The Week That Was: Danone Appoints, Cancer Centre, ODI Win & More

By: WE Staff | Sunday, 21 September 2025

From the corridors of the corporate world to creative economies, from boardrooms to grassroots levels, Indian women are redefining leadership with grit and vision. They are blazing new trails in governance, breaking barriers in commerce, winning global recognition in sports, pioneering advances in technology, and creating businesses that positively impact lives on a large scale. What was once discussed as empowerment has now become an observable fact of change; women no longer sit back for opportunities but create them.

At WER, we have highlighted these milestone moments throughout the week, commemorating the milestones that are defining India's women-led tomorrow. Here's a glimpse of some of the inspiring narratives driving this change.

IndiGo Launches First All-Women Aircraft Maintenance Engr Batch

IndiGo has inducted its first-ever all-women batch of 33 aircraft maintenance engineers (AMEs) on National Engineering Day 2025, breaking ground in one of aviation’s most male-dominated domains. With women making up just 2.6 percent of maintenance technicians globally, the initiative marks a bold step in advancing diversity and inclusion. The recruits completed a week-long induction with mentoring from senior leaders and experienced women engineers, underscoring IndiGo’s focus on building not just entry-level representation but a long-term leadership pipeline.

Danone Appoints Ruchika Sharma as Head of Consumer Marketing

Ruchika Sharma is set to become Head of Consumer Marketing at Danone starting in September 2025.

With 13 years in marketing across healthcare, OTC and consumer goods, Sharma’s specialty is brand building, innovation, and growing market share. She has worked for Reckitt, Abbott, Mars, Whirlpool, and 3M India. 

Most recently, Ruchika was Senior Global Brand Manager at Reckitt from December 2020 through September 2025.

Apollo Opens Asia's First Women-Dedicated Cancer Centre in Delhi

Apollo Athena, the first all-women cancer centre in Asia, was inaugurated in E2 Defence Colony, New Delhi by Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd. (AHEL).

The centre was inaugurated by Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and was also present at the event Founder and Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group, Dr. Pratap C. Reddy; Bansuri Swaraj MP; Neeraj Basoya MLA; Preetha Reddy, Executive Vice Chairperson, AHEL and Harshad Reddy, Director Group Oncology, AHEL.

India Women Beat Australia by Record 102 Runs in Historic ODI Win

The Indian Women’s cricket team achieved a historic win against the Australian Women by 102 runs, the worst defeat for Australia in women's ODIs.

This performance was evidence of the increasing stature of Indian women's cricket with precision bowling effort and Smriti Mandhana’s century off just 77 balls.

Women Loco Pilots to Operate Pune Metro's Upcoming Line

Women loco pilots will drive Pune Metro's future Line 3 along Shivajinagar and Hinjewadi, French mobility operator Keolis said in a statement announcing it has entered into a 10-year concession agreement to operate the corridor.

As part of the program, a minimum of 100 women will be hired and trained for the job. The move has been termed as the first in India by officials. The contract was given by Pune IT City Metro Rail Limited (PITCMRL), a Tata-Siemens joint venture and the project concessionaire.