Women Leaders

South Indian film industry lags in women leadership roles, shows data

The fourth edition of the report titled O Womaniya! reveals a decline in the representation of women HoDs in Telugu films, dropping from 5 per cent in 2021 to 3 per cent in 2023

India's fragmented climate response limits women's role as leaders: Study

Despite progress in gender-focused policies, India's climate response remains fragmented, and its national climate policy still lacks a consolidated, gender-responsive climate finance strategy that could more comprehensively support women as climate leaders, according to a new report. The report by research and public policy consulting firm Chase India, supported by Global Counsel, underscores this gap, calling for coordinated, gender-responsive climate finance frameworks to position women as central agents of climate resilience rather than passive beneficiaries. The report was presented on Thursday during the COP29 climate summit here in Azerbaijan's capital. Programmes like the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, which has provided over 103 million rural women with access to clean cooking fuel, and the National Rural Livelihoods Mission, which has mobilised millions of women in sustainable livelihoods, demonstrate India's commitment to gender-responsive policies. However, these ...

Sri Lanka's presidential election: No female contender amongst 38 nominees

But since Sri Lanka introduced the universal franchise in 1931, the number of women in parliament has never crossed a threshold of 7%

India, UAE showed women-led development can deliver better results: Murmu

India and the United Arab Emirates have demonstrated that women-led development can deliver more effective results for overall socio-economic development, President Droupadi Murmu said on Monday. Her assertion came during a meeting she had with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan who had called on the President at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here. She also praised the UAE leadership for ensuring the welfare, particularly the special care taken during the difficult times of the Covid pandemic, of more than 35 lakh Indian citizens in the West Asian country. Murmu was also happy to note the high rate of participation and contribution of women in all aspects of Emirati society, a statement issued by the President's office said. She said, "Both our countries have demonstrated that women-led development can deliver more effective results for overall socio-economic development". The President expressed satisfaction that during the Crown Prince's visit,

Women lead 9 of 46 associations of IMA, one female president so far: Study

Only nine of 46 associations under India's largest and oldest professional medical association, the IMA, are currently led by women, suggesting a "negligible" representation in its leadership, according to a study. Further, of the 92 individuals who have served as the presidents since the Indian Medical Association's (IMA's) inception in 1928, only one was a woman, said a team of researchers, including those from The George Institute for Global Health, New Delhi. They looked at the current and past leaderships of the professional medical associations, including the Indian Public Health Association (IPHA) and those of all broad medical and surgical specialties. Unequal gender representation persists even in the medical associations closely involved in women's health such as obstetrics and gynaecology, pediatrics and neonatology, highlighting a male dominance, the authors said in the study published in the journal PLoS Global Public Health. "For instance, the National Neonatology For

Pandemic exposure lowered wage aspirations of rural women: World Bank

The research was conducted in Haryana on a sample of 3,180 female vocational trainees between June and August 2022

More women joining workforce in India but leadership gaps remain: Report

The percentage of women in senior leadership roles increased from 16.6% in 2016 to a peak of 18.7% in 2023

Only 170 of 1,717 candidates are women in Phase-4 of Lok Sabha polls: ADR

Lok Sabha elections 2024: 38% of candidates studied between standard 5 to 12; 26 candidates declared themselves illiterate

LS elections: Women voters in Lakshadweep demand attention to basic issues

Women constitute the majority of voters in the Lakshadweep Lok Sabha constituency, yet they are concerned over the lack of interest shown by political parties in discussing their basic issues, such as the absence of proper sanitary napkin disposal facilities and gynecologists' in hospitals during the ongoing election campaign. The parties pay scant attention to our demands, women who spoke to by PTI at Agatti island, said. "We do not even have a mechanism on the islands to collect and dispose of used sanitary napkins. Many either bury them in their compounds or burn them," lamented Salmath, leader of the disabled persons' wing of Dweepsree, a women's self-help group. Plastic burning and dumping could pose serious environmental issues in the highly ecologically sensitive islands, she said. These women, constituting 50 per cent of the total electorate, are making these demands amidst the men-controlled machinery of political parties that are projecting various other matters affecting

