A day that is dedicated to the entire woman entity, March 8 is celebrated as International Women’s Day. Every woman is unique in her own way and has seen many struggles and hardships in their life. Some might come out and tell their stories to the society and inspire others, and some remain untold due to many reasons. There are many inspirational stories that will make us realize our own strengths and sometimes few motivating stories leave a question in our mind that why cannot we try and achieve something in life. Here are a few inspirational stories of 5 Female Leaders in India who can also be considered as women leaders of the world, these leaders will inspire us to achieve greater heights and become successful in life with their experience and insights. Five Women Leaders, whom you should completely look forward and follow this women’s day are:
1. Dr. Sudha Murthy, Chairperson, Infosys Foundation
Dr. Sudha Murthy, a woman who heads an MNC but likes to lead a simple life. Sudha Murthy was born in a rural scenario, a village named Savalagi, situated in Bagalkot district, Karnataka. Sudha Murthy completed her BE in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from BVB College of Engineering and Technology, Hubli. And a lesser-known fact about her college life is she was an only girl in her class filled with male dominance, moreover, she bagged first class and was awarded a gold medal by the then Chief Minister of Karnataka. Further Sudha Murthy pursued her ME at Indian Institute of Science, where she again stood first and received a gold medal from the Indian Institute of Engineers.
Breaking the stereotypes Sudha Murthy was the first female engineer to work in TELCO. Before that when Sudha Murthy was rejected by the company because of being a woman she wrote a complaining letter to the Chairman of TELCO and explained her views on being rejected and the gender-biased scenario of the company.
Sudha Murthy has also served as a teacher for a few years for which she receives the ‘Best Teacher Award’ from Rotary Club Bangalore. Sudha Murthy supported her husband in building Infosys, when Narayana Murthy told her that he will not be working for few years and she has to completely take care of the family also the financial needs of the family. Sudha Murthy supported her husband and took care of the family and helped her husband in building the empire which is popularly known as, Infosys. Murthy is now the Chairperson of Infosys Foundation and a member of the Public Health Care initiatives of Gates Foundation.
Sudha Murthy is also an active social worker who completed demolished the Devdasi ritual that was followed in a village of Karnataka. She offered employment to those Devadasi’s who are now leading a respectful life in society. Murthy is also a renowned author, who has written some famous and top picked books such as Dollar Sose (Dollar Daughter-in-law), Three Thousand Stitches, How I Taught My Grandmother To Read and many more on the list.
The awards and recognitions received by Sudha Murthy are a never-ending list, some of the major awards are Karnataka Rajyotsava award in 2000, Padma Shri, Hemmeya Kannadiga, and the list goes on. Sudha Murthy is one of the most inspiring people in the country. She can be described as an icon of simplicity and is considered one among the inspirational female leaders of India.
2. Nisaba Godrej, Chairperson, Godrej Consumer Products
Leading a company that has been successfully ruling the market and setting milestones for more than a century, it is a task that requires high standard qualities like leadership and decision making. Especially, in a male dominating society, woman taking authority and power over decision-making chair is a kind of pressurized role to take up. But the women of present India are setting their own dominance and proving their power of coming out successful in any role or duty assigned. Nisaba Godrej is one of the top female leaders in India; she took over as Executive Chairman of the company Godrej Products in 2017. She ensured that the company is always leading the market and climbing more and more heights of success and is named under the list of female business leaders in India.
Nisaba pursued her MBA from Harvard Business School; she joined Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) in 2007 by leading the Project Leapfrog. She has always worked on developing creative and innovative strategies for Godrej Consumer Products and increasing the market size of Godrej.
Nisaba heads the Good and Green, CSR activities conducted by Godrej Group. She is also one of the board members of Teach for India and Godrej Agrovet. Nisaba started her career in the Godrej company as a project head and later on, she worked in different roles, as her strength was in creating innovative strategies and concepts for the products. This strength of Nisaba and her contribution to making Godrej as a leading brand in the Indian market can make her one of the inspirational female leaders that the country has witnessed.
