Press Release
Report Launch
Biz Divas Foundation & Khaitan & Co. Launches a report on “WOMEN ON BOARDS – A Policy, Process and Implementation Roadmap”
MUMBAI, AUGUST 7, 2014: Biz Divas Foundation along with leading law firm Khaitan & Co. launched the report on “Women on Boards – A Policy, Process and Implementation Roadmap” on August 6, 2014. The report authored by Rashmi Mandloi, Diversity Lead South Asia, Biz Divas Foundation and Kalpana Unadkat, Partner, Khaitan & Co; and was a joint effort to give India Inc. a process, policy and implementation roadmap to fill the 966 vacancies which have been created as per the latest Companies Act.
The report was launched with much fanfare at the Palladium Hotel in Mumbai. Mr. Bharat Doshi, Director, Mahindra & Mahindra launched the report along with Mr. Ravi Kulkarni, Senior Partner, Khaitan & Co. and the authors. Why does a company need a Women Director on board? To this Mr. Doshi said, “Women think out of box and their inputs at board level makes a difference.”
The new Companies law is considered as trend setter in Indian Corporate laws and is one of the major achievements of Indian Parliamentary History in recent past. Apart from several new provisions for better corporate governance and corporate social responsibility, it defines a number of new terms that have come into vogue in recent times. Foremost, amongst them is the mandatory inclusion of women in corporate Indian boards.
According to the report, India is the first country among the developing nations that has chosen to make representations of women on company boards mandatory. The Indian corporate boardroom displays a difference in the percentage of women directors in different sectors.
The Report snapshot was presented by both Kalpana and Rashmi; where they highlighted their discussions during the 8 city tour conducting ‘roundtables’. The eight cities covered were Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, New Delhi, Gurgaon, Pune & Mumbai. These roundtables were attended by CEOs, CFOs, proprietors and HR heads of various organizations and the different perspectives that were received with respect to this amendment was captured in the report.
One of the panelist, Mr. Ashu Suyash, CEO, L&T Investment Management Limited pointed out, “The role of the board member is to give qualitative inputs and not limit themselves to forecasting outcomes.” The other panelists were Mr. Bharat Vasani, Director and Group General Counsel – Tata Group and Mr. Ravi Kulkarni from Khaitan & Co. The last session with Renuka Ramnath, Founder, Multiples Alternate Asset Management Private Limited (Multiples) highlighted the positives and negatives of being a board member. All her perspectives were highlighted through her personal experiences and learnings.
The event was attended by close to 100 delegates from various public as well as private corporations.
For Media Queries, please contact:
Ela Gupta
+91 9990256669
[email protected]
About Biz Divas Foundation – www.bizdivas.org
Biz Divas is a national network of professional women connecting to advance one another personally and professionally, following the motto, “Women Inspire Change”. Founded and headquartered in Delhi NCR, Biz Divas has a growing presence across the country in cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Gurgaon.
Biz Divas’ goal is to provide a platform for women of our region to come together to be educated, inspired and connected. We identify, invest and bring visibility to extraordinary women in business, corporates, public & political leadership. We provide mentoring, training, support networks & visibility via public forums to unleash their true potential towards success. The mission of Biz Divas is to increase the participation of women in Indian economy. Since its inception in 2011, Biz Divas has mentored, trained & supported more than 1500+ women across India.
Biz Divas’s Knowledge Partner – Vital Voices is an International, non-profit, non-governmental organization. Founded in 1999 by Women leaders: Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright, Melanne Verveer, Theresa Loar, Donna McLarty, Alyse Nelson.
I Inspire 2014
A national conference for women leaders on the theme of ‘One Women in Every Boardroom’
The event organized by Biz Divas Foundation will help build a credible platform for exchange of ideas and networking for women professionals and entrepreneurs
New Delhi, March 27, 2014 – Biz Divas Foundation presents “I Inspire” 2014, a national conference for women leaders. The event aims to be a confluence of ideas, a convergence of thought and celebration of the spirit of diversity and entrepreneurship. This is the second edition of the conference and is happening on April 4, 2014 at Crowne Plaza, Gurgaon. The aim of the event is to make women economically independent by opening doors and to ensure a positive impact in their work life and prosperity. “I Inspire 2013” had seen over 200 participants across various professions.