Women candidates of BJP, Cong heat up LS poll campaign in Guj's Banaskantha

Banaskantha is the only Lok Sabha constituency in Gujarat where both the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the main opposition Congress have fielded women candidates. Two-term MLA Geniben Thakor of the Congress will take on BJP's Rekha Chaudhary, an engineering professor making her poll debut, in the upcoming parliamentary polls. Thakor defeated the then Gujarat minister and senior BJP leader Shankar Chaudhary in the 2017 assembly polls and Swarupji Thakor of the saffron party in 2022. Known for advocacy of women's rights, Thakor had in 2020 said "rapists must be burnt alive rather than being handed over to police," after the alleged rape of a 14-month-old girl in Gujarat. She was one of the 17 Congress candidates who managed to bag seats in the 2022 Gujarat assembly polls, which were won by the BJP with a record mandate. Rekha Chaudhary's grandfather Galbabhai Chaudhary founded the Banas Dairy, which procures milk from 4.5 lakh farmers every day, an initiative which has ope

World Bank allocates $16 mn to support women-led businesses in Afghanistan

The World Bank added that the bank is striving to increase access to financial resources in Afghanistan for small and medium-sized enterprises

Lok Sabha polls, phase 1: 7 women among 80 candidates in Uttar Pradesh

Among the 80 candidates in the fray for the first phase of Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh, just seven or 8.75 per cent are women, according to official data. The figure is lower than the first phase of the 2019 general elections when 12 of the 91 contenders or 13.18 per cent were women. However, none of those female candidates were victorious. Of the 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, eight -- Saharanpur, Kairana, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Nagina, Moradabad, Rampur and Pilibhit -- will go to polls in the first phase on April 19. Kairana, Moradabad and Saharanpur have two female candidates each and Muzaffarnagar has one. Bijnor, Pilibhit, Rampur and Nagina do not have any female contenders, the Election Commission website showed. In Kairana, the Samajwadi Party has fielded Iqra Choudhary while Priti Kashyap is representing the Rashtriya Mazdoor Ekta Party. Ruchi Vira is the Samajwadi Party nominee and Sadhna Singh is an Independent candidate in Moradabad. In Saharanpur, .

Women politicians struggle in Kerala despite support for Reservation Bill

When the historic "Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam" was passed in Parliament last year, jubilant women politicians, cutting across parties, broke into celebration distributing sweets and exuding confidence that it would enable them to get a fairer deal in the upcoming elections. Celebrations over the passage of the landmark Bill were no less in Kerala, where over 1.40 crore voters are women and 50 per cent seats are reserved for them in local bodies. Although the Women's Reservation Bill would be implemented only after 2029 Lok Sabha polls, female politicians widely expected that they would get a remarkable representation in the candidates' list of the general elections. On the contrary, they continued to get a raw deal in the southern state from the parties that had waxed eloquent about the passage of the historic Bill. While the major fronts, the CPI(M)-led LDF and Congress-led UDF, have given three and one seat respectively to women, the BJP-led NDA has set aside five seats for the

Joyshree Das Verma takes over as FICCI Ladies Organisation president

Joyshree Das Verma took over as the 41st National president of FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO), the oldest women-led and women-centric business chamber of South East Asia for 2024-25. She has been appointed by Israel as its Honorary Consul for Northeast India. Verma is also the Director of HR firm Kaapro Management Solutions Pvt Ltd. "I am honoured to lead FICCI FLO as the 41st National President. Under the theme 'Collective Vision, Collaborative Action for the year 2024-25, our endeavour is to build a strong, inclusive community dedicated to sustainable progress, fostering individual growth, and inspiring impactful change," she said.

