Ambani calls upon India Inc to collectively launch ecosystem that supports working women

Mumbai: Urging the industry to collectively strengthen the ecosystem that supports working women and working mothers, Reliance Industry Chairman Mukesh Ambani on Thursday said women are no longer just beneficiaries of progress but architects, leading in various spheres of life globally.

Speaking at the launch of the Hindi edition of former SBI chairperson and Salesforce South Asia President and CEO Arundhati Bhattacharya's memoir "Indomitable: A Working Woman's Notes on Work, Life and Leadership", Ambani said when women of the country become unstoppable, India becomes unstoppable and Bhattacharya's life gives this conviction a human face.

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"Arundhati ji's achievements against all odds are a source of inspiration for working mothers around the world. Nevertheless, they also remind corporate India that it still has a very long way to go in ensuring that women get what they deserve," Ambani said.

"Therefore, I wish to appeal to all my fellow business leaders today, let us collectively launch an effective initiative to strengthen the ecosystem that supports working women and working mothers in corporate India," he said.

Ambani requested Bhattacharya and other accomplished "sisters" like her to guide this initiative, adding that Reliance Foundation will fully participate in this with other organisations.

"You take leadership, we will follow you," he said.

"Let us help and empower thousands of in-town women leaders to build and run the new temples of Viksit Bharat," Ambani added.

Ambani said he has always believed in that "Stri shakti is Bharat ki Shakti (Women power is the power of India), he said, "India is moving decisively from women's development to women-led development."

"Women are no longer merely beneficiaries of progress. They are its architects, leading in business, science, sport, and our armed forces and communities across the globe. I saw this strength in my mother, Kokilaben (Ambani)," he said.

Describing Bhattacharya as a "problem solver", he said "she is a strategic thinker who understands the present and the future clearly".

"I have known Arundhati ji closely through her association with Reliance and now, being on the Reliance board for many years," Ambani said.

"Today at Reliance, we are very proud to have many more women leaders at senior levels," he said, adding, "women bring a rare type of EQ, empathy quotient, to negotiate any real-life situation".

"It is now my firm conviction that our world needs more emotional quotient than intellectual quotient, which is to say more women in leadership positions," Ambani said.