INDIA & FINLAND : Women in Business Leadership

FLO, in collaboration with the Embassy of Finland organized an interactive seminar on “Women in Business leadership – India & Finland” at the Residence of the Ambassador of Finland. The session brought together entrepreneurs and business leaders for an exclusive session, with the objective of expediting the processes for creating and enhancing the role of women in working life and in business leadership in both nations and beyond.

FLO President, Pinky Reddy said, “Both India & Finland have worked towards accelerating women participation in the process of economic development by promoting entrepreneurship & professional excellence. FLO would be delighted to explore the possibilities of working jointly towards the common goal of women empowerment. We could also use the common modalities such as capacity building & skill development programmes for women.”

Leena Linnainmaa, Deputy Chief Executive, Finland Chamber of Commerce, stated, “I find it clear that women executives can be promoted more efficiently through the active measures taken by the business sector than by legislated quotas. For this purpose, Finland Chamber of Commerce has launched a mentoring scheme to smooth the way for skilled women into business leadership positions. This Women Leaders Program showed clearly that the business sector can take the lead in promoting women business leaders. Our program can serve as an inspiration for other countries as well!”

Ms Nina Vaskunlahti, Ambassador of Finland to India said, “This is a precious opportunity to have an exchange on challenges and good practices related to the inclusion of women in working life and leadership. It has become evident that actors such as chambers of commerce and businesses can play a key role in influencing attitudes and measures related to women’s career development. Collaborating across borders can be instrumental in reaching our common goals.”

The programme was divided into two sessions- the Keynote session on – Opportunities in India & Finland: Paving Way for Integration of Women into Business and Entrepreneurship. The speakers for this session were:

1. Ms Pinky Reddy, President- FLO & Director-GVK Group
2. Ms Leena Linnainmaa, Deputy Chief Executive, Finland Chamber of Commerce
3. Ms Harjinder Kaur, Sr. Vice President, FLO & MD & CEO – Comvision India Pvt Ltd
4. Ms Saija Korkala, Chief Representative, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken
5. Ms  Archana Garodia Gupta, Past President, FLO & Owner, Touchstone Gems and Jewellery ( India) Pvt. Ltd

The Keynote session was followed by an interactive panel discussion on Sharing Best Practices for Inclusive Business Leadership. The panelists were:

1. Ms Leena Linnainmaa, Deputy Chief Executive, Finland Chamber of Commerce
2. Mr. Janne Einola, Country Manager, H&M India
3. Mr. Nilesh Sahasrabudhe, Country Manager, Tieto India Pvt Ltd
4. Ms Pinky Reddy, President- FLO & Director-GVK Group
5. Ms Harjinder Kaur, Sr. Vice President, FLO
6. Ms Archana Garodia Gupta, Past President, FLO & Owner, Touchstone Gems and Jewellery ( India) Pvt. Ltd
7. Moderated by: Ms Nina Vaskunlahti, Ambassador of Finland to India.
8. Ms Anna Roy, Advisor – Niti Aayog gave the closing remarks.