of the situation and start making conscious choices they don't resent. Anjali's belief is simple: you can have it all, but with the right support structure in place. The work is knowing what you actually want, and trusting yourself enough to negotiate for it. Start listening and ask yourself where the noise might be drowning out what you actually want. Tune in to the full episode of Redefining "Having It All": Career, Motherhood & Raising a Neurodivergent Child. Anjali Goyal is a product leader at Amazon with an entrepreneurial journey that spans remote desert oilfields, Indian startups, and Silicon Valley. As a mother of two, her greatest inspiration is her 13-year-old autistic son, who constantly redefines how she approaches creative problem-solving and innovation. Blending her tech leadership with her personal passion, Anjali recently launched https://uniquebrains.org/ [https://uniquebrains.org/], a learning platform designed to empower neurodiverse children and their families. Richa Bansal is the founder of Pinkcareers and host of the Fearless Career Moves Podcast. Through her signature program, The Fearless Hire, she helps ambitious women cut through the noise, clarify what they actually want, and step into high-impact leadership roles on their own terms. Website: https://www.pinkcareers.com/ [https://www.pinkcareers.com/] LinkedIn (Richa): https://www.linkedin.com/in/richabansal10/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/richabansal10/] The Fearless Hire: https://www.pinkcareers.com/ [https://www.pinkcareers.com/] Instagram (Richa): https://www.instagram.com/careersbyrichabansal/ [https://www.instagram.com/careersbyrichabansal/] #FearlessCareerMoves #WomenInLeadership #WorkingMoms #HavingItAll #CareerCoaching

The Path to Leadership Starts with Courage, Not a Job Title w/ Itishree Swain

In this heartfelt and unflinchingly honest conversation, Fearless Career Moves host Richa Bansal sits down with Itishree Swain—a marketing executive, first-gen immigrant, and mother—to explore what it truly means to build a resilient, values-aligned career in today's fast-paced world. Together, they unpack the realities that ambitious professionals rarely talk about: the unspoken hustle culture among immigrants, the fear that comes with visa-based job insecurity, and the pressure to prove yourself while parenting and pivoting. But this episode goes beyond job titles and cultural expectations. Richa and Itishree explore how strategic visibility—not just hard work—is key to sustainable career growth. They share how to navigate intentional career breaks, overcome the stigma attached to them, and show up powerfully as both professionals and parents. With moments of humor, clarity, and raw reflection, this episode is a reminder that you are more than your job—and your story is still being written. If you've ever questioned your worth during a transition, or wondered how to make space for ambition and joy, this one's for you. The views and opinions shared by our guest, are their own and do not reflect those of any organizations, employers, or associations they are affiliated with. All insights are shared in a personal capacity. Hit the "Follow" button so you don't miss an episode! Love this podcast? Write a review and give it a 5-star rating! Connect with Richa: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richabansal10/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/richabansal10/] https://www.instagram.com/pinkcareers_/ [https://www.instagram.com/pinkcareers_/] https://www.facebook.com/pinkcareers [https://www.facebook.com/pinkcareers] Apply for Personalized Coaching Visit www.pinkcareers.com [https://www.pinkcareers.com/] and sign up for The Fearless Hire: A proven step-by-step process to help you go from being undervalued to in-demand and command $200K - $500K dream offers. Connect with our Guest With over 12 years of experience across media agencies and ad-tech platforms like Meta and Impact Tech, Itishree brings deep expertise in marketing strategy, measurement, and cross-channel growth. As an immigrant and working mom, she offers a unique lens that blends data-driven impact with lived experience. https://www.linkedin.com/in/itishreeswain/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/itishreeswain/]