CNBC-TV18 is all set to launch a one-of-a-kind mega initiative “Future. Female. Forward – The Women’s Collective” presented by HSBC India. The initiative will be officially launched through an exclusive on-ground event on November 25th today at The St Regis Mumbai, in the presence of Shereen Bhan, Managing Editor, CNBC-TV18; Mr. Hitendra Dave, CEO, HSBC India; Ms. Prabha Narasimhan, Colgate-Palmolive India; Dr. Sangita Reddy, Apollo Hospitals and FICCI; Shyamala Gopinath, Former Deputy Governor of the RBI, and some of the most influential voices from the business, entrepreneurship and entertainment spaces in attendance.
The channel’s statement read, “Much is being spoken in corporate corridors on gender equality and equitable developments in the workplace and as a purpose driven brand, it is CNBC-TV18’s endeavour to start a conversation, and find ideas and answers to the problems we face as a society and a nation.”
Thus, Future. Female. Forward – The Women’s Collective is an integrated campaign on diversity and gender parity consisting of events, content, conversations, and engagements that will become an annual event to chart a path to make gender parity a reality.
The launch event will be a big step in this direction, with the audience being treated to a ringside view of three enriching discussions – one that brings together top CEOs and leaders from key corporates, the second with the most renowned women from the spaces of entrepreneurship and startup funding, and the third with leaders from the creator and digital economy. The event will also see the launch of a special anthem created by musician Sonam Kalra exclusively for this initiative with a spectacular performance celebrating the theme. The Future. Femal e. Forward logo will be unveiled on-stage in an innovative format through a special showcase by artist Haribabu Natesan in the presence of Shereen Bhan and Hitendra Dave.
This grand launch will also see the key women scientists of ISRO in attendance, who will be felicitated for their immense contribution to India’s dominance in the space race and for being such inspirations supporting the diversity narrative.
Sharing her thoughts, Shereen Bhan, Managing Editor, CNBC-TV18, mentioned, “For more than a decade CNBC-TV18 has been actively mainstreaming the conversation around creating equal opportunity work spaces, championing the cause of bringing more women into the workplace, supporting women entrepreneurs and enterprise. As the foremost voice ‘of’ and ‘to’ corporate India, we are consolidating this long-standing support into an impactful mega initiative to create a playbook for change. Over the course of this campaign we aim to put together best practises that have worked. We will have CEOs, policy makers, stakeholders from the social sector and others share their experiences of what it takes to build a pipeline of talent and leaders. We will honour and celebrate the achievements of some outstanding leaders who have driven the agenda of creating more inclusive workplaces. Future. Female. Forward – The Women’s Collective is our endeavour in that direction.”
On diversity, Hitendra Dave, CEO, HSBC India, said, “At HSBC, the strength of different experiences, attributes and voices is integral to who we are and how we work. We work hard to ensure that HSBC is a diverse and inclusive workplace that reflects the communities we serve. We have prioritised diversity and inclusion and are conscious of our responsibility to create an ecosystem that empowers diverse colleagues. “Future. Female. Forward – The Women’s Collective” is our endeavour to uncover, understand and celebrate the potential of women and reinforce our long-standing support in enabling them to make choices for their personal and professional growth and development.”
Commenting on the new initiative, Smriti Mehra, CEO, Business News, Network18, said, “We have always been a brand with a purpose and with Future. Female. Forward – The Women’s Collective, we are living our promise here at CNBC-TV18. We all carry with us the responsibility to address subjects that need conversation and change. This is our effort to catalyse the much-needed reform for a truly equal workplace for individuals, irrespective of their gender and we really believe we will be able to usher in that positive difference. The annual campaign will be a multi-faceted one and uphold the most important need of an equal opportunity workplace, which will eventually bring about a shift in mindset and make a difference.”
The Leaders Forum – Playing For Parity led by Shereen Bhan will focus on the topic – Women Leading Workplaces and Economies – will boast of an impressive set of panellists such as Mr. Hitendra Dave, HSBC India; Mr. N. Venkatram, Deloitte India; Ms. Prabha Narasimhan, Colgate-Palmolive India Ltd; Dr. Anish Shah, Mahindra & Mahindra; Dr. Sangita Reddy, Apollo Hospitals; Mr. Manish Shah, Godrej Capital and HE Ms. Ritva Koukku-Ronde, Ambassador of Finland to India.
This will be followed by the Founders Forum – The Startup Playbook hosted by CNBC-TV18’s Ritu Singh on Funding Women’s Aspirations featuring renowned names such as Ms. Akanksha Hazari, Lovelocal; Ms. Suman Gopalan, Freshworks, Ms. Sushma Kaushik, Aavishkaar Capital, Ms. Madhu Shalini Iyer, Rocketship.vc; and Ms. Seema Chaturvedi, Achieving Women Equity (AWE) Funds.
The concluding panel – She-Economy: The Digital Dividend – How the Digital Economy is shaping women led businesses, will see well known author Ms. Anita Bhogle; Global digital content creator, Niharika Nm; Naiyya Saggi, Co-founder, The Good Glamm Group and Founder, BabyChakra; film director and screenwriter Gauri Shinde; and musician and entrepreneur Ananya Birla in conversation with CNBC-TV18’s Mangalam Maloo.
