In 2014, former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi made a profound statement: that women can’t have it all. “Every day you have to make a decision about whether you are going to be a wife or a mother; in fact, many times during the day you have to make those decisions,” she said. So, 12 years later, after many technological innovations and shifts in corporate culture, does the same still hold true? This was one of the topics discussed during the session, ‘The Reality Behind Women in Power’ at the second edition of the Mpowering Minds Summit 2026.
Present at the session—which was moderated by Shobha Ratna, chief human resources officer at Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd—were celebrated sportswoman Anju Bobby George; executive neuro coach and speaker Saloni Suri; IPS officer Padmini Sahoo and Sunita Wazir, head of transformation—global health & wellbeing, Hindustan Unilever Ltd.
All of them said they had to make certain trade-offs and face many challenges to reach where they have. George spoke about how her family was against her becoming a sportswoman, with a bevvy of objections like how she would become dark playing in the sun and would not be able to find a husband later. To all this, her mother, who was her staunchest support, said, “One day you will all clap for my daughter.” Even later, when she became a professional athlete, she was castigated for many things, like wearing makeup while competing. “To all the questions, my answer was my medals,” said George.
Wazir spoke about how women have to keep proving themselves over and over again. Fortunately, she works in a company that puts a premium on women's empowerment. As a result, there are three women in the top 10 positions at Hindustan Unilever. “But this involves a lot of sacrifice,” she said.
“Structurally, we are not designed to support women.” She said that it is not a coincidence when a woman achieves success. It takes deliberation, and today we need that deliberation across industries. She also stressed the importance of coping mechanisms for women. “When you are in a constant state of pressure, it does not lead to growth,” she said. “The WHO states that one in four people will have a mental health problem. This figure is accelerated for women. We carry that stress in our bodies.”
Suri said that the best way to combat stress for women is to be able to hack it by training our extremely neuroplastic brains. “When you give up your power to be in the driving seat of your life, that’s when you have lost the plot,” she said. Girls, she said, are not taught to love themselves. They are taught to obey and take care of others.
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“Eighty per cent of women are givers and not takers,” she said. “We are taught to be ‘good girls’. To go to a summer camp, a girl must negotiate so much more than her brother. You have to learn the vocabulary in which you can pick yourself up and go forward.”
The women also gave their take on how one can change the system. We should reward performance rather than gender, said Sahoo. We have policies and welfare measures for women, but women who actually avail themselves of these benefits are going to be judged. George reiterated the importance of women supporting women. “We should not only have inner strength, but we should also know how to take it out,” she said.
Wazir opined that work should be designed in such a way that supports a woman’s life stages, whether it is maternity or caring for elderly parents. She also said that what we don’t role model enough at the workplace is vulnerability. Women need not feel shame or hesitate in confessing their vulnerability.
Suri said that to empower herself, a woman must learn how to understand and manage her money. When she gets to call the shots on how her money will be spent, then that is real power. Ratna concluded the session by reminding that ambition and well-being are not opposites. “Women do not need to be stronger,” she said. “Leadership systems need to be wiser.”