International Women's Day 2022

08^th March, 2022

Tuesday, 08th March 10, 2022: The Lloyd Group of Institutions successfully hosted an International Women's Day event at the Lloyd campus, with the theme #BreakTheBias. The event began with an auspicious lamp lighting by all the noteworthy guests, led by Mr. Manohar Thairani, President, Lloyd and Dr. Vandana Arora Sethi, Group Director, Lloyd, and was followed by an Inaugural session presided over by Dr. Vandana Arora Sethi, in which she addressed and warmly greeted all the guests, including special guest Smt. Sushma Singh, Vice Chairperson - Uttar Pradesh, State Women Commission, and chief guest Guru Praketa Ji.

Our honorable special guest Smt. Sushma Singh, Vice Chairperson - Uttar Pradesh, State Women Commission, thanked the Lloyd group of institutions for organizing such an inspiring event, adding that Lloyd has already broken the bias by including a male panelist and a large number of men at the event. She inspired everyone in attendance by highlighting the fact that India is one of the few countries where women have served as president, prime minister, army general, piloted a fighter jet, and travelled to space. "Don't worship females, just respect them," she added.

Later, our special guest Guru Praketa Ji depicted Mira Bai's (16th century, Hindu mystic poet and devotee of Krishna) life and struggle, as well as how she overcame challenges and negativity in her life by citing an example of her husband's brother attempting to kill her, rather she turned poison into nectar because of her divine faith in Lord Krishna. She also wished Lloyd success in their ultimate goal.

Lloyd was illuminated with the presence of other dignitaries and delegates for a panel discussion. Starting with the First Panel Discussion on "The Critical Role of Diversity," our panelist Ms. Manjula Mishra, Director, Holosafe Security Labels Pvt. Ltd., stated, "More women should aspire to be entrepreneurs, even the ecosystem is now becoming conducive to that." She also stated that "industry structures should be geared to support female workers." "Strong women raise secure men, and secure men let women lead," stated Dr. Neha Arora, Director of Auriga Research. She also mentioned, “The world will come crashing down the day women take a step back." Ms. Swati Aggarwal, Senior Director, Care Ratings, thanked Lloyd for allowing her to share her thoughts and stated emphatically that conditions for women had improved in the last 25 years, with women now accounting for nearly half of her company's workforce. “Although intentional efforts must be made to ensure that women are visible at upper managerial levels, where males still outnumber women." Ms Sumita Das, Founder and President of the Life of Vision Foundation, recounted her heartfelt experience about having to retire due to her obligations. She went on to say, "The reason behind most women's success is that women work systematically," and encouraged the youth to dream big and never give up. Although our distinguished panelist Mr. Alvin David, General Manager, HRD Newgen Software Technologies Ltd. had a different perspective on the current state of women, emphasising the fact that women in the engineering sector have increased in the last 6-7 years, and using words like "strong women" puts unnecessary pressure on women,

Later, a second-panel discussion focused on a very delicate topic: many facets of women's identity: The Struggle of Being a Modern Woman. Our renowned panelist Mr. Ajit Sood, Partner RBSA, Restructuring Advisor discussed the many issues encountered by women living in rural regions and how women in Bihar are transitioning towards entrepreneurship with limited resources. Dr Neetu Bhagat, AICTE's Deputy Director, began by telling her tale of moving to different cities as a result of her commitment and determination to pursue her aspirations. "We are strong enough to support another gender instead of receiving support from them," she added. Ms. Sabeena Yousuf, Managing Partner, Pashmina, Cottage Emporium, offered her exhilarating thoughts on the matter and had a unique perspective: "If we treat women as human beings, there will be no bias." She also stated that no one needs to grant a woman rights because she already has them. Ms Vaishali Taneja, NASSCOM, Future Skill Partner Engagement Lead, stated very clearly that as women, we should embrace our journey and not be so hard on ourselves about how we appear, if we have the proper attitude, or whether we would be able to justify the chance we have been given. “I am privileged to be part of the medical sector because it is driven by both genders," said Dr. Mohna Chauhan, Director, Prakash Hospital. She mentioned that she is grateful for the opportunity to make her own decisions and strive to improve her continuously. "My family backed me in my business of Travel and Tourism for school pupils, stated Ms Swati Bhatnagar, Entrepreneur, Adventure Tourism, and Handcrafter Edibles.

The award ceremony, which was held expressly to commemorate International Women's Day, inspired students, and awards were handed to winners of the "Slogan Writing" and "Video-making" competitions, as well as academic winners from the pharmacy, engineering, management, and education. Faculty members were also recognized for their remarkable contributions to their departments.

Under the patronage of Shri. Manohar Thairani, President, and Dr Vandana Arora Sethi, Group Director, this program was successfully carried out.