I Inspire 2014 is a day-long event with interactive panel sessions covering topics like – One women in every boardroom, The power of people and partnerships, Inspiring change makers, Leaders for tomorrow’s futuristic workplaces.
The event will launch their three new initiatives; Biz Divas Magazine, Biz Divas jobs board and Women on Boards initiative and further felicitate the mentors and mentees from their six month long mentoring program “Biz Divas Mentoring Leadership Program”.
he agenda for I Inspire 2014 also includes a special sessions on “Reinventing yourself” and “Lessons on Leadership” which aims to enable participants to connect with a strong sense of who they are, their purpose, their uniqueness and be proud about showcasing their strengths.
The event will see converging of some of the finest minds in the industry. Organized by Biz Divas, a non-profit organization for women in business, along with its knowledge partner Vital Voices, the conference will be an opportunity for women professionals and leaders to celebrate the spirit of diversity, entrepreneurship, inspiration and bringing a change.
The conference brings together acclaimed leaders like Kaku Nakhate (CEO BoAML), Apurva Purohit (CEO Radio City), Debjani Ghosh (MD Intel), Sameer Chaddha (CEO Barclays Shared Services), Sanjay Modi (Managing Director, Monster.com), Gagan Singh (CEO JLL), Satya Narayanan R (Chairman CL Educate Ltd), Neera Saggi (President, Bombay Chamber of Commerce), Shabia Walia (Media professional & Author), Paroma Roy Choudhary (Public Affairs Head, Google), Meenu Handa (Director, Corporate Communications, Amazon India) to name a few.
The lead sponsor for the event is Barclays, strategic partner is Monster.com. The Knowledge partner for the event is Vital Voices and Ernst & Young.
About Biz Divas:
Biz Divas is a national network of professional women connecting to advance one another personally and professionally, following the motto, “Women Inspire Change”. Founded and headquartered in Delhi NCR, Biz Divas has a growing presence across the country in cities such as Delhi, Mumbai and Gurgaon.
Biz Divas’ goal is to provide a platform for women of our region to come together to be educated, inspired and connected. We identify, invest and bring visibility to extraordinary women in business, corporates, public & political leadership. We provide mentoring, training, support networks & visibility via public forums to unleash their true potential towards success. The mission of Biz Divas is to increase the participation of women in Indian economy. Since its inception in 2011, Biz Divas has mentored, trained & supported more than 1500+ women across India.
Biz Divas’ Knowledge Partner – Vital Voices is an International, non-profit, non-governmental organization. Founded in 1999 by Women leaders: Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright, Melanne Verveer, Theresa Loar, Donna McLarty, Alyse Nelson.
For Press Queries, please contact :
Ms. Ela Gupta
+91 9990256669
[email protected]
Multi-City Mentoring Walk
Biz Divas organizes multi-city mentoring walk to celebrate Women’s Day
Biz Divas organizes the Global Mentoring Walk for Women Leaders to invest in the next generation of rising professionals
March 5, 2014 – More than 200 women will get together for the Global Mentoring Walk 2014, this International Women’s Day in Gurgaon, Mumbai and Bangalore. The Walk is being organized by Biz Divas Foundation. Established women leaders will be matched with young professionals to serve as mentors, offering career advice, support, and guidance. As they walk they will demonstrate the power of women coming together to shape the future of their communities. They will engage in discussion regarding their professional challenges and successes to establish a mentoring relationship and hence demonstrate the power of women coming together to shape the future of their communities.
The concept for this Global Mentoring Walk is derived from American media icon, founder and former CEO of Oxygen Media, Geraldine Laybourne, who launched mentoring walks to empower young women professionals in New York City and across the United States.
Each year, dedicated members of the Vital Voices Global Leadership Network invest in the next generation of women leaders by organizing local mentoring walks. Sarika Bhattacharyya, Co-Founder of Biz Divas Foundation and an alumnus of Vital Voices Network volunteered her organization Biz Divas Foundation to be the flag bearer for this walk.
“The Global Mentoring Walk is a perfect opportunity to bring together Indian women leaders and accelerate their impact through mentoring and make a difference to our community” said Sarika Bhattaryya, Co-Founder of Biz Divas Foundation.
