20 Women Leaders Of India Setting An Example For The Upcoming Gen
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20 Women Leaders Of India Setting An Example For The Upcoming Gen

Women tend to perceive work more holistically than males, seeing it as a component of their total life goals rather than a singular aim. As a result, women are better equipped to strike a healthier and more meaningful balance between work and personal life. 

This has the extra benefit of spreading to other employees, as women leaders are more aware of their coworkers' work-life balance, making them more approachable for queries and concerns.

Women frequently balance multiple aspects of their lives daily, balancing their family, children, aging parents, and careers. This means that women are skilled at finding answers to a variety of problems that arise, without being locked or isolated in one area of responsibility for another. 

This makes women great leaders. Here is the list of the top women leaders of India.

1. Reshma Shetty

Reshma Shetty | Women Leaders Of India

Shetty was born in Manchester, England on November 2, 1977, to Hindu Indian parents. In 2006, Shetty was cast as Priya, the female lead in the Broadway musical Bombay Dreams' national tour. She also appeared in 'Rafta Rafta', an Off-Broadway production. She portrayed physician assistant Divya Katdare on the American television show 'Royal Pains'. Shetty also appeared on the Fox News Channel satirical show 'Red Eye' with Greg Gutfeld as a guest panelist on occasion. 

In the Netflix reboot 'She-Ra and the Princesses of Power', she played Queen Angella. In India, she is also the face of the Dove moisturizing bar. She is married to Deep Katdare, an actor and financier who co-starred with her in 'Bombay Dreams'. She is one of the women leaders of India.

2. Aruna Jayanthi

Aruna Jayanthi is the general manager of Capgemini's Asia Pacific and Latin America business unit and an Indian businesswoman. She was previously the CEO of Business Services and the CEO of Capgemini India. Jayanthi graduated from SVKM's NMIMS with a master's degree in management studies in finance in 1984.

In 2011 and 2012, Jayanthi was named one of Fortune India's "Most Powerful Women". Since November 2014, Jayanthi has served as the head of the board of governors of the National Institute of Technology Calicut.

3. Ekta Kapoor

Ekta Kapoor | Women Leaders Of India

Ekta Kapoor is a television producer, film producer, and director from India who works in Hindi movies and soap operas. Balaji Telefilms Limited, which she co-founded in 1994, is her joint managing director and creative director. Balaji Motion Pictures was founded in 2001 as a division of Balaji Telefilms Limited.

In 2020, Kapoor was awarded the Padma Shri for her contributions to the arts. Jeetendra and Shobha Kapoor's daughter, Ekta Kapoor, is an actress. Tusshar Kapoor, her younger brother, is also a Bollywood actor.

4. Chitra Ramkrishna

Chitra Ramkrishna was the first woman to serve as managing director and CEO of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), which was founded in the early 1990s to reform India's capital market and is now the world's largest cash market exchange and one of the top three exchanges for index and stock derivatives.

For her work as the CEO of the National Stock Exchange of India, Ramakrishnan was selected as Forbes' Women Leader of the Year in 2013. Ramakrishna has been a part of the NSE since its creation and is one of four Indians on Fortune's list of the world's 50 most prominent businesswomen.

5. Zia Mody

Zia Mody | Women Leaders Of India

Zia Mody is a corporate lawyer and entrepreneur from India. Zia is the daughter of Soli Sorabjee, India's former Attorney General. Zia is a founding partner of AZB & Partners, one of India's largest legal companies, as well as a top corporate lawyer in the country.

Zia Mody is an Indian women leader, corporate lawyer, and businesswoman who was born on July 19, 1956. G.E., Tata Group, Reliance Industries, Aditya Birla Group, and Vedanta Group are among her clients. KKR, Bain Capital, and Warburg Pincus are among the prominent private equity firms she advises. Fortune India rated her as the most powerful woman entrepreneur in 2018 and 2019.

6. Mallika Srinivasan

Mallika Srinivasan is the Chairman and Managing Director of Tractors and Farm Equipment Limited, a tractor manufacturing company based in Chennai that was formed in 1960. She is also the chairwoman of the Public Enterprises Selection Board of the Indian government (PESB). Mallika founded TAFE as a tractor mass manufacturing company.