3. Falguni Nayar, Founder, Nykaa
Today, when the thought of buying beauty products and accessories online comes to our mind the very next second we open an app, it is a most trusted and used by most of the customers, Nykaa. The name Nykaa represents the word Nayika, a leading woman. Women like to look good and present themselves in every perfect way possible, and every woman follows certain brands that will suit their skin, make them look elegant and more importantly which comforts her. Nykaa is a one-stop online shop for all the beauty products and accessories, and today, Nykaa itself has turned out as a prominent brand in the market. The Nykaa is a brainchild of Falguni Nayar, established in 2012.
An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA), Falguni has pursued her MBA in Finance. She has rendered the services in various roles and levels for more than two decades at Kotak Mahindra, and after working for several years, a passion to fulfil her dreams was inculcated in Falguni. She decided to quit her job as Managing Director in Kotak Investment Banking and took up the role of an entrepreneur to set new standards and raised the bars of Ecommerce. In the initial days, Nykaa was offering its services online but at present, it is a leading company that has marked its PAN India presence with 17 stores across India. Nykaa is now tied-up with more than 800 brands including some of the most recognized international brands. Falguni set history as a successful business woman in India by creating Nykaa which is now considered as one of the prioritized, largest and most celebrated online platforms by the customers.
4. Shubhra Chadda, Co-Founder and Head of Products, Chumbak
Creative arts and products always attract people also, it looks good when they go well with the surrounding. Today, the trend of gifting has been changed and people will always look for the things that are creative and different and in regards to this, people always search for innovative gifts. To provide creative gifts to the Indian Market and to get in a twist to this concept of gifting by adding innovative arts and designs, Shubhra Chadda along with her husband Vivek Prabhakar established Chumbak in 2009. Chumbak is a perfect example of how to work on an idea or dream and make it successful.
Shubhra pursued her master’s from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication and has offered services in few companies for some years. When the couple was living a luxurious and settled life they planned to establish Chumbak for which they invested their complete savings. In a span of five years, Chumbak flourished as a successful brand in the market and its products were mostly preferred by the youngsters who liked to set up creative home decor and gift colourful and innovative things. Shubhra is presently the Co-Founder of Chumbak, a journey that was started as a boutique and is now representing a whole successful brand across the country, also globally. Shubhra is working with the aim of putting Indian designs and creativity on the world map, and inspiring many young women to work on their dreams, creativity and act on them to stand out successful.
5. Dr. Seema Rao, First Woman Commando Trainer, India
There are a few women who have proved that there is no such field where women cannot achieve, they have broken the traditional chain of norms that are being believed and followed for several years. One such woman is Dr. Seema Rao, popularly known as India’s Wonder Woman, and recognized as the First and Only Woman Commando Trainer of India. The women are considered to be weaker than men when it comes to physical resistance, by breaking all such stereotypes Seema Rao exhibited it to the country and world that anything can be possible if a woman inculcates passion for it. Daughter of Prof. Ramakant Sinari, an Indian Freedom Fighter, Seema was brought up in a patriotic environment where she experienced and understood the joy and proudness of serving one’s country and fighting for it. Seema is a certified doctor and an MBA graduate in Crisis Management.
Seema Rao is married to Major Deepak Rao, a CQB trainer who trains the commandos along with Seema. He is also a Doctor, Author, Zen Expert, and Motivational Speaker. It was Major Deepak who inspired Seema to take up martial arts, weapon defence, shooting and so on. Though the couple has rendered their services to the country for several years by training numerous Indian Armed Forces, they have not accepted any remuneration from the Government for their services.
Seema is an expert and pioneer in the Close Quarter Battle and is training the Armed Forces for more than two decades. During these years she has suffered from several minor and major injuries, and in one such injury, Seema had lost her memory for several months. Seema alongside her husband Major Rao has established an academy that teaches military martial arts named as Unarmed Commando Combat Academy (UCCA). She has won several awards such as Nari Shakti Puraskar, India’s Highest Civilian Honour for Women, Army Chief Citations, World Peace Award by World Peace Congress and many more on the list. Seema is a great inspiration to the women of India who wants to break the typical boundaries and prove their strengths to the world.
