MAR 19 I I 79richa kar
Breaking the stereotypes,
Richa Kar, the founder of
Zivame, brought India’s first
ever lingerie store, online.
A country where people are
too conservative to even
speak about intimate wear
openly, Richa single-handedly
changed the perception and
added a fashion factor to
it. Needless to say, it wasn’t
easy to start off this business
venture and to convince
people about the idea of
selling lingerie online. But
she did rise through all of it
as she had full confidence
in her business idea that
made Zivame a 600+ crore
company that kick-started
with an initial investment of
`35 lakhs in 2011.zia modY
Like father like daughter, Zia
Mody is the daughter of former
attorney-general of India, Soli
Sorabjee but is hardly known by
her father’s legacy as she did
not join him even though they
were in the same profession.
She started off the corporate
law firm set up in 2004, AZB &
Partners, as a founding member
and managing partner. Initially,
she did become a victim of
gender bias and discrimination
where the clients were more
comfortable with male
lawyers, but her patience and
confidence made her win a
respectable place for herself.teSSY t homaS
She was the first women scientist
to head a missile project and
since then she is known as the
“Missile Woman of India”. She
made her mark in a sector
which was predominantly led
by men and emerged as one
of the most valued scientists
that our country could get. She
worked under her idol, APJ
Abdul Kalam, who placed her
in the Agni missile programme
and later she went on to be
the Project Director for Agni-IV
missile in Defence Research and
Development Organisation. Yes,
that’s Tessy Thomas for you, an
inspiration and a true reflection
of empowered women.naina LaL kidwai
Well, to start with Naina Lal
Kidwai has her name in the
history by being the first Indian
female to graduate from the
Harvard Business School and
also the first woman president
of Ficci. She was the head of
HSBC India and apart from
being a professional for years,
she is closely associated with
Not-for-profit sectors and works
for women empowerment and
safety. She belonged from a
family of high achievers and
started working back then, when
you could hardly see women
at the workplaces, and it was
completely male dominant.neeLam dhawan
Neelam Dhawan, who was
rejected by companies like
Hindustan Unilever and Asian
Paints because of being a
woman and was not suitable for
market-facing jobs, went on to
become the Managing Director
of Hewlett-Packard (HP). She is
now idolised by women in the
IT sector for not giving up and
struggling her way to success.
She has also worked with
Microsoft, and her contribution
received much appreciation
there as well. Her journey sets
an example of not trembling
by failures and pursuing
your dreams.
chitra
ramakriShnaAnother first on the list that is
one of the prominent women
leaders of our country,
Chitra Ramakrishna, the first
women managing director
and the ceo of NSE (National
Stock Exchange), India.
Started off her journey as a
charted accountant, Chitra
Ramakrishna has achieved
several milestones in her career
and has been named among
the ‘25 Most Powerful Women
in Business’ a couple of times
by Business Today. She carved
her journey with ups and downs
gracefully and wrote her own
success story.We are lucky to have these
strong and ambitious women
as our idols that inspire us not
only to move forward despite
of the challenges but also to be
victorious in whatever we do.
Take a bow ladies, you have
given so many other women,
the right to dream and the
wings to fly!“a StronG
women
LookS a
chaLLenGe
dead in the
eYe and
GiveS
it a wink”
- anonYmouS
LEADING LADIES