New Delhi, August 05, 2025 — Lead With Equity 2025, the flagship annual conference of Equilead brought together funders, practitioners, policymakers, and organisational leaders at the India International Centre (IIC), New Delhi, to advance intersectional, equity-driven solutions. Organised by EquiLead—an initiative of Climate Asia and the Arthan Foundation—the conference served as a strategic platform to shift the discourse from dialogue to systems-level action on gender equity, climate resilience, and inclusive leadership.
Partnering organizations included Dasra, Good Business Lab, Raintree Foundation, CREA, Aspire For Her, Youth4Jobs, AVPN, Oneworld Colab Pte Ltd, EMpower, Veddis Foundation, The Asia Foundation, The Convergence Foundation and many others.
Anchored in global and national frameworks such as SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and the UNFCCC’s Gender Action Plan, the conference moved beyond dialogue to catalyse systems-level action.
“Lead With Equity 2025 underscored that accelerating women’s leadership is essential to achieving a just and resilient global transition. As India advances its green growth agenda and contributes to global climate goals, investing in women at every level of the climate workforce is a moral and economic imperative,” said Satyam Vyas, Founder & CEO of Climate Asia.
Through thought-provoking panels, keynotes, research showcases, networking spaces, and closed-door dialogues, Lead With Equity 2025 fostered collaboration and actionable strategies to build inclusive ecosystems.
In a virtual keynote, Parmesh Shahani, Head, Godrej DEI Lab, shared, “I have experienced firsthand that when your institution supports you, you flourish, and it also benefits the institution.”
The panel Advancing Gender-Responsive Climate Action explored transformative approaches to position women as stakeholders, leaders, and system-changers in climate solutions. Speakers emphasized intersectional program design and the centrality of women’s lived experiences in shaping a just climate transition.
In the fireside chat Build to Include: Gender Equity in Indian Manufacturing, Deepak Rautela, Associate Vice President – Training & Organizational Development, Shahi Exports, shed light on the deep-rooted gender gaps within the garment manufacturing sector. While women form the backbone of the industry’s workforce, leadership roles continue to be dominated by men. Deepak shared how traditional gender roles and operational practices—such as night shifts, long hours, and unpredictable schedules—have created systemic barriers to women’s advancement. Many women also shoulder responsibilities beyond the workplace, including caregiving, household finances, and agricultural duties, further limiting their opportunities to grow into leadership positions.
The panel Mending the Leaky Pipeline: Unlocking Women’s Leadership through Relational Models explored the sharp drop in women’s representation from entry-level to senior roles, despite women forming the majority at the entry point. Panellists discussed how relational approaches—such as mentorship, sponsorship, coaching, and shadowing—can play a crucial role in addressing this leadership gap. When implemented with intention and accountability, these strategies have the potential to not only support women’s professional growth but also shift organisational cultures toward greater inclusion.
In a virtual keynote address, Aloka Majumdar, Managing Director, Global Head of Philanthropy & Head of Sustainability, India, HSBC, underscored the need for inclusive approaches to gender equity. She noted, “When we talk of mainstreaming gender, it is not only about working with women, it is equally important to engage with men and the community if we want to truly realise the impact of the work. Let’s remember that men and women, households and communities that make the universe, and engagement should involve all of them.”
The panel From Chaos to Clarity – What it Takes to Strengthen Nonprofits tackled the challenges of aligning organizational culture and leadership for impact. Radha Thakur, Lead – Diversifying Rural Income & Women Entrepreneurship at Reliance Foundation, noted, “The opposite of chaos isn’t always clarity—sometimes clarity emerges from chaos. Clarity comes from trusting local partners, co-creating solutions based on their strengths, and building systems and processes early on.”
Other panels, including The visible invisible: How climate change interacts with the care economy, inclusion and disability, Who Gets to Lead? Gender, Power, and Organisational Change and Who Gets Noticed and Funded in Climate, Gender and Governance? sparked critical discussions on reimagining leadership and addressing systemic barriers to women’s advancement.
Reflecting on the broader vision, Anchal Kakkar, Co-Founder, EquiLead, said, “The cornerstone of our work at EquiLead is to enable equity in leadership and build inclusive workplaces. We do this through our Gender Accelerator Program, direct mentorship and opportunities for women leaders, and ecosystem-level engagement through research and thought leadership. Our EquiLead platform brings this vision to life by offering curated jobs, resources, events, and networking opportunities. But we are only scratching the surface—we need all relevant ecosystem stakeholders to collaborate, learn, and unlearn together. Only then can we truly build and strengthen an inclusive, diverse ecosystem.”
The conference reaffirmed EquiLead’s position as a convening force for systemic transformation, underscoring that advancing equity is key to sustainable and inclusive growth.