Women focal point of all governance initiatives: Assam CM Himanta Biswa

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said the focal point of all initiatives of his government is women. On #InternationalWomensDay, celebrating the women of Assam; courageous, enterprising, resilient and changemakers. We are committed to ensure that each women in the State gets a fair opportunity to grow as the focal point of all our governance initiatives are women! the CM said on X. In another post, Sarma thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for reducing cooking gas cylinder prices by Rs 100. With the earlier cut of ?200 & latest cut of ?100 on LPG cylinders, our mothers and sisters can now significantly save and put this money to better use. On behalf of entire #ModiParivarAssam, I sincerely thank Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji, for this bold decision, he added. Announcing the price cut on the occasion of International Women's Day on Friday, the PM said it will significantly ease the financial burden on millions of households across the country, ...

Women-led direct-to-consumer brands see 54-fold growth in 2023: Simpl

Women-led D2C brands growth in 2023 was driven by demand in beauty, apparel, and personal care. Rising internet commerce in non-metro cities fuel this trend

Promoting women to leadership roles step in overcoming bias: Justice Kohli

Promoting women to leadership positions, encouraging their participation as key speakers at conferences and ensuring their representation on panels are steps towards overcoming an unconscious bias against them, Supreme Court judge Justice Hima Kolhi has said. Justice Kohli was speaking on Tuesday at a programme organised by the International Arbitration & Mediation Centre, Hyderabad and others here on the topic of The Sociological Dimension of International Arbitration: Impartiality & Diversity'. She said promoting women to leadership positions will recognise the true value which they bring to the table as decision makers. Corporate entities, as significant stakeholders in arbitration, have a critical role to play. They are expected to include women in lists of potential arbitrators or in counsel roles. Providing young women lawyers with internships and opening doors to gaining practical experiences in legal departments and government sectors can pave the way for their future .

Higher rated companies have larger proportion of women on board: Moody's

Moody's Investors Service on Tuesday said higher-rated companies have a larger proportion of women on their boards than lower-rated companies. An analysis of 3,138 Moody's-rated companies showed that women account for an average of 29 per cent of the board seats of investment-grade companies (those rated Baa and above), up one percentage point from 2023. It also showed that on an average, women account for 24 per cent of the board seats of speculative-grade companies (those rated Ba and below), which is unchanged from last year. Companies based in advanced economies reflect a correlation between board gender diversity and credit ratings, but those in emerging markets do not, it said. This study considered 24 companies rated Aaa, 146 companies rated Aa, 728 companies rated A, 1,165 companies rated Baa, 582 companies rated Ba, 394 companies rated B, 90 companies rated Caa and nine companies rated Ca. "The presence of women on boards and the potential diversity of opinion they bring

Only 1.6% of cos listed on Fortune India 500 have women at helm: Study

A mere 1.6 per cent of companies listed on the Fortune India 500 have women at the helm, while the figures stand at 5 per cent for the Fortune India Next 500, according to a study. The study -- 'Enhancing Women Leadership in India Inc' -- conducted jointly by Fortune India and SP Jain Institute of Management and Research sheds light on the persistent gender gap in leadership roles within Indian industries. Supported by the Women and Child Development Ministry and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the study engaged 130 industry leaders, with a representation of 54 per cent female and 46 per cent male CEOs, in 16 roundtable discussions across Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Bengaluru. Additionally, a survey questionnaire was distributed to Fortune 500 companies for their insights. Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani unveiled the findings of the study on Monday. A key finding of this study is the industry leaders' recognition of the government's decade-long efforts to

Era of women-led development has begun in India, says President Murmu

President Droupadi Murmu on Friday said that an era of women-led development has begun in India as girls are taking centre stage in all spheres of the nation building, and the trend is very encouraging for the country. Addressing the 25th convocation of Berhampur University at Bhanja Bihar in Ganjam district of Odisha, she said the participation of women in literature, culture, dance and music has been remarkable. The potential of our daughters is visible in every field from science and technology to police and army. Now, we are moving from the phase of women's development to women-led development, the president said. Noting that around 45,000 students are getting education in Berhampur University's postgraduate departments and its affiliated colleges, she said more than 55 per cent of students are women. Not only this, 60 per cent of the gold medal winners are also women and "half of the researchers, who received doctoral degrees today are also girls", the president said. This is