The Confederation of Indian Industry Indian Women Network (CII IWN) organised the third edition of Leaderpreneurship Conclave in Kolkata on January 13. The event chose as its theme “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow.” Shashi Panja, minister-in-charge, Department of Industries, Commerce & Enterprises and Women and Child Development and Social Welfare, Government of West Bengal; Sriranjani Joshi, chairperson, CII IWN- West Bengal & director, The George Telegraph Group Ltd; Sanghamitra Ghosh, IAS, principal secretary, Department of Women and Child Development and Social Welfare, Government of West Bengal; Subir Chakraborty, managing director and CEO, Exide Industries Limited, were present at the event.
During the inauguration address, Shashi Panja highlighted the state government’s focus on social protection and women's empowerment that it has been trying to execute through various schemes. Ghosh referred to the “India Discrimination Report 2022” by Oxfam which shows that discrimination causes 100 per cent of employment inequality faced by women in rural areas in the labour market and 98 per cent in urban areas. She also went on to highlight the crucial role that the private sector could play in making West Bengal gender diverse and empowering women employees. An improvement in ESG Policy would make bottom-line business sense and help achieve gender diversity.
Subir Chakraborty commented during his inaugural address that India has to go far to achieve true gender equality in every perspective, be it corporate or social context. He referred to the recent report on gender diversity by the World Economic Forum that showed that India has slipped to 140th from 128th out of 156 countries. He added that equality should be practised more to bring it into the social fabric. Speaking in the same spirit, Sriranjani Joshi said that Gender equality is not only a fundamental right or a sustainable development goal but also a necessary pillar for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.
A thought leadership paper on “Gender Diversity through ESG frameworks in India” was also unveiled at the conference.