The week that was: Women Drive Policy, AI and Wealth Shift

By: WE Staff | Monday, 9 March 2026

Women in modern corporate environment lead by example and their participation in boardrooms represents gender equity encouraging diverse leadership styles. Women centric platforms are essential as they reflect their presence with representation, consensus-building and long-term thinking at its best. Such initiatives allow shaping workplaces that are not only more inclusive, but are truly gender equitable and full of opportunities.

For numbers to fairly rise in boardroom, nurturing women’s talent should be a mandate, reflecting better gender equity across organizations. In wake of this, targeted welfare programs, AI trainings to financial inclusion policies, all are momentous in creating stronger pathways and entrepreneurial opportunities crating cycles of learning and execution.

Keeping up the momentum, Women Entrepreneurs Review Magazine highlights the week’s stories echoing the new narrative being written by Indian women, pioneering pathways for the next generation.

President Murmu Launches Four Women Welfare Schemes

President Droupadi Murmu is expected to launch four New Delhi government programs on Monday at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium to strengthen women’s empowerment. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said the initiatives focus on improving women’s access to digital services and social security. The Saheli Pink Smart Card, integrated with the National Common Mobility Card, will allow eligible women and transgender citizens free bus travel and contactless payments for Metro and RRTS services. The Free LPG Cylinder Programme will transfer cylinder costs directly to Aadhaar-linked bank accounts of about 15.5 lakh ration card families. Lakhpati Bitiya Yojana will deposit ₹56,000 for around 10,000 girls over 21 years. Meri Punji Mera Adhikaar will ensure transparent settlement of pending citizen payments, supporting digital governance goals aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision.

UNESCO Hosts Panel on Women in AI at India AI Impact Summit 2026

UNESCO, with partners Women4Ethical AI South Asia Chapter, UN Women, LinkedIn, The Quantum Hub, and Amrita University, hosted a panel titled “Women in AI: A South Asia Outlook on Representation, Equity & Empowerment” at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 to advance a gender-inclusive, ethical AI ecosystem. Insights from the upcoming Gender & AI Outlook Study and LinkedIn’s Women and Future Jobs brief highlighted persistent gaps in AI participation. Women represent 29.92% of AI engineers in India, 20.57% in Nepal, and 15.64% in Bangladesh. Though over 70% of regional AI publications include a female author, only 26.01% list women as corresponding authors. The panel stressed auditing AI systems, boosting women’s leadership pathways, recognizing invisible contributions, and addressing cultural, exposure, and technology access barriers.

Grihshobha Inspire Awards 2026: Celebrating Women Leaders

Grihshobha hosted the Grihshobha Inspire Awards 2026 on February 26 at the National Centre for the Performing Arts to honor women leaders, entrepreneurs and social reformers who made positive contributions to their communities. The magazine which operates in eight languages reaches more than 8.5 million readers to showcase women who display courage and innovate and lead their fields while achieving success. Paresh Nath opened the ceremony which showed how storytelling functions as a tool for social transformation. A panel titled "Leadership, Agency, and Change" which Priyadarshini Narendra moderated included jury members Sathya Saran and Dilshad Master and Richa Shah. Padmapriya Janakiraman served as a judge for the competition. The event honored ten women across different categories which included Supriya Pathak and Neena Gupta and Priya Nair and Rani Bang. The event included Deepika Mhatre's stand-up performance and Wild Wild Women's show which advanced gender equality.

EmpowHer 1.0 to Support 6,000 Womenpreneurs in Tamil Nadu

StartupTN and the TNWeSafe Project have launched EmpowHer 1.0, an initiative aimed at strengthening women-led enterprise development across Tamil Nadu by supporting over 6,000 aspiring women entrepreneurs within a year.  The first group of participants includes 160 women founders from the cities of Chennai, Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, and Tiruvallur who entered through a formal application process. The programme started with a two-day workshop which helped participants transform their business ideas into organized business plans. The sessions taught participants about founder mindset and they practiced developing concepts and pitching to investors while using reverse brainstorming to find out project risks. The leadership development modules taught participants how to make decisions and develop a growth mindset. The boot camp provides participants with both mentoring and a detailed plan which will help them advance their business development.

Women's Investment Could Boost India's GDP by Rs 40 Lakh Crore

Lxme and EY India, in their report Unlocking Her Wealth: The Untapped Economy, state that greater financial participation by women could add ₹40 lakh crore to India’s GDP through higher capital market participation, domestic savings, and long-term investments. The report introduces India’s first Women’s Financial Prosperity Index (WFPI), where the country scored 28.1/100. While 89% of women have bank accounts and digital payments are rising, wealth creation remains limited. Data shows women earn ₹73 per ₹100 earned by men, only 8.6% invest in equities, and 21% are financially literate. Priti Rathi Gupta and Saurabh Chandra stressed the need for inclusive financial systems enabling meaningful participation and long-term wealth creation.