The overall goal of this Global Mentoring Walk is to value women’s participation in society, to recognize the importance of “paying it forward” by giving back to others in the community, to promote lasting mentoring relationships between emerging and established women leaders, to demonstrate a belief in the importance of women’s leadership & participation in society, to instill the values of mentoring in rising leaders who can give back to future generations and provide aspiring women professionals with the support & guidance they need to fulfill their goals.
Preeti Monga (Motivational Speaker), Interactive Theatre with Steps drama on Women leadership and Ms. Apurva Purohit, CEO, Radio City will be the keynote speakers/presenters in Gurgaon, Mumbai and Bangalore respectively.
Vital Voices are the Knowledge Partners for the event with Bank of America Merrill Lynch as the lead sponsor. The initiative is supported by Monsters and the event is managed and marketed by BrandX.
Program Schedule
Venue for Mentoring Walk on 8th March 2014
Bangalore : Palm Meadows club House, Whitefield
Mumbai : Gallops, Mahalakshmi racecourse
Gurgaon : Epicenter, Gurgaon
Time: 7:30 am – 11:00 am
Agenda
7:30 – 8:00 am Registrations
8:00 – 8:45 am Mentoring walk
8:45 – 9:45 am Networking Breakfast
9:45 am – 10:30 am
Gurgaon – Preeti Monga – Motivational Speaker
Mumbai – Interactive Theatre with Steps drama on Women leadership
Bangalore: Apurva Purohit – CEO, Radio City & Author – Lady you are not a man
Biz Divas Foundation is a national forum for empowering women with entrepreneurial, business and financial skills. Biz divas recognizes that mentoring is critical to empower women to succeed and for advancing women’s leadership for the future.
About Biz Divas Foundation
Biz Divas is a national network of professional women connecting to advance one another personally and professionally, following the motto, “Women Inspire Change”. Founded and headquartered in Delhi NCR, Biz Divas has a growing presence across the country in cities such as Delhi, Mumbai and Gurgaon.
Biz Divas’ goal is to provide a platform for women of our region to come together to be educated, inspired and connected. We identify, invest and bring visibility to extraordinary women in business, corporates, public & political leadership. We provide mentoring, training, support networks & visibility via public forums to unleash their true potential towards success. The mission of Biz Divas is to increase the participation of women in Indian economy. Since its inception in 2011, Biz Divas has mentored, trained & supported more than 1500+ women across India.
Biz Divas’ Knowledge Partner – Vital Voices is an International, non-profit, non-governmental organization. Founded in 1999 by Women leaders: Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright, Melanne Verveer, Theresa Loar, Donna McLarty, Alyse Nelson.
Biz Divas Foundation & Khaitan & Co. to launch a report on “WOMEN ON BOARDS”
New Delhi, June 17, 2014: Biz Divas Foundation along with leading law firm Khaitan & Co. are launching a report on “Women on Boards” coming this August 2014. The new Companies law is considered as trend setter in Indian Corporate laws and is one of the major achievements of Indian Parliamentary History in recent past. Apart from several new provisions for better corporate governance and corporate social responsibility, it defines a number of new terms that have come into vogue in recent times. Foremost, amongst them is the mandatory inclusion of women in corporate Indian boards.
The representation of women on board in senior management engages corporate governance and the momentum to improve corporate governance has increased in many countries, and composition of boards is one area where there is impetus for change.
Keeping this in mind Biz Divas Foundation is launching this report which will focus on implementation and impact of law by way of getting “Women Directors on Board” and the impact of Companies Act provisions. Leading law firm Khaitan & Co. are the main sponsors and also co-authoring and collaborating on this project with Biz Divas. The report will be authored by Rashmi Mandloi from Biz Divas and Kalpana Unadkat from Khaitan & Co. and will be released in Mumbai in the presence of leading luminaries from India in August.
The report will be published post a series of “Roundtables” across India. 8 cities to be covered Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune. These roundtables will be attended by CEOs, CFOs, proprietors and HR heads of various organizations and inputs from these discussions will also be a part of the report. The various aspects covered by the report would be:
– SWOT of the relevant provisions in the Companies Bill (including the grey areas)
– The policy and appointment process to achieve it
– Qualifications of candidates to get on the board
– Centralised Sources/Bodies that will help organizations and individuals to get on to boards
– Does the gender of Directors matter?
