The Week That Was: Stories of Women's Growth & Empowerment

By: WE Staff | Monday, 23 February 2026

Modern India has a strikingly visible aspect that continues to guide it towards a bright future. It is one that is defined by women leaders breaking the patriarchal and structural barriers by assuming pivotal roles in every dominant sphere. Women pave the way forward by exercising real, strategic, and impactful authority, focusing on real inclusivity resulting in critical and measurable business impacts.

Indian women have become essential to all major discussions in the boardrooms and beyond, stepping toward closing the gender bias that still governs the economy. Diverse industries like technology, AI, marketing, and sports are witnessing applaudable participation and transformational leadership reflecting ambition and purpose. Many platforms are observing women entrepreneurs take center stage at conferences and meetings, highlighting models, strategies, and practices that can be adapted to elevate Indian perspective.

Women Entrepreneurs Review Magazine showcases the week’s stories of development of women leaders voicing their narrative to break down barriers and drive India’s economy to new heights of success. 

Womenpreneurs Meet at Mumbai's Y B Chavan: Mahavikas 2026

Members of the Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, industry leaders, women direct sellers, and Self-Help Groups of Mahila Arthik Vikas Mahamandal gathered at Mahavikas 2026 at Y B Chavan Centre, Mumbai. The conference organised by the Indian Direct Selling Association together with the Department of Food Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection of the Government of Maharashtra studied consumer awareness and ethical business practices and regulation and grievance redressal and women's entrepreneurship. The sessions like"Smart Consumers Strong Markets" and "Empowering Women through Entrepreneurship" demonstrated responsible selling while they honored women achievers. The event featured key speakers who included Vandana Mishra, Advocate Uday Warunjikar, Anil Diggikar, Aprajita Sarcar, Soma Maitra, Dr Abraham Lee, Dr Ratnesh Lal and Vivek Katoch.

Arundhati's 4/22 leads India to 21-run win over Australia in T20I

India won their first match of the 2022 tour against Australia through a 21-run DLS victory which they achieved in the first Women’s T20I match. The Australian team scored 133 runs while Arundhati Reddy achieved four wickets for 22 runs after she took two wickets with two overs remaining in the match. The Australian team lost three wickets when Beth Mooney (5) got caught by Smriti Mandhana through a delivery from Renuka Singh while Georgia Voll (18) got dismissed before Ellyse Perry (20) and Phoebe Litchfield (26) added 41 runs together. The Australian team found themselves in a difficult position at 80/5 during their first 10 overs but Georgia Wareham (30) and Nicola Carey (12) helped the team reach 121/7. India reached a score of 50/1 during their first 5.1 overs because Shafali Verma scored 21 runs and Mandhana together with Jemimah Rodrigues performed well until rain caused a break in the match.

UN Women Warns Gender Gap in AI is Hardwiring Bias into Tech

At the AI Summit following the release of the AI Casebook on Gender and Agriculture, UN Women warned that women make up only 30% of the global AI workforce and just 16% of AI research roles, raising concerns about built-in bias in one of the world’s most transformative technologies. Christine Arab, Regional Director for Asia Pacific, said the lack of women across AI design, development and testing creates a “design gap,” where bias becomes the default. She noted serious implications for women in health, finance, climate and safety. A study with LinkedIn found 80% of women in Asia Pacific work in jobs likely to be disrupted by AI. While praising India’s progress, she urged broader global action.

HCL Board Has 50% Women Representation, Says Roshni Nadar

Roshni Nadar Malhotra highlighted that HCL Technologies maintains the highest boardroom presence of women directors at 50% because she believes actual progress needs to start from executive leadership positions. At the Global Impact Challenge she presented her AI for Her initiative which requires AI systems to achieve human goals through intentional design rather than rapid development and broad implementation. She explained that HCL Tech's TechBee program operates with 10000 participants who include 5000 women and intends to hire 35 percent of new employees from this group. Women represent 40 percent of the workforce in HCL's software products business which generates 25 percent of the company's revenue. HCL plans to train 500000 South Asian women in generative AI through its GUVI partnership in Uttar Pradesh while working to close ongoing STEM and leadership development gaps.

Tata Steel Supports 600 Women in AI Sakhi Program at India AI Summit

Tata Steel and Tata Steel Foundation enabled 635 grassroots women from Jharkhand (311), Odisha (315) and Ludhiana (9) to participate in the Tata AI Sakhi Immersion Program which took place at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 held at Bharat Mandapam. The summit organised by the Government of India and hosted by Tata Consultancy Services established AI skills which businesses needed for design and documentation and their growth needs. Smriti Irani served as the chief guest at the event. The participants, mobilized by Tata Steel Foundation, came from different community initiatives such as health (MANSI+), livelihoods (Agriculture), women’s leadership (Disha), community enterprise (Navjeevan, Srujanika, Pragati), and Tribal Identity (Samvaad, Johar Haat).The cultural event presented 1,600 women who made tussar silk shawls which used Navjeevan materials to honor their cultural heritage while creating economic opportunities.

CII IWN Gujarat Chapter Announces SheRise 2026 Conference

The Gujarat Chapter of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Indian Women Network (IWN) will host its annual flagship conference, SheRise 2026: Stories of Courage, Choice & Change, on February 20 at i-Hub in Ahmedabad. The conference intends to honor stories that demonstrate resilience and leadership and transformation while examining the personal and professional decisions which people face throughout their lives. The SheRise 2026 event aims to promote women's industrial and entrepreneurial participation in Gujarat through collaborative educational discussions which will connect various industry stakeholders and scholars who study women's leadership development and decision-making abilities. Gujarat Chairperson Yogita Ahuja emphasised the role of choice and responsibility in leadership, while former Chairperson Punnam Kaushik reaffirmed IWN Gujarat's commitment to inclusive growth and strong support networks for women professionals and entrepreneurs.