Leading the ladies
"I believe that it is up to every individual to take charge and make change happen…For too long, women have been waiting on the sidelines for something to happen to give them their rightful place,” stated Vanita Bhandari (pictured) in an email to Parsiana. 
Bhandari was appointed the 50th president of the Ladies Wing of The IMC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LWIMC) on June 24 this year. She has chosen "Me: The Change-maker” as the theme for her term in office. The theme "is a call for women to individually make change happen with words and actions,” noted The Economic Times (ET) of July 22. Chief executive and managing director of DBS Corporate Services and director of the Women’s India Trust (WIT), Bhandari told ET, "It doesn’t matter whether it’s education, domestic violence, equal pay, discrimination in sports or any other aspect of life — change starts with you. You are the change-maker.”
The LWIMC website notes that Bhandari has been chairperson of various committees like Women’s Advancement; International Connections; Young Entrepreneurs. Bhandari’s late mother, business woman and cofounder of Diners World Travel Perveez Aggarwal (nee Rustamji) with her husband Shamsundar, was an executive committee member of the Wing that Bhandari now leads. Bhandari "brings with her years of experience as a business leader and a passion for women’s empowerment,” noted ET.
"We brainstorm ideas and the committees run with them...I’m always available if they need me but I don’t like to micromanage,” said Bhandari of her management style. "Under her leadership, the Ladies Wing’s women entrepreneurs’ exhibition in August will bring to the fore women who have never had a retail presence, giving them a head start as entrepreneurs,” noted a write-up from Bhandari’s office.
The activities of the Wing, established in 1966, "inspire, motivate and encourage women to participate in entrepreneurial activities,” notes its website. Their over 2,200 members include entrepreneurs, managers, professionals and women from leading business houses, it states.