Women Leaders

From Sofia Qureshi to Maithili Thakur: Women who broke barriers in 2025

In 2025, Indian women left a decisive mark across governance, security, sports and culture, shaping outcomes, changing policies, breaking records and inspiring millions nationwide

Indian women voters find their voice, step out of the electoral closet

As political parties continue to scramble to design women-friendly welfare schemes and campaign speeches, women have begun to wield their vote as an instrument of assertion

Active participation of women needed to achieve Viksit Bharat: Prez Murmu

President Droupadi Murmu on Friday said that the active participation of women was necessary for the country to leverage its demographic dividend and achieve the vision of a Viksit Bharat (Developed India) by 2047. Murmu, speaking at the centenary celebrations of St Teresa's College here, also said that a society led by women leaders is likely to be more humane while also being more efficient. She pointed out that the Gender Budget allocation has increased by four and a half times over the last decade and that women-led MSMEs have nearly doubled in number between 2011 and 2024. "One of the key pillars for achieving the vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047 is reaching 70 per cent women workforce participation. Women from different socio-economic segments have been driving India's progress," the President said. She further stated that Kerala has the most favourable gender ratio in the country and that it "can be emulated by other states." The president noted that women from Kerala hav

Sanae Takaichi becomes Japan's first woman PM after parliamentary vote

She secured 237 votes in the more powerful lower house, bringing her four votes above the majority line needed to confirm her victory

Japan's parliament set to elect Sanae Takaichi as nation's first female PM

Japan's parliament is set to elect ultraconservative Sanae Takaichi as the country's first female prime minister on Tuesday, one day after her struggling party struck a coalition deal with a new partner that would pull her governing bloc further to the right. Takaichi will replace Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, ending a three-month political vacuum and wrangling since the Liberal Democratic Party's disastrous election loss in July. Ishiba, who lasted only one year in office, resigned with his Cabinet earlier Tuesday, paving the way for his successor. The LDP's off-the-cuff alliance with the Osaka-based rightwing Japan Innovation Party, or Ishin no Kai, ensures her premiership in a vote later in the day because the opposition is not united. Takaichi's untested alliance is still short of a majority in both houses of parliament and they need to court other opposition groups to pass any legislation -- a risk that could make her government unstable and short-lived. Political stability i

Who is Sanae Takaichi? Japan set to get its first-ever woman prime minister

Sanae Takaichi won Japan's ruling party leadership on Saturday, defeating male rivals; she is set to become Japan's first female prime minister, following in her idol Margaret Thatcher's footsteps

Japan's ruling party elects Takaichi as 1st female leader, set to become PM

Takaichi will face a parliamentary vote later this month to become premier, a contest expected to go to the LDP chief

How HR can Shape the Future of Business

HR is now a strategic voice shaping people, culture, and business. In this episode, Urvi Aradhya, CHRO at K Raheja Corp, shares insights on comebacks, leadership, diversity, and the future of HR.

Optics to outcome: Corporate India needs to do more on diversity

However, despite some progress at the top, the broader picture remains uneven

Shanti Ekambaram tops Hurun India 2025 list of women professionals

The Candere Hurun India Women Leaders List 2025 covers 97 women across nine categories, including top professionals, entrepreneurs, investors, artists and influencers

Trump admin to award women student leaders from Bangladesh protests

The Bangladeshi women will be receiving the 'Madeleine Albright Honorary Group Award'. The names of the individual honourees have not been disclosed by the US State Department

India's tech sector sees more women, yet leadership gaps persist

TeamLease Digital's latest report highlights GCCs leading gender diversity efforts, with female representation rising from 31.4% in 2020 to 38.3% in 2024, driven by DEI policies and global strategies

What makes rural women-led agri growth - the steadiest way to progress

The women-led agricultural growth is a lesson for planners to recognise the economic potential of a women-led growth with decentralised community action

SIP ticket size of women investors 22% higher than men, shows data

PhonePe Wealth said it analysed the investment patterns of 100,000 women investors from January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024, to understand their mutual fund (MF) investment trends

Starbucks lead independent director Hobson to step down after two decades

Hobson previously served as the chairwoman of Starbucks from March 2021 to September 2024, making her the only African American woman to chair a Fortune 500 company at the time of her appointment

South Indian film industry lags in women leadership roles, shows data

The fourth edition of the report titled O Womaniya! reveals a decline in the representation of women HoDs in Telugu films, dropping from 5 per cent in 2021 to 3 per cent in 2023

India's fragmented climate response limits women's role as leaders: Study

Despite progress in gender-focused policies, India's climate response remains fragmented, and its national climate policy still lacks a consolidated, gender-responsive climate finance strategy that could more comprehensively support women as climate leaders, according to a new report. The report by research and public policy consulting firm Chase India, supported by Global Counsel, underscores this gap, calling for coordinated, gender-responsive climate finance frameworks to position women as central agents of climate resilience rather than passive beneficiaries. The report was presented on Thursday during the COP29 climate summit here in Azerbaijan's capital. Programmes like the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, which has provided over 103 million rural women with access to clean cooking fuel, and the National Rural Livelihoods Mission, which has mobilised millions of women in sustainable livelihoods, demonstrate India's commitment to gender-responsive policies. However, these ...

Sri Lanka's presidential election: No female contender amongst 38 nominees

But since Sri Lanka introduced the universal franchise in 1931, the number of women in parliament has never crossed a threshold of 7%

India, UAE showed women-led development can deliver better results: Murmu

India and the United Arab Emirates have demonstrated that women-led development can deliver more effective results for overall socio-economic development, President Droupadi Murmu said on Monday. Her assertion came during a meeting she had with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan who had called on the President at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here. She also praised the UAE leadership for ensuring the welfare, particularly the special care taken during the difficult times of the Covid pandemic, of more than 35 lakh Indian citizens in the West Asian country. Murmu was also happy to note the high rate of participation and contribution of women in all aspects of Emirati society, a statement issued by the President's office said. She said, "Both our countries have demonstrated that women-led development can deliver more effective results for overall socio-economic development". The President expressed satisfaction that during the Crown Prince's visit,

Women lead 9 of 46 associations of IMA, one female president so far: Study

Only nine of 46 associations under India's largest and oldest professional medical association, the IMA, are currently led by women, suggesting a "negligible" representation in its leadership, according to a study. Further, of the 92 individuals who have served as the presidents since the Indian Medical Association's (IMA's) inception in 1928, only one was a woman, said a team of researchers, including those from The George Institute for Global Health, New Delhi. They looked at the current and past leaderships of the professional medical associations, including the Indian Public Health Association (IPHA) and those of all broad medical and surgical specialties. Unequal gender representation persists even in the medical associations closely involved in women's health such as obstetrics and gynaecology, pediatrics and neonatology, highlighting a male dominance, the authors said in the study published in the journal PLoS Global Public Health. "For instance, the National Neonatology For