Women’s Day Special Conclave
Brought to you by Comms News and Reputation Today
India Impact Communication Conclave (IICC) 2022 -Women’s Day Special was organized by Comms News and Reputation today on Thursday, 3rd March 2022 virtually. Through this event, Reputation Today & Comms News aimed to create a platform to enable an inclusive and active dialogue on Gender Equality today for a Better Tomorrow.
The conclave on Women’s Day Special had a stellar lineup of female panelists from the communications fraternity who discussed and shared their perspectives on various pressing issues.
The first panel, which included Dhruti Kapadia from INGKA, Dimple Kapur from Pernod Ricard, Poonam Thakur from Prosus Ventures, and Shreya Sharma from Sharechat discussed the topic of Gender Equality which was moderated by Shreya Krishnan – AON India. It was stressed on that Gender Equality is for anyone who cares for humanity. Acknowledging their choice is the first step and it’s important we look beyond. Is there pay parity? Certainly not. Is there an unconscious bias when women speak? Yes. There has to be an intent and then action. In this Women’s Day Special Conclave we understood that in order to address the gaps in the industry, equality needs to be built-in into the code of conduct and honest conversations should take place.
The second panel, which included Amandeep Arora from MobiKwik, Bhawna Sharma from Western Digital, Gayathri Pradeep from BIAL, Smita Basu Roy from Godrej & Boyce, Sunaina Jarath from CRED, discussed their perspectives on Women Leadership which was moderated by Sarika Chavan – Weber Shandwick. It was discussed that we need to empower more women in an organization to have more self-belief, and accept the fact that there are so many barriers that cause women to hold back when it comes to their career advancements. Women should not feel guilty to prioritise their careers. The panel discussion winded up with a thought that it’s important to be relevant by upskilling oneself and it is equally important to take decisions of our life on our own.
The third panel on mental health and wellness included panelists such as Kasturi Paladhi from Xiaomi India, Michelle Dsouza from Johnson & Johnson, Nivedeeta Moirangthem-IKEA India, and from Scripbox Srabani Sen which with moderator Priti Setia – Adfactors PR, in which they discussed its importance and value. They focused on the importance of accepting the fact that a toxic work culture affects us. It also focused on how management must be sensitized in order to detect any early signs of mental health issues such as a sudden change in behavior or if someone is distracted very often. Accordingly to them, if such signs can be detected early on, there is a way out. It is also important to be more empathetic and to try reading between the lines. A few tips by the panel on how to prevent mental health issues were to eat right, find a hobby, be kind and feel good, and also to spread the same.
The fourth panel had a thought-provoking panel discussion on Beating The Bias where panelists such as Bhavna Imran from Corteva Agriscience, Mansi Tiwari-Marico Ltd., Megha Chaturvedi-Rio Tinto, Mitul Lall-Josh Talks, and Puja Trehan from Sugarbox Networks moderated by Ameeta Vadhera– Promise Foundation, started off the Women’s Day Special Conclave by discussing the need to identify the existing unconscious bias that prevails. They discussed how in order to eliminate this bias, it’s important to accept women in every step of the decision-making process and to have an inclusive environment. They also discussed about focusing on leading by example and helping new budding talent to grow. It also focused on putting a stop to stereotyping on the basis of a particular gender, religion, and basically anything.
In the last panel discussion, while talking about community over the competition, Anuradha Roy Chowdhury from DP World, Bishnupriya Narayan from Dream Sports, Madhavi Behl from First Source, Priya Zutshi from Green Cell Mobility, and Flovie Martin from Marsh McLennan Global Services with moderator Sharmistha Ghosh – Avian WE, emphasized that inclusive growth is necessary. Also, it was discussed that in order to accelerate the existing speed of collaboration, it was important to use technology as an enabler, have a sustainable strategy, build the right infrastructure for collaboration, and also work on employee communication.
By the end of the various discussions in the Women’s Day Special Conclave, it was observed that in terms of Gender Equality, we still have a long way to go. Especially in the corporate sector, there are still biases faced by women which need to be addressed and action must be taken. The conclave provided the young PR professionals with an opportunity to learn and understand the current situation when it comes to Gender Equality and the way forward.
Also Read:
GENDER EQUALITY: Breaking Stereotypes; Embracing Change
WOMEN AND LEADERSHIP: Building leaders of Tomorrow
MENTAL HEALTH & WELLNESS: Ending stigmas and changing perceptions.
BEATING THE BIAS – What are the common prejudices & how can they be addressed?
COMMUNITY OVER COMPETITION: Why is collaboration the way of the future