Naina Lal Kidwai launches book on India's 30 women leaders

BENGALURU: When she could not land the job of a brew-master in India because it was a man's domain, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw founded Biocon out of a garage in 1978. The 25-year-old had figured that brewing was the oldest form of biotechnology known to man.

"The inspiration came from my father who told me to pursue a career that applied my knowledge. He provided the moral support to build the company and influenced me to achieve a humanitarian sense of purpose, my raison d'être,“ she said, adding that as she built her success, her credibility as an entrepreneur rose simultaneously, breaking gender barriers.

Also read: Five tips to read a book a day every day

The Biocon CMD was speaking at a FKCCI's Industry Ladies Organisation panel that launched the book '30 Women in Power', edited by Naina Lal Kidwai, Chairman India and Director Asia-Pacific, HSBC.


Nirupama Rao former Indian Ambassador to U.S, Naina Lal Kidwai, Chairman India and Director Asia-Pacific, HSBC, Shaheen Mistry, founder Akanksha Foundation and BIOCON chief, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw lighting the lamp at the release function of a book '30 Women in Power' in Bengaluru.

The book chronicles success stories of 30 Indian woman leaders including bankers Chanda Kochhar (ICICI), Arundhati Bhattacharya (State Bank of India), Kaku Nakhate ( Bank of America-Merrill Lynch), lawyers Pallavi Shroff and Zia Mody, IT leaders Debjani Ghosh ( Intel) and Aruna Jayanthi (Capgemini India), entrepreneurs Mallika Srinivasan (TAFE), Meher Pudumjee (Thermax), Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, and NGO activists like Sunita Narain, among others.

Also read: Leaving on a jet plane: Why Indian women are happy travelling alone

"Women leaders were considered a goldfish in a glass bowl in our time. These stories prove how they are fighters who proved their disbelievers wrong. They took risks and paved way for gender inclusion in the industry ," Naina Lal told ET.


From left Shereen Bhan, Delhi Bureau Chief and the Managing Editor of CNBC TV18, Nirupama Rao, former Indian Ambassador to US, Naina Lal Kidwai, India director for HSBC-Asia Pacific Rati Dhandhania Mundrey, Chairperson FICCI FLO Bangalore, Kiran Muzumdar Shaw, Chairman and Managing Director, Biocon,and Shaheen Mistry, Founder Akanksha Foundation.