It Voice News: Dell India in association with Biz Divas Foundation, a national network of professional women, today hosted “Women on Boards” — a collaborative symposium to address the importance of women representation and the increasing demand for diversity in India’s corporate boardrooms.
The symposium began with a keynote address by P Krishnakumar, Executive Director and General Manager Consumer & Small Business, Dell India. An inspiring panel discussion on ‘Being Board Ready’ was organized with industry leaders from the Indian corporate world: Kumud Srinivasan, President, Intel India; Anju Shenoy, Director, Ethics and Compliance, Dell India; Rajeev Khaitan, Senior Partner, Khaitan & Co and Revathi Kasturi, MD, Laqsh Jobs Skills Academy. The discussion and debate focussed on the distinct value and role of women’s leadership in corporate and business, strategies to encourage and ensure women’s participation at the leadership level and the pros and cons of the new Companies Act.
Among the developing countries, India is the first to implement the new Companies Act which defines several new provisions including the mandatory inclusion of women in corporate Indian boards. At the event, Biz Divas and the country’s leading law firm Khaitan & Co shared the recent research report to support corporate India with the execution of the Act with respect to the mandate on getting women on Indian Boards. This report describes the policy, process and implementation of the selective changes introduced by the Act with respect to Women on Boards, and aims to synergize the insights that Biz Divas received from the roundtables for policy advocacy, better governance and smoother implementation.
Ranjana Deopa, Board Practice Head & Director, Biz Divas Foundation & Altavis, said, “The Companies Act 2013 to include women in Boardrooms is a landmark one. It was a clear choice to have Dell as a partner as they are one of thought leaders in the IT/ITES space. Our engagement with Dell started with them supporting us for our Mentoring Program – promoting women leadership. As the next step, we are coming up with a Board Certification program which will standardize the nomination of board members”.
Commenting on the initiative, Alok Ohrie, President and Managing Director, Dell India said, “Diversity and inclusion is at the core of Dell’s vision and values. Women have been playing an increasingly powerful role in driving global economic growth with their unique approach to business. We are hopeful that this initiative will serve as an effective platform to raise awareness about importance of women in leadership roles. Numerous independent studies have shown that diverse & inclusive cultures have greater productivity and higher customer satisfaction. Diversity is among the most important predictors of sales revenue, expansion of customer base and profitability. It is also basic characteristic of our human society, and also a major contributor for the lively and dynamic world we see today.”
