FIA hosts International Women’s Day, honors contributions

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The Federation of Indian Associations of NY NJ CT NE held its 5th annual International Women’s Day celebrations jointly with Consulate General of India NY at the Indian Consulate March 8, 2023.  Five women were honored for their unique contributions in their respective fields.

The awardees for IWD2023 honorees are:

Deputy Mayor of New York City Meera Joshi, an attorney by profession, has been in the top City Administration position since January 2022. Her accomplishments include innovations in the transport sector including implementing the Vision Zero program to reduce traffic fatalities and injuries, and building a Cabinet reflecting equity, among others.

Radha Subramanyam – President, Chief Research & Analytics Officer – CBS- TV Net Corp, a Media Executive who has won numerous awards and accolades for her contributions to the media industry, including being recognized as one of the “100 Leading Women in the North American Auto Industry” by Automotive News.

Hina Patel PE PMP MBA – TEDx Speaker, Executive Leader leading a 200 employee engineering firm in three states. She has served a Fortune 500 Global Engineering Company for over two decades. An advocate of women’s rights in workplaces she has worked towards gender equity and she is among the 2% women in management role in her respective career field.

Dr. Padmini Murthy – Global Health Leader AMWA, a passionate advocate for women’s health who has worked tirelessly to improve access to healthcare services, particularly for underserved women. She has initiated several global health programs that focus on women’s health, such as the Women’s Eye Health Task Force and the Global Health Council’s Maternal, New born, and Child Health Initiative. She is also a recipient of the Elizabeth Blackwell Award.

Falu Shah – singer and songwriter and Grammy Award Winner.  Shah was unable to attend the function as she was to perform in India at the inauguration of the 4th Cricket Test Match (between India and Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad), attended by Indian PM Narendra Modi along with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese.
Dr. Abha Jaiswal, first lady of the Indian Consulate, inaugurated the event, stressing the importance of recognizing women’s societal importance and “customizing a place to suit the needs of our women of today who will in turn make a difference by effective contributions to society,” a press release from FIA quoted her saying.

FIA Vice President and the IWD Chair Smitamiki Patel  expressed her gratitude to the Consulate team for their support and partnership making the IWD program very prestigious and well received by the community.

Consul General of India, Randhir Jaiswal, in his speech, said women in India are outpacing other countries. In India, 12.5% of the pilots are women, whereas in developed countries the ratio was 5 percent or lower.  He congratulated the 2023 recipients and encouraged the community to engage in more meaningful and community-impacting events.

Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi complimented FIA for being the catalyst in raising the stature of Indian Americans across the region, adding that she was privileged and honored to be the first woman of Indian-American descent to be in charge of New York City operations.
The FIA organizing team led by Smitamiki Patel included Krina Parikh, Nishi Dhami, Priti Patel, Srishti Narula, Dhruti Shah, Anu Singh, Rohi Singh, Shalakha Savant, Sheela Dubal, Vaishali Parikh, Tina Vaidya, Nirha Pandya, and Sangita Patankar.

Distinguished attendees included Karishma Vaidya and FIA Chairman Ankur Vaidya, Drs Sudha and Sudhir Parikh (Chairman ParikhWorldwide Media), FIA first lady Trupti Desai and FIA President Kenny Desai. In addition there was the FIA  executive team consisting of Dr. Avinash Gupta, Saurin Parikh, Mahesh Dubal, Alok Kumar and Srujal Parikh along with Board members Kanubhai Chauhan and Dr.Parveen Pandhi.