News9 Global Summit 2025
The second edition of News9 Global Summit 2025 started in Germany on Thursday. During the discussion on the topic Strength to Strength: Women in Leadership, four influential women from India and Germany, Captain Zoya Aggarwal (Senior Commander, Air India), Dr. Sarita Ailawat (Co-Founder, Bot Lab Dynamics), Vanessa Bachhofer (Managing Director, Mark & Schneider GmbH) and Evelyn De Gruyter. (Managing Director, Association of German Women Entrepreneurs) — shared his views.
Dr. Sarita Ailawat said this
Mere presence of women in the boardroom is not enough, but it is necessary to give them equal opportunities and decision-making power. He told that his startup Bot Lab Dynamics is associated with IIT Delhi and is one of the top drone companies in the world. We can fly thousands of drones simultaneously, but the number of women in the team of 250 engineers is less than 10%, she said. She believes that unless women’s participation is 50-50, real representation will not be possible.
Vanessa Bachhofer said this
75% of women work in their sector, but half of them are part-time employees. Currently about 40,000 jobs are vacant, and this number may reach one lakh in the next decade. This requires that women work full-time, she said. Vanessa stressed the need for flexible work models, reliable day-care and bringing women into leadership roles.
Captain Zoya Aggarwal said this
Sharing her experiences, she said, when I started my career, I was the fifth and youngest pilot in my organization. To prove myself, I had to work 200% more hard than my male colleagues. But the question is why only women have to do this? He said that real change starts from our thinking. Until we stop differentiating between boys and girls among our children, nothing will change. Remember dreams have no gender.
Evelyn de Gruyter said this
Evelyn de Gruyter told that her organization was formed in the 1950s at a time when women in Germany had to take permission from their husbands to work or open a bank account. He said, a lot has changed, but there are still many walls left to break. Mere presence of women on the board is not enough, change in the culture of companies is also necessary.