The Indian School of Business (ISB) will play the role of a catalyst, aiding women to achieve in their professions while setting new benchmarks of excellence, said Mallika Srinivasan, the director of TAFE, and Member of ISB's executive board. |
She was speaking at the ISB Women's Initiative conference on Saturday. "The ISB Women's Initiative is an effort to provide research, education, mentoring and networking for professional women. This conference provides a platform for today's successful women professionals to meet, mentor, and inspire the next generation of women leaders," she said. |
However, the tone of the conference was set by the keynote speaker, Jannie Tay, the managing director of Hour Glass Limited, Singapore. |
Talking about the success of women in business she said, "Women are more flexible, efficient, communicative, and inherently good at building relationships. Successful leaders are those who are able to shift mindsets and build on relationships, which is why every woman has the potential to be a leader." |
Adding to that perspective, Musharaf Hai, the chairperson of Unilever, Pakistan, said, "Compassion is an essential ingredient of leadership "� it is about sharing one's vulnerabilities, about giving. Women have a natural inclination to give. That is the foundation of all relationships, and the essence of team building. Ultimately, outstanding leaders deliver through an outstanding team." |
She was speaking at one of the focused panel discussions on key issues affecting women executives. The results of a survey on Women and Business Education conducted by ACNielsen ORG-Marg were also presented at the Conference. |
Amongst its main findings, the survey found that acquiring an MBA degree, especially from a reputed school, was not only among most women's top education choices, but also regarded as a career enhancing move. |
The conference has received enormous support from the ISB Women's Initiative Committee comprising successful women professionals such as Nisa Godrej of Godrej Industries Limited, Aparna Piramal, the executive director of Blow Plast Ergonomics Limited, Suvalakshmi Chakraborty, the general manager of ICICI Bank; Aditi Kothari, the assistant vice-president of DSP Merrill Lynch Fund Managers Limited, and Shefali Munjal, the deputy chief executive of Herosoft. |