By Darshana Varia Nadkarni, Ph.D.

Ela Bhatt found SEWA (Self Employed Women’s Association) to provide an organized avenue to address issues, for women employed in informal economies in India. As many as 100 million women in India are working in informal economies which include pulling cards, selling fruits and vegetables, assisting in construction and other forms of manual labor and so on. They have no fixed income, no insurance, and almost no avenue to get cash for medical and other emergencies, except to go to money lenders who often charge them as much as 10% interest per day. Ela Bhatt talked to many of these women and the women said they needed a bank of their own. That is how SEWA was born in 1974. Now there are over 700,000 depositors, most of them women, who often use thumb print, in place of signature. But these women are learning the skills of financial management and making lives better for themselves and their families. Story of Ela Bhatt and other remarkable women across the world were profiled in the key note address, at the conference marking the launch of Global Women’s Leadership Center (GWLC) on June 23 at Santa Clara University under the leadership of Leavey School of Business.

The center has a lofty aim of providing “women leaders with resources and relationships to enable them to produce breakthrough results in their leadership roles” said Linda Alepin, Executive Professor of Leadership and CEO of Center for New Futures. The center was launched with a “whole woman, whole leader, whole world” conference. In the opening address, Alepin observed that “worldwide concerns call for women’s leadership, to help erase the boundaries, whether they are political, religious or economic”. Two prominent women, Nancy Hafkin and Margaret Snyder gave the morning keynote address. Nancy Hafkin has a long history of work in gender and information technology in developing countries in the continent of Africa and although retired from her work in the UN, serves as a consultant on these issues. Margaret Snyder, now also retired, has written several books, is the Founding Director of the UN Fund for Women and a co-founder of the African Center for Women of UNECA. In their joint keynote address, they shared profiles of 6 women from across the world, including that of Ela Bhatt. Wangari Maathai similarly has waged a war against environmental degradation and for democracy and human rights in East Africa, and from being ignored, scoffed, and getting divorced because her husband found her “too hard to control”, she is now an elected member of parliament.

Barbara Waugh, co-founder of e-Inclusion at HP and co-author of The Soul in the Computer, gave lunchtime keynote address, speaking “from the heart”. She talked of the progress that still remains to be made in this country, particularly in providing equal opportunities to the African Americans. Various aspects of women and leadership were discussed in breakout sessions that also provided connecting and networking opportunities to men and women with similar passions. In “whole women” sessions, panelists and speakers addressed issues related to spirituality and values in leadership. Babara Fittipaldi, President of Center for New Futures, talked of the importance of authentic listening to lead and create a breakthrough future. Other sessions on “whole leader” discussed issues related to entrepreneurship and ethics in leadership. Barry Posner, Dean of Leavey School and author of “The Leadership Challenge” talked of the importance of five principles of leadership that included modeling the way and inspiring through shared vision. Sessions on “whole world” addressed challenges and opportunities of leadership in the global arena. Leading with global mindset, respecting local customs, resources, and existing support systems and other issues related to women and development were discussed.

The author, President of Winning Difference, specializes in corporate training in working with India, offshore team development, diversity, cross-cultural communication, and leadership development for companies that currently include SUN, HP, Coca Cola, Verizon Wireless, and Siemens.