Women are setting high benchmarks in fields, none could possibly even think of a few years back. From business to policy advisory, from cinema to AI, from fashion to pharma, there is no area that has not seen notable contributions by women and women-led teams.
And Indian women are taking the world by storm! Despite odds and failures, battling stereotypes and shattering glass ceilings, an impressive array of women from our country are heading global positions and creating lasting impact.
Here is a list of nine inspiring Indian women in global roles who are leading by example.
1. Soumya Swaminathan- Chief Scientist, World Health Organization
Dr. Soumya Swaminathan is Chief Scientist at the World Health Organization (WHO). And has previously served the WHO in various capacities. She also co-chaired the Lancet Commission on TB.
The Indian pediatrician has many accolades to her credit, like bringing science and evidence into health policy making and building research capacity in Indian medical schools.
2. Gita Gopinath- First Deputy MD, International Monetary Fund
Having served as chief economist of the IMF from 2019-2022, Gita Gopinath has served as the first Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), since 21 January 2022. It is the second-highest position in the organization.
3. Jayshree Ullal- President & CEO, Arista Networks
An Indian-American billionaire businesswoman, Jayshree Ullal is the President and CEO of cloud networking company Arista Networks. This company is responsible for the deployment of 10/25/40/50/100 Gigabit Ethernet networking in the data center.
4. Leena Nair- CEO, Chanel
Leena Nair created history when she was appointed as the Global CEO of Chanel in 2021. She is the first woman of color to head the ultra-luxury lifestyle brand from France.
5. Padmasree Warrior- CEO, Fable
Padmasree Warrior has helmed various roles in her right from 1984. She has served in positions of CTO at Cisco and Motorola and CEO of electric carmaker Nio USA.
Today, she spearheads Fable, a curated reading platform focused on mental wellness as CEO.
6. Revathi Advaithi- CEO, Flex
Having started her career as a shop floor supervisor at Eaton, Revathi moved positions and companies to finally head Flex, a multinational diversified manufacturing company, as CEO
7. Sharmistha Dubey- CEO, Match Group
This engineer is credited with transforming the dating world.
Having served as the CEO of Match Group, which owns online dating platforms like Tinder, Match, and OKCupid, she currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Match
Group and Fortive Corporation.
8. Anjali Sud- CEO, Vimeo
Indian American businesswoman Anjali Sud is the CEO of Vimeo, an online video platform.
She has previously worked in companies like Amazon, Time Warner, and Sagent Advisors.
9. Gargee Ghosh- President, Global Policy & Advocacy, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Gargee Ghosh holds graduate degrees in development economics from the University of Oxford and International Relations from Georgetown University.
She has worked with companies like McKinsey & Co and Google and has served on the board of CAMFED USA and on President Barack Obama’s Global Development Council.
Today, she helms government affairs, economic policy, advocacy, and philanthropic partnerships at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
