Falguni Nayar, Nirmala Sitharaman, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw Feature On Forbes' 100 Most Powerful Women List

Women that manage to balance home and work life and still come out perfect at performing all the functions, the ones that she is supposed to and the ones that she chooses. Neither leaves room for mistake as it could deem her unfit and relegate her from the societal standards of 'Perfect Women'.

Discourses around Women leading in the workspace remained stagnant unless a few trailblazers made it to the top positions exercising their power beyond traditional impactfully in unconventional ways.

Four Indian Women Lead The Way

This year, four Indian women made it to the Forbes World's 100 Most Powerful Women 2021. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is listed for the third consecutive year. Her 2021 ranking rose to 37 — two spots ahead of her American counterpart Janet Yellen —from 41 a year ago. The Wealthiest Self-made billionaire Falguni Nayar, founder and CEO, Nykaa, was listed at the 88th spot. She recently became India seventh women billionaire following her company's stellar debut in the stock market.

Other Indian businesswomen in the rankings were Roshini Nadar (52), the chairperson of HCL Technologies, the first woman to lead a listed IT company in India, and Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (72), executive chairperson and founder of Biocon.

The top spot in the list is philanthropic heavyweight Mac Kenzie Scott, who single-handedly gave away $8.6 billion of her fortune to charity. She replaced German chancellor Angela Merkel, who surprisingly exited from the list after coveting top position on the Forbes list for 16 years.

The number of Indian Women making it to the Forbes List is abysmally low at 4 per cent, pointing out the glaring disparities such as Gender bias, Mental and Physical harassment, Lack of family support, Pay gap, the burden of dual responsibilities are deeply seated in society creating roadblocks in their career paths.

A Statistical View

A statistical report in the Mint further reveals 85 per cent of working women claim to have missed out on a raise, promotion, or work offer because of their gender, compared to the regional average of 60 per cent. Nearly 22 per cent of working women in the country stated that their companies exhibit a favourable bias towards men at work, in comparison to the regional average of 16 per cent. Moreover, in India, 37 per cent of working women say that they get fewer opportunities than men. Consumer report shows that more than seven in 10 working women (71%) and working mothers (77%) feel managing family responsibilities comes in the way of career development.

It is high time, the Women demand a strong footing in the workplace, and the organizations reimagine their diversity practices and offer greater flexibility to caregivers to increase female participation in the workforce. Reduced and flexible schedules, more sabbaticals, and new opportunities to upskill and learn are critical offerings that can help organizations attract, hire, and retain more female talent.

Also Read: Amid Rising Voice Against AFSPA, Nagaland Govt Asks Centre To Repeal It