Between the Government and Industry, let us resolve to build a society that is empathetic to the needs of the women of the country: Smriti Irani

Between the Government and Industry, let us resolve to build a society that is empathetic to the needs of the women of the country: Smriti Irani

"CII Women Exemplar Awards bring out the need to pause and recognise that much more needs to be done to inspire women at the grassroot level in the society and bring about social change. Between the Government and Industry, let us resolve to build a society that is empathetic to the needs of the women of the country," said Smt Smriti Irani, Hon'ble Minister of Women and Child Development and Minority Affairs, Government of India while addressing the Plenary Session on "Accelerating Social Change through Women Leaders" at the CII Annual Session 2023.

Ms Shobana Kamineni, Past President CII, and Executive Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited said that "over the course of many decades, the Confederation of Indian Industry has worked to create and sustain an environment conducive to the development of India, partnering industry, Government, and civil society. In this role, it is natural for CII to play a lead role in promoting social development and women empowerment across the spectrum, right from women at the grassroots to women in Corporate Indian boardrooms.

Mr Sanjiv Bajaj, President, Confederation of Indian Industry noted that India remains steadfast in its commitment to build a more just and equal society. Hon'ble Prime Minister has identified women empowerment as one of the key steps to focus on if India is going to become a developed nation in the coming years. India Inc is also recognising the need to work with women at the grassroots, working on multiple initiatives across various fields like education, health, skilling, financial inclusion.

Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, Confederation of Indian Industry moderated the Session.

CII Foundation Woman Exemplar Program, is a key initiative that promotes women empowerment at the community level by scanning the ecosystem to identify, recognize and support women at the grassroots, who have risen beyond their limitations, and positively impacted their community. Since its inception in 2005, the Program has recognized and facilitated the courage, conviction and compassion of exemplary women who have overcome grave personal challenges, ignored social norms or sought to reform them to enable transformative change to their communities in the fields of education, health and micro-enterprise.

From being rescued from domestic violence and sexual abuse, to becoming a child protection activist, eliminating the stigma of HIV and playing a pivotal role in transforming health services in a state with the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS, to building a rural entrepreneurship ecosystem in one of the most difficult geographies, the CII Foundation Women Exemplars each year bring to fore the stories of women who have battled social injustice, discrimination, poverty, and exploitation to triumph and further ignite the spirit of empowerment in others.

Since its inception in 2005, over 100 women leaders have been recognized through the program and are now a part of the CII Foundation network. For most of the women, the award provides them and their work a legitimacy and a gravitas within their communities and before local stakeholders. Many of these Woman exemplars, who were relatively unknown till then, are today being celebrated as social transformers by institutions of high repute, including the NITI Aayog and Ministry of Women & Child Development.

For the 17th edition of the Award, this year, CII Foundation received over 416 nominations from across 22 states. From amongst those 416 applicants, 17 finalists have been shortlisted - women who made a difference and contributed to making the world a better place. While all the 17 women are examples of courage and leadership, 3 women exemplars have been selected based on the personal challenges they have overcome, the populations that they work with and their impact and vision. The women exemplars this year are - Pushpa Shukla from Chhattisgarh, Zohmangaihi from Mizoram and Archana Gokul Mane from Maharashtra.

24 May 2023

New Delhi

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