Seven Indian Women Among 100 Most Influential People In Gender Policy

Global Internet platform, Apolitical released its list of 100 most influential people in gender policy 2019 and it has seven women who are either Indian citizens or born in India. The list that includes US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Managing Director and Chairman, International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde, Former First Lady Michelle Obama also includes India’s very own Ranjana Kumari, Director of Centre for Social Research and Sayfty founder, Shruti Kapoor among others.

“It’s an honour to be among the 100 most influential people in gender policy. I congratulate all the winners and nominees. The Apolitical list is proof that thousands of people are working tirelessly for gender justice globally. There is a lot of good work happening all around the globe, and there is a lot more that needs to be done to make this world an equitable place for women,” said Kumari in a press statement.

"The Apolitical list is proof that thousands of people are working tirelessly for gender justice globally. There is a lot of good work happening all around the globe, and there is a lot more that needs to be done to make this world an equitable place for women”

Dr Kumari has dedicated her life to empowering women across the South Asia region. Her foray into social work was initiated by her concern for a dowry death that took place near her home in 1976. This led to her activism on world-famous publication “Brides are not for Burning.”

Other than her, Kapoor also features in the list. She is an Indian gender equality activist, economist, and social entrepreneur. Following a horrific gang-rape attack on a female student in Delhi in 2012, Kapoor decided to found Sayfty, which was started in June 2013. The organisation works to make the daily lives of Indian women safer through a mix of education, self-defence workshops, and online campaigns.

The list also includes five Indian-origin women comprising of Roopa Dhatt, Naila Kabeer, Kavita Ramdas, Geeta Rao Gupta, and Purna Sen. Executive Director and Co-founder of Women in Global Health, Dhatt was born in Punjab and now lives in Washington. She is a physician by training and an advocate by principle, striving for greater health and well-being for all people through working in global health.

Also read: Why Sushma Swaraj’s Exit From Union Cabinet Made Us Sad

Kabeer is an Indian-born British Bangladeshi social economist, research fellow, and writer. She is a professor of gender and development at the London School of Economics Gender Institute. She also holds the position of president-elect at the International Association for Feminist Economics.

The list also includes five Indian-origin women comprising of Roopa Dhatt, Naila Kabeer, Kavita Ramdas, Geeta Rao Gupta, and Purna Sen.

Additionally, Ramdas was born in Delhi and grew up in Mumbai before moving to London. She is an advocate for gender and racial equity, justice, and sustainable development. She served as a senior advisor to the president of the Ford Foundation, an organization devoted to improving human welfare, and is currently director of the Women’s Rights Program at Open Society Foundations.

Geeta Rao Gupta is executive director of the 3D Program for Girls and Women, which works to maximise impact and increase efficiencies in programs to help women and girls. Previously, she has served as co-chair of the Gender-Based Violence Task Force of the World Bank, Deputy Executive Director at UNICEF and president of the International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW). She grew up in Delhi before moving to the States in the 80s.

Finally, Sen is the UN Women’s executive coordinator and spokesperson on sexual harassment and other forms of discrimination, a role where she aims to introduce “survivor-focused approaches” to work tackling sexual harassment.

Last year's list was shared by Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, Iris Bohnet, Harvard behavioural scientist, Gary Barker, a world-leading advocate for involving more men in gender equality. Among others were the World Bank, UN Women and the Malala Fund and many others and was widely covered by news outlets all over the world.

Apolitical published the inaugural list of the 100 most influential people working in gender policy, last year for the first time. It aims to celebrate the women and men making the world a more equitable place, whether they do so through policymaking, research, philanthropy or advocacy.

Picture credit: Youtube

More Stories by Poorvi Gupta