Women of Vision: Nine Business Leaders in Conversation with Alam Srinivas

A 2012 McKinsey study found that women hold a mere 5 per cent of boardroom positions in Indian firms. If India has to emerge as a real economic superpower in the 21st century, she has to harness the growing women power, grant them a greater role in the nation-building process and chalk out a clear ballot-to-boardroom path for them. However, there are a few women who have fought against all odds to occupy the corner rooms in Indian companies. Women with Vision profiles successful businesswomen from diverse backgrounds: (1) World-class managers (Chanda Kochhar and Naina Lal Kidwai); (2) First-generation entrepreneurs (Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Zia Mody and Ekta Kapoor) and (3) Inheritors (Anu Aga, Shobhana Bhartia, Priya Paul and Priti Paul). In a face-to-face interview with the author, each icon shares her journey of how she battled male-dominated hierarchies to shatter the glass ceiling and set up successful business empires through grit, determination, hard work and merit. Their stories, also narrated by their family members and colleagues, highlight their conflicts, challenges, perils and promises. These personalities can truly inspire a whole generation of women to fight their way through the corridors of corporate power while juggling their many responsibilities at home.