The Cherie Blair Foundation for Women (CBFW) made its presence felt in Mumbai by hosting a one-day conference, Women Mean Business, at the Hyatt Regency, in Mumbai. Highly successful professionals, most of them women, from all over India participated in keynote addresses, speeches, discussion panels and workshops ranging from topics like ‘Triumphs, tribulations and challenges on the way to the top’ to ‘dress for success’. Socialites, entrepreneurs and young would-be entrepreneurs, designers, bankers and lawyers traded notes, ideas and networked in a never-before forum that brought together women at the top of India’s creative, corporate and financial ladders from Mumbai Sheriff Indu Shahani who delivered the welcome speech to actress and activist Shabana Azmi and ICICI Bank’s Chanda Kochchar, an epitome of the country’s woman power. The designer fraternity was aptly represented by veteran Ritu Kumar, Sandeep Khosla, Monisha Jaisingh and Ritu Beri.

Any wonder then that Verve was there as media partner, amongst the delegates, in its branding on brochures and programmes, in delegates’ bags and on standees at the poolside. Copies of the magazine were given out and disappeared in no time at all. Former First Lady of Britain, Cherie Blair, received her own copy as well. And we gave her a thumping affirmation of the good work that her foundation was doing. ‘Backing women’s rights isn’t just good ethics, it’s sound economics’ her website declares. Which is why the CBFW is working towards overcoming barriers to success, to help women fulfill their economic potential. Discovering guides and mentors and getting confirmed commitments to help women succeed (as from Infosys) pointed to the success of this venture. “We don’t want to be just a talking shop,” Blair declared. “I am personally committed to India.” Research shows that women account for just two per cent of the land owned and 10 per cent of credit extended globally and yet they tend to invest 90 per cent of their income back to their families, making their success critical to help their children escape poverty. Women in the workforce are no longer a luxury and self-indulgence but a necessity for the country to realise its true and complete economic potential.
And Verve as always hopes to see women come out tops, every time....

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