On Saturday, Chairperson of the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development NaBFID, KV Kamath, said that we need to work to get the biases out to build the funnel of women leaders in business.
Kamath, in a fireside chat with Business Today Editor Sourav Majumdar, acknowledged the role of N Vagul, the former chairman ofICICI Ltd who laid the foundation for women leaders by opening the doors to them. The ball was rolling and that set the tone. Kamath, who was the special guest at BT MPW Award night, said the funnel was created due to the foresight of our predecessor.
Kamath talked about gender biases, especially male biases, and family challenges that come in the way of women. There is no job a woman can't do, he said.
Kamath, aged 74 years, had made a commitment to supporting women as leaders in the financial services business at all levels. He was known for creating a meritocracy culture and promoting gender diversity at the ICICI Group.
Kamath believes that women leaders are actively growing up the chain in organisations. He said that the pool has only gotten richer and richer in the last 5 -- 6 years.
Many women professionals flourished as leaders under Kamath's leadership at ICICI Group.
Kamath, who gave a challenging job at the ICICI Bank at a very young age, is currently CEO of one of India's largest foreign banks Standard Chartered Bank.
Madhabi Puri Buch, another protege of Kamath, recently took over as chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India.
Kamath encouraged ICICI Venture, a private equity arm, led by Renuka Ramnath, a woman professional.
Kamath also groomed Vishakha Mulye, the current ED wholesale banking of the ICICI Bank. In October last year, the government announced the appointment of Kamath as the chairperson of the newly set up Rs 20,000 crore NaBFID.
Kamath said that oil prices should be corrected because of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. He said that this is an otherwise global problem, and I don't think the West wants to be in.
Kamath is gung-ho on India's growth story. We have the propensity to grow. We have a big driver in the digital economy. He said that the rate at which this will grow will be phenomenal.