She oversaw the company's expansion to its current size of INR 96 billion in revenue, with diverse holdings in tractors, farm machinery, diesel engines, engineering plastics, hydraulic pumps and cylinders, batteries, automobile franchises, and plantations. Mallika has served on the boards of various industry organizations, including the Tractor Manufacturers' Association of India and the Madras Chamber of Commerce, as well as the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade.

7. Kiran Mazumdar

Kiran Mazumdar | Women Leaders Of India

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is a billionaire entrepreneur from India. She is the founder and executive chairperson of Biocon Limited and Biocon Biologics Limited, both of which are based in Bangalore, India. She received the Othmer Gold Medal in 2014 for her outstanding contributions to the advancement of science and chemistry.

She is one of the top 50 women in business, according to the Financial Times. Forbes ranked her as the 68th most powerful woman in the world in 2019. She was named the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year 2020 in 2020. John Shaw is her husband.

8. Kirthiga Reddy

Kirthiga Reddy (born around 1971) is an Indian businesswoman who is a venture partner in SoftBank's $100 billion Vision Fund. Reddy, the former managing director of Facebook India, is SoftBank's first female investing partner.

She holds the distinction of being the first employee of the social media behemoth in India, and she has been a driving force behind the company's rapid expansion in the country. In 2011, she was named one of Fortune India's Top 50 Most Powerful Women, and she has also been named one of India's 25 most influential women.

9. Shikha Sharma

Shikha Sharma | Women Leaders Of India

Shikha Sharma is a former managing director and CEO of Axis Bank, India's third-largest private sector bank, from 2009 to 2018. Sharma joined Axis Bank in 2009 intending to enhance the bank's retail lending franchise, expanding its investment banking and advising skills, and building a diverse product offering.

Sharma has worked in the financial sector for more than three decades, starting with ICICI Bank in 1980. Sharma's appointment as MD and CEO of Axis Bank in 2009 resulted in a 90 percent increase in the bank's stock price. Axis Bank has won numerous awards during Sharma's leadership, including The Banker Magazine's 'Bank of the Year in India' award for 2014.

10. Chanda Kochhar

Chanda Kochhar is a former ICICI Bank managing director and chief executive officer. She did, however, resign from her position on October 4, 2018, as part of a government banking procedure change. 

Her contributions to the portfolio included Videocon and the ICICI Bank board of directors. ICICI Bank won the "Best Retail Bank in India" award in 2001, 2003, 2004, and 2005 under Kochhar's leadership.

11. Vinita Bali

Vinita Bali | Women Leaders Of India

Vinita Bali is a businesswoman from India who was previously the Managing Director of Britannia Industries Limited. Her first job was at Voltas, where she helped launch the soft drink brand Rasna. For 14 years, she worked for Cadbury's Indian division, expanding the company's markets in India and Africa. 

Coca-Cola hired her as Marketing Director in 1994, and she was later promoted to Vice President of Marketing for Latin America. Bali also served as Vice President of Corporate Strategy during her nine years at Coke. In 2003, she left Coca-Cola to work for the Zyman Group. She was the group's Managing Principal and Head of Business Strategy in Atlanta.

12. Nita Mukesh Ambani

Nita Mukesh Ambani | Women Leaders Of India

Nita Mukesh Ambani is a philanthropist and one of the women leaders of India. She is the chairperson and founder of the Reliance Foundation, the Dhirubhai Ambani International School, and a Reliance Industries director. She is one of the women leaders of India. Mukesh Ambani, the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, is her husband. 

In 2016, India Today named her one of "the fifty high and mighty Indians. “She was the first Indian woman to join the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Ambani received the President of India's 'Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Award 2017' for her initiatives in grassroots sports. She was named the Times of India's Best Corporate Supporter of Indian Sports.

13. Vanitha Narayanan

Vanitha Narayanan is a business executive from India. She is the IBM-Verizon relationship's managing director. From 2017 to 2018, she served as the Chairman of IBM India. She was previously the managing director of IBM India and the regional general manager for India and South Asia.

She is one of the women leaders of India. In 1987, Narayanan moved to the United States to work for IBM. She has worked in several countries, is a member of IBM's Growth & Transformation Team, and has been inducted into the IBM Industry Academy. She is the executive sponsor for developing the women's leadership pipeline and has led many leadership development and diversity initiatives.