SEBI has been emphasizing the need of gender diversity and has mandated that all listed companies to have at least one woman director on board by October 1, 2014. The potential of women leaders need to be explored and what are the issues and challenges being faced by corporates and employees need to be addressed and sorted. This report will shed light on all this and more.
About Biz Divas Foundation
Biz Divas is a national network of professional women connecting to advance one another personally and professionally, following the motto, “Women Inspire Change”. Founded and headquartered in Delhi NCR, Biz Divas has a growing presence across the country in cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Gurgaon.
Biz Divas’ goal is to provide a platform for women of our region to come together to be educated, inspired and connected. We identify, invest and bring visibility to extraordinary women in business, corporates, public & political leadership. We provide mentoring, training, support networks & visibility via public forums to unleash their true potential towards success. The mission of Biz Divas is to increase the participation of women in Indian economy. Since its inception in 2011, Biz Divas has mentored, trained & supported more than 1500+ women across India.
Biz Divas’s Knowledge Partner – Vital Voices is an International, non-profit, non-governmental organization. Founded in 1999 by Women leaders: Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright, Melanne Verveer, Theresa Loar, Donna McLarty, Alyse Nelson.
For Press Queries, please contact :
Ms. Ela Gupta
+91 9990256669
[email protected]
Know More about Biz Divas Foundation : http://bizdivas.org/
Sarika Bhattacharya Honored By the First Leadership in Mentoring Award by Bank of America and Vital Voices
Sarika Bhattacharya, Co-Founder of Biz Divas Foundation has been honored by the first annual Leadership in Mentoring Award by Vital Voices & Bank of America. Anne Finucane, Global Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer, Bank of America recently presented the award to her. The award is meant to shine a spotlight on an extraordinary woman who has used her own leadership journey to pay it forward, investing in the next generation and paving the way for transformational and sustainable change.
The recognition took place at the British Ambassador’s residence in Washington, DC with attendees from the business, government, and nonprofit sectors.
Sarika was a mentee who had participated in Global Ambassadors Program and using her connections created during this time, Sarika then created I-Inspire, an annual conference in India which brings business and nonprofit leaders together to highlight the importance of women, mentoring and how to create more opportunities for women in business.
“Sarika’s experience speaks to the power of global connections and the ‘multiplier effect’ we hoped would develop as a tangible outcome of the Global Ambassadors Program,” noted Anne. ” She’s demonstrated courage, entrepreneurial spirit and personal and professional commitment to advancing and evolving the leadership role of women in business.”
A true believer and promoter of gender diversity and related business issues, Sarika is a strong advocate for gender targets within organizations to bring a more balanced perspective to discussions and decision making.
Sarika mentions, “It feels great to be appreciated for the efforts one puts in something they believe and it’s even more motivating when the pat on the back comes from inspirational women like Hillary Clinton and Anne Finucane and Alyse Nelson. I feel very honored!”
Her initiative Biz Divas Foundation is a buzzing network that provides business and leadership skills to women driving India’s economic growth.
About Biz Divas Foundation
Biz Divas is a national network of professional women connecting to advance one another personally and professionally, following the motto, “Women Inspire Change”. Founded and headquartered in Delhi NCR, Biz Divas has a growing presence across the country in cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Gurgaon.
Biz Divas’ goal is to provide a platform for women of our region to come together to be educated, inspired and connected. We identify, invest and bring visibility to extraordinary women in business, corporates, public & political leadership. We provide mentoring, training, support networks & visibility via public forums to unleash their true potential towards success. The mission of Biz Divas is to increase the participation of women in Indian economy. Since its inception in 2011, Biz Divas has mentored, trained & supported more than 1500+ women across India.
Biz Divas’s Knowledge Partner – Vital Voices is an International, non-profit, non-governmental organization. Founded in 1999 by Women leaders: Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright, Melanne Verveer, Theresa Loar, Donna McLarty, Alyse Nelson.
For Press Queries, please contact :
Ms. Ela Gupta
+91 9990256669
[email protected]
Know More about Biz Divas Foundation : http://bizdivas.org/
