BWI: Women in India Prepare to Take a Unified Stance at the Women in Leadership Forum India 2010

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: naseba
Wednesday, May 05, 2010 11:00 AM IST (05:30 AM GMT)
Editors: General: People, Social issues; Business: Business services, Media & entertainment
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Women in India Prepare to Take a Unified Stance at the Women in Leadership Forum India 2010


Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, May 05, 2010 -- (Business Wire India) -- On May 6th this year women from across the country will unite at the Women in Leadership (WIL) Forum India, in an effort to strengthen their position in the business community. Hosted by business information group naseba, the forum comes at a critical time for Indian women, who despite making progress, still face huge obstacles. According to the recent report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) global index, which highlights the gap between men and women in economic, political and social terms, India ranked 114th.

Despite this seemingly bleak outlook, recent figures show that unemployment amongst women has been dropping at a steady rate since 2003, whilst their representation has risen in all sectors except the public. From these facts, it is clear that women are not giving up the fight and enormous progress has been made in recent years.

This cohesive effort is supported by even more encouraging news from Ernst & Young's Groundbreaker's report which states: 'Entrepreneur Vikram Akula, who founded SKS Microfinance in 1998 to spur development in rural India, has provided about US$275 million in loans and life insurance to more than 900,000 women living in India's slums and villages while enjoying a 99% repayment rate. Akula attributes the high repayment rate to the fact that women are more likely than men to support each other (e.g., in repaying the loan) and to invest in their households.'

Not only are women being given the opportunity to better themselves, they are also keen to work together and support each other in their aspirations. This report and other statistics highlight the dedicated combined effort of individuals, private organisations and public authorities. Amongst leading organisations supporting women and WIL Forum India is Accenture. The company is committed to fulfilling its global corporate citizenship theme of Skills to Succeed, which aims to educate people around the world and build skills that enable them to participate in and contribute to the economy.

Discussing his role in the forum, Prithvi Shergill, Accenture India's Senior Vice President of HR and Inclusion and Diversity Sponsor said: "Today, more and more women are taking up leadership roles and playing a critical role in transforming businesses and communities through their unique capabilities. We at Accenture understand the importance of developing and nurturing the next generation of leaders. Our leadership and mentoring programmes have been designed to specifically invest in the talent we see in women and support them in realising their full potential. Our role in this forum is to share what we have learnt with women who are engaged and are building their expertise and confidence to meet today's challenges and deliver high levels of performance."

On a public level, many of the key topics covered at WIL Forum India are in-line with the aims of India's Women's Reservation Bill, which if passed would have a positive knock-on effect on the empowerment of women in the corporate world and help them to fight abuse, discrimination, and inequality on all levels.
"Bills such as this could open up a whole new wealth of opportunities for women, in the meantime though, it is so important to provide strategic platforms such as WIL India, where women can meet and discuss the challenges they face, and formulate strategies for overcoming them. We are proud to be hosting such a high calibre of dedicated women in India this year." said Teena Tolani, Producer of the WIL Forum at naseba.

Some of the confirmed speakers at the WIL Forum India are Dr. Kiran Bedi, Indian Police Service; Ritu Kumar, Fashion Designer; Saagarika Raj, Chief People Officer, Reliance Big Entertainment; Susan Jain, Vice President, Marketing Communications and Corporate Citizenship, IBM; Sushma Rajgopalan, Head - Global Strategy, L&T Infotech; Rekha M. Menon, Executive Director, Accenture India.

About naseba

naseba group produces promotes and hosts commercially oriented congresses and forums targeting executive level attendees across multiple vertical industries. Each event is focused on re-education, networking - and most importantly - creating a 'deal-flow' platform for all participating organisations. Whether the 'deal' is capital raising, vendor sales contracts or sourcing a strategic partner, naseba provides clients with an unprecedented, high-ROI environment for conducting business. An in-house team of experts conduct extensive research in conjunction with recognised thought leaders to ensure that all events are relevant, timely and at the forefront of market and industry trends.

naseba works in partnership with leading media, industry and local authorities such as International Data Corporation (IDC), TIME, CNBC Arabia, BBC World, zawya, Council of Saudi Chambers, SAGIA, Principality of Monaco, Singapore Tourism Board, Abu Dhabi Health Authority, Egyptian Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Economy - UAE, Ministry of Environment and Water - UAE, Qatar Civil Aviation, the Government of Dubai and many others.

naseba is listed on the Paris Stock Exchange and since inception in 2002 has organised over 350 events and played host to 52,000 executive delegates globally. Operating from five strategically located offices across the globe, naseba has on-the-ground presence in Monaco, Dubai, Bangalore, Singapore and Cairo.

At naseba, we make it happen.

For more information on naseba, please visit www.naseba.com

About Accenture

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. It employs over 181,000 people to serve clients in more than 120 countries.

Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world's most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$21.58billion for the fiscal year ending August 31st 2009.

Accenture Services Pvt. Ltd.
No. 4/1, IBC Knowledge Park
Bannerghatta Road
Bangalore - 560 029
Karnataka, India
Tel: +91 80 4106 0109
Email: vani.seshadri@accenture.com

For more information on Accenture naseba, please visit www.accenture.com


CONTACT DETAILS
Mitha Ittycheriah, naseba, +91 9008590666, mithai@naseba.com

KEYWORDS
PEOPLE, SOCIAL, BUSINESS SERVICES, MEDIA

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