L&T's Women's Day event in Chennai celebrates women power for business growth
International Women's Day, March 8, was marked by fervour across the L&T Group. The theme – Inspire Inclusion – came alive through celebratory events, health sessions, fun events and more, drawing enthusiastic participation.
The high-octane apex celebration was hosted at L&T’s Manapakkam campus in Chennai, where the festivities were enhanced by the presence of L&T CMD Mr S N Subrahmanyan and his wife and Prayas Trust President Ms Meena Subrahmanyan, as well as several L&T senior leaders and their spouses.
The celebrations at the Convention Centre opened to a house-full audience amidst warmth, cheer, and smiles. The hall was shimmering in blue, to celebrate WOW – the Women of Worth!
Mr M V N Rao (Head – Learning & Development, Corporate HR) traced L&T’s DEI journey, which has been progressing at a brisk pace.
In-house dance performances and skits added excitement and drama, casting a bright glow on the performers as they took to the stage.
SNS then launched the L&T Women’s Day film – I build the world, I power the world – which received a standing ovation from the audience, raising emotions and evoking tears of joy.
Two panel discussions were held. The first, moderated by Ms Jayanthi Anilkumar (Head - – HR, Shared Services Centre), featured Ms K Bhavani (EVP & Head – Urban Transit, Heavy Civil Infrastructure), Ms C Niranjana (VP & Head – F&A, Power Transmission & Distribution), Ms Vaishali Koparkar (VP & Head – F&A, Transportation Infrastructure [TI]), Ms MF Febin (Head – CollegeConnect Business, L&T EduTech), Ms Poonam Chandok (VP & Head – HR, L&T Energy Hydrocarbon) and Ms Chetana Patnaik (CHRO – LTIMindtree).
The discussion brought out many facets of the DEI journey, as the participants inspired the audience with their professional and personal stories, perseverance being the secret of every triumph.
The second panel discussion, moderated by Ms Niranjana, featured Mr T Madhava Das (Whole-time Director & Sr EVP – Utilities), Mr S V Desai (Whole-time Director & Sr EVP – Civil Infrastructure), Mr Anil Parab (Whole-time Director & Sr EVP – Heavy Engineering and L&T Valves) and L&T Executive Committee Member Mr M V Satish who shared stories about the women who inspired them and the impact they have had on their lives.
In his address, Dr C Jayakumar (EVP & Head – Corporate HR) stated that women truly demonstrate strength, courage, resilience, and compassion in their work and daily lives, inspiring and empowering others, thus paving the way for progress and equality.
The four pillars of DEI – Induct, Engage, Develop and Enable – were acknowledged with appreciation for the teams working behind the scenes, who received awards from the CMD. The Allyship Awards were instituted, which are based on voting by the women employees. Proving that gender is no bar to winning trust, the 8 top-voted allies included a few men.
The DEI Showcase – a virtual platform featuring the DEI work put in by L&T’s businesses – was launched by Dr Jayakumar and the HR Heads.
Ms Subrahmanyan enlightened the audience on the various initiatives that Prayas Trust is undertaking across the country, including empowering women. Mr and Ms Subrahmanyan launched a new initiative – an L&T-branded women’s apparel website for L&T employees.
Rounding off the momentous day, Mr Subrahmanyan delivered an inspiring speech. “We need to celebrate and honour our Women of Worth. Their incredible contributions and achievements must be acknowledged. It is important to support L&T’s women and strive to create a world where their talents are recognised and enable them to become role models for future generations,” he concluded.
