Leadership in Soroptimism Presentation

My talk today is on Leadership in Soroptimism within our clubs.

The guiding model of Soroptimist International is built on three core pillars: to educate, to empower, and to enable.

For me, there is a fourth pillar that is equally essential to strong and meaningful leadership: empathy.

So the framework I’m using today is: Educate, Empower, Enable, and Empathise.

While these pillars traditionally guide how Soroptimists support girls and women to improve their lives, today I want to take this a step further. I will speak about how these very same principles can—and should—be applied within our own clubs. Because when we educate, empower, enable, and empathise with our members, we strengthen our teams, deepen our commitment, and ultimately enhance our ability to achieve our mission.

So Good leadership begins with education – helping the people we work with understand the purpose, significance, and impact of what we aim to achieve.

Good leadership is about empowering the people who are in our team by giving them the confidence, skills, and opportunities to reach our goals. Our advocacy work specially during celebration of UN Days like Orange the World empowers girls and women to take a stand.

It is equally important to enable them — Sometimes the objectives among other members would differ or their motivation is not completely aligned to what we hope to achieve, but good leadership would enable them to fall in line with the majority by convincing them, removing obstacles they face and providing the resources to help them work as a team. Our project Asha supports micro scale women entrepreneurs to set up their businesses.

And above all, good leadership requires empathy which is seeing things from their point of view, recognising the challenges, aspirations, and emotions of the team that works along with us for a common purpose.

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We will now show how leadership grows stronger with continuous learning.

When we started the adult literacy program way back in 1997, our focus was to reach women who missed out on the first chance in education. This project is called ‘the Power of a second chance’. The project aimed at giving women school dropouts a second chance in education through adult literacy drives and skill development programs. This helped them gain confidence and helped them acquire income generating skills.

To ensure the project was meaningful, we conducted a survey among school-dropout women to understand their real needs. This is leadership through evidence-based decision-making.

The findings were clear: Women wanted English-speaking skills because, for them, English symbolised dignity, social mobility, and the ability to stand tall in society.

This was education with purpose.

Responding to this insight, we created functional conversational English modules that related to their actual lives for example – speaking to teachers during a Parents Teachers meeting, communicating at the workplace, expressing themselves with confidence in public.

As we moved forward, we realised that empowerment must lead to actionable pathways.

So we created English for Specific Purposes modules tailored to careers such as:

• beauticians,
• nursing aides,
• hospitality staff, and more.

This was leadership that recognised that skill without opportunity is incomplete.

We enabled women to convert learning into livelihoods.

True leadership is not just about starting a project—it is about sustaining it so that it becomes a part of the community’s everyday life. When we began the adult literacy program, we knew that the women we served had real constraints: long hours of domestic work, water storage schedules, and little time for themselves. So we designed a program around their lives. Our early survey ensured every module was relevant, and as women grew in confidence, the project grew with them—from basic literacy to conversational English, and eventually to English for employment. We trained local facilitators so that the project did not depend on any one leader, and soon the visible impact spoke for itself. Hundreds of women reclaimed their dignity, supported their children’s education, and inspired others to join. That is what makes a project long-term: when the community carries it forward. And once leadership creates access and dignity through literacy, it naturally leads to the next responsibility—ensuring safety and hygiene for girls. Which is why our journey moved to the next pillar: building toilets for girls.

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Toilet project

When we visited a school in the rural area of Waravane in Maharashtra, we discovered that many girls were dropping out simply because the school lacked proper toilet facilities. As Soroptimists, we recognised that this was not just an infrastructural issue—it was a matter of safety, dignity, and equal opportunity.

So Soroptimist International of Bombay Chembur took the lead and funded a dedicated block of toilets for the girls.

This initiative reflects core Soroptimist leadership skills which are

Empathetic Leadership
We listened, observed, and understood the real challenges faced by young girls. Leadership begins with empathy—seeing the world through someone else’s eyes.

The next step was to take an Informed Decision.
We based our action on evidence. We didn’t assume the problem; we learnt about it directly from the community. Effective leaders respond to genuine needs, not assumptions.

This led to Empowering Through Action By providing safe sanitation, we empowered girls to stay in school, continue their education, and build better futures.

All these steps enabled Sustainable Change
This was not a one-time charity gesture. It was a solution that removed a barrier at its root, enabling many cohorts of girls to benefit year after year.

Leading us to a very important leadership principle which is Collaborative and Community-Focused Leadership

We worked with the school and the local community, showing that leadership is often about partnership and collective effort.

This example beautifully demonstrates how Soroptimist leadership is not abstract—it is practical, compassionate, and transformative.

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So now let’s shift to the next dimension in leadership.

