India’s oldest B-school XLRI Jamshedpur’s Centre for Gender Equality and Inclusive Leadership witnessed former senior international civil servant, Liselotte Waldheim Natural, stressing on inclusive leadership at its maiden dialogue series on Tuesday.
The CGEIL, which was set up at the B-school in March last year to encourage inclusion of women in economically gainful activities and had earlier this year appointed media professional and author Alka Raza as its chairperson, hosted its first event virtually on Tuesday.
Liselotte Waldheim Natural, an experienced leader and champion for women, girls and gender equality, speaking as the guest speaker said: “It takes active involvement of men and women to progress the motive of gender equality.
“You have to grab every opportunity you have, you should never shy away thinking that this kind of work is not cut out for me.”
Liselotte, who is the youngest professional woman ever recruited at the UN Secretariat, New York, also discussed her own career journey and what it takes for a woman to get recognised in their professional life.
“What should a female candidate do when her work is rejected by male boss?” asked a participant.
Liselotte replied: “It is something that we have to accept and try to prove them wrong with our hardwork and good work. Your male boss will accept it. Even though they don’t, your hard work will definitely pay you in the long run. I have myself transferred to jobs. You have to be open to opportunities, and jump on to them whenever needed. You must be a fighter.”
She concluded by saying, “As a woman, never doubt your abilities. Pick up all challenges. Even if you fail, you will gain experience. Never be guilty of being a working mother.
“Let your children participate in your work experience. Encourage both daughters and sons to acquire education. Never give up your battles as a man or woman, do it together as a joint partnership, things will be easy.”
“CGEIL has an ambitious goal, which is, to significantly increase the participation of women in the workforce within the next 5-10 years through strategic and broad-based interventions.
“As a first step, we have set up the CGEIL and started our sessions too, and we aim to build a world-class centre of excellence in years to come,” said XLRI director Father Paul Fernandes.
“CGEIL aims at covering the existing challenges and obstacles to women empowerment, peace and security and will be hosting monthly events throughout the year.
“My experience over the years has taught me that it is our need and duty to reach out to those who live in underprivileged circumstances. We must recognize women for their role and contribution they have been making for centuries,” said chairperson Alka Raza.
According to World Economic Forum statistics, India ranks 140 out of 156 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index (GGI) 2021.
And according to the Survival Gender Inequality Index (GII) introduced in 2010 by the UN Human Development Report, India ranks 155 out of 156 countries in the domain of health and survival.
“Creation of CGEIL was the initiative of XLRI Alumni, who were passionate about enhancing women’s participation in workforce and leadership. XLRI will continue working towards spreading awareness about gender equality,” said a spokesperson of the Jesuit institution.
