Winspiration - Swissnex

“Women belong in all places where decisions are made” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg

“If any of you are having hot flashes like I am, you deserve a f*****g medal,” said the character of Samantha Jones on HBO’s Sex and the City in 2003. Women in their 40s and 50s everywhere wiped the sweat off their brows and nodded in solidarity. Fast forward to 2023, that iconic moment of truth-telling hasn’t translated into a movement. We still don’t discuss the harsh reality – just when women begin to peak in their careers and vie for leadership positions, they’re hit with the double whammy of peri/menopause and hot flashes. And so begins a new, hush-hush challenge in a working woman’s life, that she must navigate without any support.

Not anymore.

With Winspiration, we are driving conversations on taboo topics, with the goal of taking actionable steps to increase and support women in leadership positions.

The project tackles three core problems: the lack of role models, unconscious bias in the workplace, and balancing career growth during menopause. These challenges hold women back across sectors, whether it is entrepreneurship or a large company.

In recent years, Switzerland and India have committed to better representation of women at leadership levels. In 2019, Switzerland passed a proposal to this effect in publicly traded companies, while in 2020, the Securities and Exchange Board of India mandated the appointment of at least one woman director in listed companies. While these measures have certainly increased women’s representation on boards, it has done little to increase the number of women in leadership positions.

Why is this so, and what can be done to address it?

Find out at Winspiration.

Winspiration brings a collaborative Indo-Swiss approach to address the lack of gender diversity and women in leadership.

Engaging conversations with industry leaders and experts to understand the root causes of these issues, and ways to tackle them are taking the center stage. These include practical tips, strategies to leverage this knowledge, and FemTech solutions for women adjusting to monthly hormonal fluctuations, as well as those who are transitioning into menopause even as they rise up the career ladder.

In addition, there will be panels on unconscious bias and gender diversity, among other workplace challenges that women must navigate in their rise to the top.

The World Bank estimates that if gender employment gaps were closed, long-run GDP per capita would be almost 20% higher (on average across countries). The writings on the wall – women’s participation in leadership boosts the economy. Join us as we bring together experts from the Indo-Swiss ecosystem for actionable insights on how to increase the numbers of women leaders across sectors.

Speakers

Bio

Oana Gharbi

Oana Gharbi is a FemTech business consultant, professional fertility patient advocate and certified health coach. As someone who experienced secondary infertility, Oana brings unique perspectives gained from her battlefield experience to the organisations she works with, being a bridge between medical topics and champions of business initiatives. Oana is Head of Partnerships for Proov, represents Carrot Fertility in Europe and Maghreb, and is a member of Resolve, the European Fertility Society and ESHRE.
Geraldine Lüdi

Geraldine Lüdi is the creator of Josei, a passion project to empower women’s health through movement and body education. She is a Pilates teacher and an upcoming Women’s Health Coach. Being active in the fields of women’s health and FemTech, Geraldine organises different initiatives and moderates events. With a background in Business Innovation at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, she works as an Account Manager in Healthcare and Life Sciences at Amazon Web Services in Zürich.
Bio

Nitya Dintakurti

Nitya Dintakurti is a young entrepreneur with a strong commitment to improving women’s health through innovative technologies. With a background in biomedical engineering, she brings a fresh perspective to the field and is passionate about creating impactful solutions that address the unique challenges faced by women.
Bio

Dr. Smitha A P

Dr Smitha A P practices at ‘Proactive For Her’ and is part of their medical advisory board. She has been practising medicine for 20 years, of which 13 years have been in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology. She has also been part of health camps which provide medical relief and benefits to the underprivileged. She strongly believes in patient care that goes beyond the illness by holistically approaching the care with the right mix of evidence-based medicine and personalized care.
Bio

Elizabeth Gazda

Elizabeth Gazda is the CEO of Embr Labs, a Boston-based wearables company that developed the Embr Wave – a wrist-worn, personal thermostat that improves sleep, relieves anxiety and helps with hot flashes. Before Embr Labs, Liz was a member of several founding teams and has served in senior roles at some of Boston’s fastest-growing companies, including m-Qube (acq. Verisign) and unicorn Art Technology Group (acq. Oracle). Elizabeth serves as a board member and advisor to several IoT, hardware and software companies.
Bio

Daniel Kraft

Daniel Kraft is CEO of Lufhtansa Technik Services India, which is the India based operations of Lufthansa Technik, the world market leader for technical aviation services. Before relocating to Bangalore in December 2021 Daniel had responsibilities for Market Entry Projects, Strategy, and Process Management for Airbus and Lufthansa Technik in Hamburg, Germany. He is a senior aviation manager with >10 years of industry experience and passion for leadership Daniel holds a degree in Industrial Engineering and Management.
Bio

Priyadarshi Bhattacharya

Priyadarshi is an HR professional with two decades of proven track record within the BFSI – IT & ITeS industries, and the Indian Armed Forces. He is passionate about delivering business strategy through people practices and working closely with C suite and Executive leadership teams to partner transformation, strengthen leadership, build capability, drive performance & institutionalize culture.
Bio

Meghna Singhee

Meghna leads workshops in the spaces of women leadership; communication; building mindful careers and overcoming unconscious bias at Navgati. Her facilitation style has warmth and authenticity, finding resonance with a range of clients. She has completed her TA 101 and trained in the gestalt therapy practice of Chairwork. She has completed her ACSTH and is pursuing her ACC credentials as a coach.
Bio

Dr. Elisa Streuli

Dr. Elisa Streuli is a lecturer and consultant in management education with a focus on conflict management and consulting at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences. Her expertise in conflict management and consulting, social inequality, leadership, diversity is backed by several years of experience in professional and management functions in large companies, SMEs and public administration.
Bio

Dr. Sanjana Rao

Dr. Sanjana Rao is the co-founder of Miyara, a digital health platform to empower women through peri menopause and beyond focused on South Asian women worldwide.She is a research scientist with a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Postdoc from ETH and UZH, she is passionate about championing women’s health.

She is also the winner of the Hidden Figures Award by TechFace and was featured in the Top 10 Women to Follow in Tech in Switzerland as well as the 500+ FemTech personalities in 2021. Sanjana and her co-founder Gayatri have recently been featured in Forbes and in podcasts such as Project Spark and Narratives of Purpose.
Bio

Claire Dixon

Claire Dixon has 25+ years’ international leadership, strategy and operational experience, including 15 years as a strategic consultant to capital and technology-intensive businesses, 5 years in senior operational roles and 5 years as a deeptech founder. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a MEng/MA (Cantab.) in Mechanical Engineering from Cambridge University.
Bio

Cindy Moy Carr

Cindy Moy Carr is the founder and CEO of Vorsdatter Limited which created mySysters, a mobile platform for women in perimenopause and menopause. Cindy is an attorney, journalist and author, including the ABA’s Guide to Healthcare Law.