Leadership in Soroptimism also means acknowledging women leaders who have made an impact on society. So we initiated the Soroptimist Excellence awards which were given to exceptional women who contributed to women’s cause.

And we believe that true Soroptimist leadership is not only about leading from the front — it is equally about lifting up other leaders who embody the values we stand for, whether or not they are Soroptimists themselves.

We have honoured pioneers such as

• Dr. Armida Fernandez Founder of Sneha and who as the Dean of Sion Hospital started the first mother’s human milk bank
• Flavia Agnes Founder of Majlis for women’s rights and legal empowerment
• Shaheen Mistri for initiating the NGO Teach for India that is education for the marginalised.
• Priti Patkar, Human rights activist and Co-Founder of Prerana which addresses issues of children in the redlight areas
• Farida Lambay, co-founder of Pratham, a major Indian NGO that works to provide quality education to underprivileged children.

Jyoti Mhapsekar, founder and President of Stree Mukti Sanghatana, an organisation of the Economic and Social Wing of the United Nations. Some of the other recipients of the Soroptimist Excellence Awards were Nidhi Goyal, Lara Jesani, Swathi Mukherjee, Sumaira Abdulali, and many others who work tirelessly to educate, empower, and enable women.

By doing this we affirm that leadership in Soroptimism is not limited by membership — it is defined by alignment of purpose.

Why this matters

By recognising these changemakers, SIBC demonstrates that a Soroptimist leader by doing this we as leaders celebrate the success of others, build bridges across sectors, amplify voices working for women’s advancement, and we create a culture of collaboration rather than competition.

This practice of honouring external trailblazers is in itself a powerful act of leadership — it tells the world that Soroptimists stand with all who advance the cause of women.

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The next core element in our functioning is our democratic leadership. We adopt the rotating strategy. There should be a change of guard every other year.

True leadership in Soroptimism is not about holding on to a position—it is about knowing when to step aside so that others can rise.
One of the greatest strengths of our organisation is our willingness to create space for new voices, fresh ideas, and different perspectives. Leadership here is not a privilege to be guarded, but a responsibility to be shared.

In Soroptimist International of Bombay Chembur, we have demonstrated this beautifully. Over the past 30 years, every member has had the opportunity to serve as President or as an office bearer. This reflects our deeply democratic ethos and our belief that leadership grows stronger when it is rotated, nurtured, and passed on with grace.

A true Soroptimist leader supports, guides, and encourages others to take on roles of responsibility. She celebrates the success of others as much as her own. She mentors without controlling, inspires without imposing, and steps back without disappearing.

This culture of mutual support is one of the essential principles of Soroptimist leadership—because when we uplift each other, we uplift the organisation as a whole. And when every member is empowered to lead, the club becomes richer, more dynamic, and more resilient.

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Another essential element for strong leadership is to take local projects to the global stage.

When every member is encouraged to lead, we create a culture where leadership becomes shared, inclusive, and dynamic. This collective strength propels us forward to our next pillar: that is taking our projects to global platforms.

As leaders working for the upliftment of women, our role does not end with creating impactful projects—we must also become strong advocates for them on global platforms. Showcasing our work internationally gives it a powerful voice. Our project, “The Power of a Second Chance,” received immense recognition when we presented it at the Soroptimist international Convention in Istanbul in 2015, at the GRDS research conference at the University of Lisbon, Portugal in 2017, and later at the UN Commission on the Status of Women CSW 62 during SIGBI’s parallel event. These forums allowed us to highlight the transformative impact of adult literacy for women, gain valuable global perspectives, and build networks that strengthened the project further. This is what good leadership embodies—taking local projects to international stages so it can inspire, influence, and grow.

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As I stand among my Soroptimist sisters today, I feel immense pride — but also immense responsibility.

Our journey is far from over.

There are still women waiting for opportunities, for recognition, for someone to believe in them.

In reflecting on the foundations we just discussed, we see that leadership in Soroptimism is not defined by position, but by purpose. When we teach a woman to read, when we build a toilet that restores a girl’s dignity, when we honour women who inspire us, when we create spaces for every member to lead, and when we carry our initiatives to global platforms—we are shaping a model of leadership that is compassionate, inclusive, and transformative. These foundations remind us that leadership is a journey of lifting others as we rise. As Soroptimists, we do not merely speak of change—we create it, sustain it, and share it with the world.”

Let us be those leaders.
Let us continue to lead with purpose, passion, and service.

Because leadership is not a title we hold — it is a light we share.

And when we, as Soroptimists, hold that light high enough, we illuminate not just our own path, but the path for countless women to follow.

So let’s continue to educate, empower, enable and empathise with hearts full of compassion, and hands ready to serve.