The event brought together top leaders from industry, policy, defence, and DEI to spotlight structural barriers holding women back from leadership
Bengaluru, 1st August 2025: CNBC-TV18’s flagship initiative Future. Female. Forward. (FFF), presented by HSBC and co-presented by Cognizant India, continued its powerful Season 3 journey with a high-impact Bengaluru chapter. After its impactful national launch in Mumbai, the Bengaluru edition focused on addressing one of the most persistent challenges in the gender equity conversation: the ‘broken rung’—the critical first step into management where women are often left behind.
Opening the evening, Shereen Bhan, Managing Editor, CNBC-TV18, delivered a stirring address that called for systemic redesign. “Women founders still receive only 2.3% of global capital, and just 6% in India during H1 2025. That’s not a pipeline issue—it’s a design flaw. In a city that leads on innovation, equity must become a founding principle, not a corrective.”
Hitendra Dave, CEO, HSBC India, underscored HSBC’s inclusion playbook, emphasizing the need for structured, outcome-oriented interventions. “Inclusion isn’t a distant aspiration—it’s built through deliberate, incremental actions. Every conversation like this brings us closer to making equity a reality.”
In a powerful fireside session titled Prescription for Disruption: The Kamineni Code, Shobana Kamineni, Executive Chairperson, Apollo HealthCo, challenged the capital gap. “Women aren’t short on ambition, but are funded like they are. We need real capital, board seats, and belief—not applause—to lead at scale.”
The evening also featured a purposeful session by Pooja Sharma Goyal, Founding CEO, The Udaiti Foundation, outlining frameworks to translate inclusion theory into real-world practice.
A panel discussion titled Purpose, Parity & Performance brought together distinguished leaders:
Bhawna Agarwal, SVP & MD, HPE India
Rajesh Varrier, President – Global Operations & CMD, Cognizant India
Jaya Jagadish, Country Head & SVP, AMD IndiaMeena Ganesh, Co-founder & Chairperson, Portea
Sunita Naik, SVP & India Lead, State Street Investment Management
Rajesh Varrier shared Cognizant India’s inclusive workforce strategy, noting: “We created Shakti, a unified program framework that empowers women from campus to corporate leadership. It’s not just about hiring—it’s about structural support and allyship.”
Sunita Naik highlighted how State Street has embedded inclusion at the leadership level. “Our CEO is an Asian-American woman, our board is 50% women. It’s not about excluding men—it’s about proving that diverse leadership drives performance, not just optics.”
The evening also celebrated the FFF ICONS, honouring change-makers from diverse sectors:
Shreyasi & Swarali Joshi, Skating champions
Alina Alam, Founder & CEO, Mitti CaféSonal Holland, Director, SoHo Wines
Savithri H. S, Former Professor, IIScLt Commanders Roopa Alagirisamy & Dilna K, Indian Navy
SMART-191, India’s first all-women mine rescue team
Sandhya Puchalapalli, Founder, Aarti for Girls
Roshni Devi, National weightlifter
Meena Ganesh, Trustee, Bahaar Foundation
Lt Commander Dilna K shared reflections on partnership and resilience in the Navy. “When Roopa wasn’t okay, I took over. When I wasn’t, she did. That mutual support was our true success.”
The chapter concluded with a resounding consensus: fixing the ‘broken rung’ is not a side issue—it’s central to systemic transformation. Whether through fairer promotion structures or rethinking leadership pathways, organizations must move from awareness to intentional action.
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