Business leaders call for stronger ecosystems that empower women at Thaaragai 2026 summit

Women leaders and entrepreneurs from various sectors came together at Thaaragai 2026, a summit hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Indian Women Network (IWN) Tamil Nadu.

“Platforms like Thaaragai play a vital role in bringing together leaders from industry, government, and academia to share ideas and create solutions that help more women succeed. When women are empowered with the right opportunities and mentorship, they become powerful catalysts for progress,” said Amudhavalli Ranganathan, vice-chairwoman, IWN Tamil Nadu, director of CavinKare, and executive director of CK Group of Educational Institutions.

Aravindan Selvaraj, co-founder and executive director of Kauvery Hospitals, shared some statistics on women in the healthcare sector, citing numbers from his hospital chain. “We have 12 hospitals with 2,500 beds and employ 13,000 people. Of them, 70% are women.”

He further said: “Once, when we convened a middle management meeting, I realised we had more men [than women]. I thought it was not right, and since then, we have proactively hired women. Today, 70% of our middle management comprise women. If you look at our senior management, 50% are women. At the CXO (Chief Experience Officer) level, we have 20%-30% women.”

Savitha Kesav Jagadeesan, Chairwoman, IWN Tamil Nadu & Senior Resident Partner, Kochhar & Co., said, “Tamil Nadu continues to be one of the leading States in India in terms of women’s workforce participation and entrepreneurship, making it even more important that we strengthen ecosystems that enable women to thrive – through access to opportunities, leadership pathways, and supportive policies — that empower them to participate fully in the workforce and society.”

A.R. Unnikrishnan, Chairman of CII Tamil Nadu and Managing Director of Saint Gobain India, said the nation cannot be developed by 2047 and Tamil Nadu cannot become a $1 trillion economy without women’s participation.”

A white paper on Women, Health, and Safety was also released at the event.