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From April 25 to 27, 2023, the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) will host a leadership program for visually impaired women professionals. The 'Leadership and strategic thinking for the social sector' program at IIMA aims to provide participants with an in-depth understanding of the various aspects of leadership in the social sector, also ways to improve pedagogical innovation and build inclusive classrooms.

The program drew 25 people from different organizations in Delhi, Gujarat, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. The event will cover topics such as strategic thinking for the social sector, governance, and compliance issues in NGOs, and financial literacy: issues, challenges, and opportunities, as well as managing negotiations and leading oneself in the social sector.

IIMA faculty members will modify course content and teaching to keep the teaching-learning process simple, student-friendly, and effective in light of the participants' special needs. Bharat Bhasker, director of IIM Ahmedabad, said at the program's opening session: "IIMA has taken an impressive lead in addressing social issues, particularly around inclusivity and disability." Through this program, we are taking an important step towards understanding and mitigating the challenges faced by visually impaired women aspiring to leadership positions, an area where they are significantly underrepresented. Overall, this initiative exemplifies IIMA's progressive vision, and we are confident that the program will help us significantly contribute to the creation of a more inclusive and equitable society."

IIM professor Rajesh Chandwani explained the program's goal and details, "This program stems from our observations from a one-day interactive workshop we conducted last year with a group of visually challenged women." Based on our understanding, we developed this course, in which we will not only help participants gain an in-depth into the various aspects of the social sector, but we will also learn ways to improve our pedagogical innovation and build inclusive classrooms. Throughout the program, we intend to engage in meaningful interactions with participants and develop policy briefs on these topics."