EdelGive Foundation Launches Stree-Leads Initiative to Promote Women’s Leadership in India’s Private Sector

^th August, 2024: EdelGive Foundation, in its continued effort to drive social change, enable marginalised communities, and strengthen the systems within the development sector, recently launched its flagship initiative, Stree-Leads, aimed at accelerating women's advancement into leadership roles within India's private sector. This initiative underscores EdelGive Foundation’s commitment to fostering women's economic empowerment and supporting grassroots NGOs dedicated to uplifting vulnerable communities.

As a part of this initiative, some women leader who have joined hands with EdelGive Foundation include Aditi Jha, Director & Country Lead, Legal & Government Affairs, LinkedIn, Priti Srivastava, Mentor, Advocacy, Reliance Industries Limited, Aparna Upaluri, COO, Tata Trusts and Vijaya Balaji, Founding Partner, Social Lens Consulting.

Naghma Mulla, CEO, EdelGive Foundation, said, "Every woman who has navigated her way to a leadership position has a story to tell. Our collaboration with Josh Talks hands them the mic in the hope that lessons learned from their journeys will guide and inspire more women towards taking up the mantle of leadership, encouraging them to brave the path forward across sectors and geographies.

EdelGive believes that enabling women to reach financial independence and their full potential is a collective social effort, reinforced across policy frameworks, workplaces and homes. Through Stree-Leads, EdelGive is focusing on the women professionals in the Indian corporate sector, paving the way for them to advance in their careers and attain leadership roles".

Launched in 2023, Stree-Leads is poised to amplify the significant impact women create in leadership roles and accelerate their progression by identifying and promoting pathways to leadership. Guided by the government's mandate for women-led development and endorsed by Hon’ble G20 Sherpa, Mr. Amitabh Kant, Stree-Leads unveiled its groundbreaking report, ‘A Study on Pathways to Leadership for Women in the Finance and Economic Sectors,’ in December 2023. This study provides critical insights into the challenges women leaders face and offers strategic recommendations for corporate and government sectors to enhance women's leadership in the private sector.

The initiative has been meticulously designed to:

• Develop a role-model mechanism: Inspire women professionals to pursue leadership positions by showcasing successful female leaders.
• Build creative interventions: Facilitate dialogues and create actionable pathways for women to ascend to leadership roles.
• Encourage allyship: Foster collaboration with key corporates and stakeholders to build a synergistic ecosystem that supports women’s leadership.

Further, the initiative will focus on sectors with high potential for impact, particularly BFSI (Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance), Tech, and Social Enterprise/Philanthropy sectors. By leveraging the insights from its comprehensive study, Stree-Leads aims to create an environment where women can thrive and lead.

EdelGive Foundation has been a transformative force in India’s development sector for over 13 years. By supporting over 150 organizations across 111 districts in 14 states, EdelGive has championed causes like quality education, climate resilience, social and economic empowerment of women, and resilient livelihoods. Through initiatives like UdyamStree, which empowered 3,000 women in rural Maharashtra and Rajasthan by promoting rural women's entrepreneurship, EdelGive has consistently demonstrated its dedication to creating sustainable impact.