Jaipur, 28 June: While women are hired in the workforce of a company, a very small percentage of them make it to senior management. The reason for this is that women often exit the workforce at various stages, such as during childbearing, when their children are between classes 10 to 12, or when they need to care for the elderly at home. Women should make up 40 to 50 percent of an organization’s workforce. To retain women in the workforce, it is important to understand why they leave and provide them with flexible work schedules and locations. This was stated by Chairperson & CEO of Salesforce India, Arundhati Bhattacharya, today at the 5th Edition of the IWN Rajasthan Women Leadership Summit 2024 in Jaipur. She was delivering the Special Address in the session ‘Women as Catalysts for Building a Healthy Organization’. The summit was organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) – Indian Women Network (IWN) – Rajasthan Chapter.
Ms. Bhattacharya, who was also the first woman chairperson of SBI, further cited the example of how introducing the concept of a sabbatical for up to two years for women in SBI helped over 650 women retain their jobs. Talking about skilling, she said that with the leap in technology, there is a need to keep learning, relearning, and unlearning. Skilling is a matter of initiative, as plenty of online courses are now available.
Founder, MD & CEO of AU Small Finance Bank, Sanjay Agarwal, emphasized the importance of enhancing the visibility of women in the workforce. He acknowledged that while women are indeed working, their contributions and the time they dedicate to their jobs often go unnoticed or undervalued. Agarwal stressed that it is crucial for organizations to recognize and appreciate the efforts of female employees, ensuring that their hard work is acknowledged and rewarded. He also highlighted the need for creating a supportive and secure work environment for women.
Senior Director & Head of Confederation of Indian Industry – Rajasthan, Nitin Gupta said that the primary aim of the summit is to create a platform where women leaders would share their experiences, how they surmounted challenges on their leadership journey and what were the pivotal moments or the events that transformed them as individuals and leaders.
During her welcome remarks, Chairwoman, IWN Rajasthan, Tanuja Agarwal, said that the objective of the session is to discuss the role of women in nurturing organizational growth. The Vote of Thanks on the occasion was proposed by Co Vice Chairwoman, IWN Rajasthan, Nivedita Sarda.
In the following session, “Change Makers: Celebrating Women Leaders across the Country”, the speakers included Founder, Incept Designs, Nitya Singhal; Co-founder, Khanoom, Priyamvada Golcha; Dy Managing Director & Chief of Corporate Affairs, Meteoric Biopharmaceuticals Pvt Ltd, Puunam G Kaushik and Chairwoman IWN Northern Region & Director, NIMS University, Dr Pallavi Mishra.
During her address in the session, Nitya Singhal pointed out how women leaders are breaking barriers and setting new benchmarks, be it in boardrooms or social settings. Talking about her venture, Incept Designs, she said, “My passion is to showcase India as the golden bird which it truly is. I task myself in recreating the magic of local artisans on a global platform without making them leave their local and authentic setting.”
Priyamvada Golcha talked about the power of social media for small brands. She further stated that at Khanoom, they are trying to bring more women into the art of miniature painting as traditionally only men were taught this craft.
Puunam G Kaushik pointed out in the session that for women, challenges are always two-fold, and how a partnership of both genders is required. She said, “We are stronger as a union instead of man versus woman. But at the same time, it is important to break barriers and make our way into the real world of buisness and industries.”
Dr Pallavi Mishra said that the objective of the session was to celebrate the power and potential of women leaders, to serve as change agents within their own organisations and shape the future of buisness. She further stated that the IWN is one platform that is a must for all women entrepreneurs to join and be a part of.
The session concluded with a the panel answering the questions from the audience.
