The fourth edition of Perspectives was held on 24th April 2019 hosted by Sapphire Human Solutions. It�s an invite only closed room discussion platform for sharing knowledge and building value for its selective participants. The topic was very engaging �Women stepping into the boardroom�, which was attended by 20 women from different industry backgrounds. Mrs. Nishi Vasudeva and Mrs. Sudha Ravi were the panelists who shared their experience with the attendees. The session was moderated by Mansi Bansal from PwC. It was an interactive session with many important concerns raised about understanding the criteria to shortlist companies for independent directorship, the challenges faced by independent directors, understanding the role of independent directors and the multiple stakeholders that are involved. What clearly stood out in the discussion was that this is an important role and requires good amount of preparation before each quarterly meeting. One needs to be aware of not only the company details but also the sector to be able to share best practices in industry.

The panelists also shared their personal journeys and the high points in this role. They emphasized that its important to know the other independent directors on board and build a rapport with the management to be able to know more about the company. It was emphasized that the inputs of independent directors should be minuted in the board meeting for it to be actioned. Some questions were raised about the glass ceiling that women faced in the corporate world. Many more women need to be role models and support other women to help them grow professionally.

All the points were keenly discussed and debated and it was resolved unanimously that all the participants would stay connected and create a pool of the aspirant women directors of tomorrow and continue creating awareness by bringing more and more women executives to this discussion.