14. Naina Lal Kidwai

Naina Lal Kidwai | Women Leaders Of India

Naina Lal Kidwai is a chartered accountant and business executive from India. She was previously the Group General Manager and Country Head of HSBC India. She was also President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

Kidwai has received the prestigious Padma Shri award for her contributions to trade and industry. She is currently a member of the International Movement to Unite Nations' Board of Advisors (I.I.M.U.N.).

15. Roshni Nadar Malhotra

Roshni Nadar Malhotra is an Indian businesswoman and the first woman to run a publicly traded IT company in India. She is the chairperson of HCL Technologies. She is placed 54th on Forbes' list of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women in 2019.

Nadar is the richest woman in India, according to the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List (2019). She is placed 55th on Forbes' list of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women in 2020. Before joining HCL, she worked as a producer for many companies. She was named executive director and CEO of HCL Corporation less than a year after joining the company.

16. Rakhee Kapoor Tandon

Rakhee Kapoor Tandon is a venture capitalist and an Indian business entrepreneur. Rana Kapoor, the managing director of Yes Bank, is her father. She worked as an investment banker in the United States and has an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business. According to India Today, she is among "India's 25 Most Influential Women". 

She is the CEO and Founder of RAAS Capital (India) Pvt. Ltd, a financial services holding company. She founded two businesses under RAAS Capital: RAAS Housing Finance (India) Pvt. Ltd. and Rural Agri Ventures India.

17. Saina Nehwal

Saina Nehwal | Women Leaders Of India

Saina Nehwal is an Indian professional badminton player. She is a former world number one with over 24 international titles to her name, including eleven Superseries titles. Nehwal has set several badminton records for India. She is the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal in badminton, the first Indian to reach the final of the BWF World Championships, as well as the only Indian to win the BWF World Junior Championships. 

She is regarded as one of the most successful Indian athletes and is credited with popularising badminton in India. In 2016, the Government of India (GOI) awarded upon her the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian award.

18. Nisa Godrej

Godrej Consumer Products Limited Consumer Products is chaired by Nisaba Adi "Nisa" Godrej. She is also in charge of Godrej Industries and its subsidiary companies' corporate strategy and human capital functions. Nisa is the point of contact for the Godrej Family Council and handles the Godrej Group's 'Good & Green' (CSR) projects.

Nisa's previous Godrej Group assignments included the turnaround of Godrej Agrovet. She has managed many projects for Godrej Industries and its subsidiaries in the areas of innovation, strategy, and human resources. Nisa Godrej was appointed to the board of directors of Godrej Agrovet in 2008. Nisa Godrej was appointed to the board of directors of Godrej Agrovet in 2008.

19. Kareena Kapoor Khan

Kareena Kapoor Khan | Women Leaders Of India

Kareena Kapoor Khan is an Indian film actress who has appeared in many Bollywood films. She is the daughter of actors Randhir and Babita Kapoor, as well as the younger sister of actress Karisma Kapoor. She is Raj Kapoor's paternal granddaughter, Hari Shivdasani's maternal granddaughter, and Prithviraj Kapoor's great-granddaughter.

Out of fifteen nominations, Kapoor received six Film fare Awards. In 2000, Kapoor was named Best Female Debut for her performance in Refugee. She received a special jury award for Chameli (2003), as well as two Critics’ Awards for Best Actress for Dev (2004) and Omkara (2006). (2006). For her parts in Jab We Met (2007) and We Are Family (2010), Kapoor won Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, respectively.

20. Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi

Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi was a member of the Indian National Congress and a famous Indian politician. She was India's third prime minister and the country's first and only female prime minister. She is one of the women leaders of India. Indira Gandhi was the daughter of India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.

Indira Gandhi was named "Woman of the Millennium" in a BBC online poll in 1999. Time magazine named Gandhi one of the world's 100 most powerful women of the twentieth century in 2020. After leading India to victory against Pakistan in the Bangladesh liberation war in 1971, President V. V. Giri bestowed Gandhi with India's highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna.

So this is the list of the top women leaders of India. Many women can take these people as inspiration or role models to become great leaders in the future. 

Share this information with friends who want to become strong women and also let us know the name of the women who inspired you the most.

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