New Delhi: CNBC-TV18, India’s leading English business news brand, brought the New Delhi edition of HSBC presents Future. Female. Forward. Season 3 to life at The Imperial, New Delhi, co-presented by Cognizant India. The State Chapter convened policymakers, industry leaders, founders, and DEI champions for an engaging evening dedicated to accelerating women’s leadership journeys and building more inclusive economic structures across the country.
This chapter builds on the momentum created across Mumbai and Bengaluru earlier this season, where leaders, policymakers and organizations came together to translate intent into action. With over 500 women leaders engaged so far this season, the initiative has steadily grown into a national platform for structural change.
Opening the evening, Shereen Bhan, Managing Editor, CNBC-TV18, emphasized the need to shift from symbolic gestures to structural reform. She said, “Gender parity has never been a question of capability, it has always been a question of courage. For too long, we have asked women to adapt to systems that were never designed for them. Today, the Future Female Forward movement is challenging those legacy norms and pushing organizations to rebuild structures that are fair, inclusive, and future-ready. When leaders commit to transparent, measurable action, parity stops being an aspiration and becomes an inevitability. This is not symbolic progress; it is systemic transformation the kind that elevates companies, strengthens economies, and finally gives women the level playing field they’ve always deserved “
This was followed by the keynote address by Hitendra Dave, CEO, HSBC India, who urged organizations to move from intention to structured institutional change. He added, “Today, parity goes beyond geography. It means building an organization where women see leadership that reflects them, whether that’s a 50% women-led Board or one of the world’s most influential CFOs coming from an Indian background. At HSBC, we see it as our duty to contribute to India’s growth journey (Viksit Bharat 2047) by creating workplaces where women thrive, building genuinely representative leadership pipelines, and partnering in conversations that move the ecosystem forward.”
A fireside chat titled The Inclusion Advantage: Why Diversity Wins with Marisa Gerards, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to India, Nepal, and Bhutan, reinforced diversity as a strategic imperative. She shared, “Diversity is a strategic necessity. When women participate equally, and organizations commit to intentional inclusion, decision-making improves, teams become more resilient, and the overall quality of outcomes rises. Across my work globally, one thing is clear: organizations that embrace diversity perform better. India’s growing pool of women leaders is a powerful driver of innovation and sustainable growth.”
The evening progressed with a high-impact Leaders’ Forum on “Breaking Moulds, Building Futures”, featuring Mona Khandhar, Principal Secretary to the Government of Gujarat; Ajay Sharma, MD & Head Banking, HSBC India; Rajesh Varrier, President – Global Operations, Chairman and Managing Director, Cognizant India; Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Co-founder, Info Edge; Nyrika Holkar, Executive Director, Godrej & Boyce; Ria Arora, CEO & CIO, Allianz Investment Management APAC & Middle East. The conversation centered on India’s shifting socio-economic landscape, the urgency of redesigning systems, and the need to enable women to step into leadership roles at scale.
Rajesh Varrier of Cognizant India, spoke about the changing landscape for women in the industry, “We know the industry has a leaky bucket, so we’ve created programs that hold women up instead of letting them slip through. From BeGritty for new joiners to Propel for emerging leaders, every stage is supported with purpose. Our internship program has brought hundreds of women back to work each year, and that’s something I’m deeply proud of. At Cognizant, we’ve designed a pathway that removes the guesswork from women’s careers. Whether it’s helping young associates navigate the system or preparing managers to become strategic leaders, each program is built with intention. And for women returning after a break, our 12-week paid internship gives them a real chance to restart on their own terms.”
This was followed by an engaging town hall moderated by Shereen Bhan, featuring Neha Mathur (CHRO, Urban Company), Pooja Sharma Goyal (Founding CEO, The Udaiti Foundation), Harita Gupta (Head of Global Experience, Sutherland), Ruchi Kalra (Co-founder, Of Business) and Suman Hegde (EVP & CFO, Jubilant FoodWorks).
The evening also celebrated the Future Female Forward Icons of 2025, honouring women whose work is shaping India’s future across public service, enterprise, sustainability, and community leadership. Squadron Leader Priya Sharma, who was commissioned as the seventh fighter pilot of the IAF in 2018 , Kamna Gautam, Mona Khandhar Principal Secretary, Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs Department, Govt of Gujarat, Dr. Sonali Ghosh Field Director, Kaziranga Tiger Reserve, AS, GoI, Mittal Patel Social Reformer and Founder, Vicharta Samuday Samarthan Manch (VSSM), Rimjhim Agrawal Co-founder & CTO, BrainSightAI, Remani Menon (85) & Valsala Menon (87) Sisters who travelled the world at the age of 85 and 87, Kamana Gautam Sustainability Enthusiast, Bibijan Halemani President, Bibi Fatima Self Help Group, Sonika Yadav Woman Constable, Delhi Police, Aanchal Anita Dhara Speech Writer & Mixed Media Artist.
Squadron Leader Priya Sharma shared, “Growing up, I would watch fighter aircraft take off from school, and something in me shifted every time I saw them cut through the sky with that effortless confidence. Back then, women weren’t allowed in the cockpit, but the dream stayed with me. When I entered engineering, I realised that this could be more than a fascination; it could be my purpose. The first time I wore the flying overalls, I felt the full weight of responsibility settle on my shoulders: the aircraft, the mission, the lives, the sky itself. It was humbling, grounding, and liberating all at once. And taking the final sortie of the MiG-21 with the Air Chief was an honour beyond words, a moment where years of training, discipline, and belief came together in perfect formation.”
Adding a powerful creative dimension to the evening, a fireside chat titled The Long Game: Stories of Grit & Greatness featured Academy Award-winning producer Guneet Monga Kapoor, who spoke about navigating the film industry with perseverance, instinct, and conviction. Guneet said, “Say yes, even when you doubt yourself, that single yes can change your entire life. I built my career by refusing to be intimidated, by showing up, and by asking boldly for what I believed I deserved. The world will try to put you in boxes, judge you, or see through you but the day you stop seeking validation and start owning your truth, it becomes your superpower. Celebrate the “no’s”, because the “yes” meant for you is always on its way.”
The night concluded with a soulful performance by singer Deveshi Sehgal. The New Delhi Chapter of Future. Female. Forward. Season 3 reaffirmed that India’s path to inclusive progress demands collective commitment from policy to boardrooms to grassroots leadership and that the time to build equitable systems is now.
As the season enters its final leg, the platform continues to gather voices from across the country, turning real stories, signed commitments, and shared accountability into a powerful push for long-term change.
-Based on Press Release
