Indian Businesswomen Break Barriers at NDTV World Summit 2024
The 'NDTV World Summit 2024' power panel discussion with India's best businesswomen working together to redefine leadership paradigms and set new benchmarks on the global stage as women shape a better future.
The panel featured prominent names like Kami Viswanathan, President of FedEx Middle East, Indian Subcontinent, and Africa (MEISA); Preeti Bajaj, CEO and Managing Director of Luminous Power Technologies; and Padmaja Ruparel, Co-Founder of the Indian Angel Network. According to Kami Viswanathan, many glass ceilings were still being broken across sectors. "Women are making strides in every sphere, but there is still much work to be done," she said. At FedEx, the world's leading logistics company, Viswanathan said that 36 percent of their board are women, and women constitute 26 percent of global management. She also noted that the company has a proper framework for diversity, equity, and inclusion as it recommits to inclusive hiring, promotions, and career development.
Other is related to the supply chain and logistics sectors, which basically shrink within middle management. Participation in logistics and supply chain goes down drastically, if not collapses, following the middle-level management mainly due to societal expectations of child and elder care, said Viswanathan. "FedEx fosters a people-centric culture to promote DEI. While there has been good progress, still a long way to go with respect to women's representation at the senior management level, she added". Reflecting on India's booming economy, Viswanathan said that there was a lot of growth potential in the country. "With its growing economy, we have tremendous opportunities in India. As a global connector, FedEx is committed to making supply chains as effective as possible so our customers can be better served", she added.
Preeti Bajaj on her part said that women need to be represented at senior levels in any organization. Not surprisingly, she revealed that 33 percent of Luminous Power Technologies' senior leadership team were women. She outlined that vision into three stages: first, equity of access; she defined it as ensuring women have equal opportunities; the ambition, where women should be allowed to aspire for senior positions and drive their ambitions, and then, attainment, consisting of setting supportive environments and policies to address barriers which stand in the way of women. Bajaj implored women working in the energy sector to take note of the fact that they are in a transformational phase and contribute their bit to Viksit Bharat 2047, looking forward to a developed India.
Padmaja Ruparel, a pioneer early-stage investor, walked the audience through her journey in an area historically dominated by men. "I faced numerous evolutions when I started; there were hardly any women in this domain". I will not be an investor if there are no women entrepreneurs, she said. Ruparel said that she was shocked at the abysmal statistics regarding funding for women-led ventures. According to reports, women took just 14.7% in funding in 2022. She explained that a dearth of female investors meant to grow huge capital for women partners. "We need to create a 'BlackRock of India' led by women", she appealed for an ecosystem for women entrepreneurs.
And only 38 of the 100 leading publicly listed corporations in India have more than 20% women on their rolls, according to a recent report. That is a stark reminder of how much faster inclusion efforts need to pick up to bring gender equality to business and beyond. The NDTV World Summit 2024 discussion was more than a rallying cry for women in India; it called out to women of all walks of life to challenge the status quo in the corporate world. These businesswomen are strong leaders and committed leaders across generations, and thriving diverse and equitable workplaces are laid.
