The objective of holding this event is to drive conversations around the increasingly visible contribution of women to every walk of life. The world needs more women to take on the mantle of leadership and an ecosystem that nurtures and empowers them to grow and lead.

From a frontline health worker to a head of state tackling the pandemic, a surgeon competently handling a critical patient, a teacher and a professor educating the next generation, a lawyer fighting for the rights of the lesser privileged, a village sarpanch bringing in change, a sportsperson bringing laurels to the country,  an entrepreneur creating employment opportunities to a homemaker; women have always played a critical role in societies across the world.

In the past few decades, women in India have overcome immense barriers to make their mark in every field. By breaking harmful cultural norms and stereotypes, successful women in various professions have become role models for the aspiring young generation.  These women have dared, they have made an impact and they continue to inspire!

We have invited three  eminent personalities to speak on this occasion – Karuna Nandy – well known Supreme Court lawyer, Serena Jacob - Managing Director for Kantar Qualitative Asia Pacific and Kaushik Mukherjee - Co-founder & COO of SUGAR Cosmetics.

The invitees will speak about their contribution to their respective fields, the challenges they and their peers have faced, and the way forward for the aspiring young generation. Kaushik has been invited to share his experiences about women and their roles to get a holistic perspective and break the traditional format of such events where only women speakers are invited.

Short profiles of the speakers:

1) Serena Jacob - Managing Director for Kantar Qualitative Asia Pacific and a qualitative researcher with 32 years in the industry, Serena is passionate about delivering outstanding insights and uncovering new opportunities for clients. Having worked in South East Asia for over 12 years, she has a deep understanding of Asian consumers and the cultural and social underpinnings that drive brand choice.

2) Karuna Nundy - Lawyer at the Supreme Court of India. Karuna has played a significant role in drafting the anti-rape bill after the 2012 Delhi gang rape case. She was included by an Economic Times jury in a list of 'Corporate India's Fastest Rising Women Leaders' which cited her as being 'famous in the corporate world for her expertise in commercial law'.

3) Kaushik Mukherjee - Co-founder & COO of SUGAR Cosmetics, one of the fastest-growing beauty startups. An IIM Ahmedabad/BITS Pilani alumnus, his career included working in the world's best investment banking (Goldman Sachs) and consulting (McKinsey & Co.) firms before he gave it all up to start something of his own. SUGAR Cosmetics has more female employees than male employees, a phenomenon not very common in manufacturing sector.