Most Powerful Women in Business 2023: India's trailblazers

There is no debate over the fact that as India marches towards its 100th year of independence, the country, the fastest-growing major global economy, is moving rapidly to claim its rightful place among the most important nations in the world. Together with this, a deep-rooted change is also taking place. Millennials—those born between 1981 and 1996—are well into the workforce, and GenZ—those born between 1997 and 2012—will also start claiming a large share of the working population soon. In line with the rise of young India, women are becoming an integral part of this new-age workforce. Whether it is in technology, financial services, start-ups, the gig economy or even the shop floor, women are coming forward to claim centre stage.

The young, aspirational Indian woman is now a key player in powering India’s growth in the years ahead. And she has enough role models to follow. It is in this context that Business Today’s much-awaited annual The Most Powerful Women in Business list assumes even greater significance. Ever since it was launched back in 2003, the BT MPW list has served as a glittering assembly of the finest women achievers in India and also a line-up that millions of other Indian women (and men) can hope to emulate. The MPW 2022 list, which you will read about in this issue, has an eclectic mix of trailblazing women from fields as varied as textiles, pharma, entertainment, start-ups, finance, manufacturing and many more. Each of the 55 winners we feature in this issue is a role model in her own right, carving her niche and facing challenges head-on to achieve her goal. This year, we have three women—Nita Ambani of Reliance Foundation, Kaku Nakhate of Bank of America and Priya Nair of Unilever—who are seven-time winners and therefore enter BT’s prestigious MPW Hall of Fame, making way for new entrants to come in next year. This year has nine new entrants, 31 repeat winners from last year, and seven comebacks from earlier years (among them Securities and Exchange Board of India Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch), which is evidence of both continuity and change. Some are global Indians—like Anshula Kant, Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of the World Bank and Devika Bulchandani, Global CEO of Ogilvy—and serve as inspiration to women beyond borders.

But despite the tremendous achievements of these powerful women, there’s still a lot of ground for India to cover as far as women’s empowerment goes. As Vidya S. writes in her opening essay, while the Indian economy has grown more than 10 times since 1990, its female workforce participation has fallen from 30 per cent in 1990 to 19 per cent as of 2021, according to World Bank data. India ranks 135th among 146 countries in the World Economic Forum’s global gender parity rankings. The achievements of the women we feature in this issue—and those of several others who are climbing new heights across the country—will hopefully serve to inspire many others to follow their chosen paths and realise their dreams. More power to them.