British-Indian expert on a mission to fix diversity gap for women in finance
London: A British-Indian financial expert, recently honored in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for her work in the field of inclusion and diversity, says she is on a mission to fix the diversity gap within the financial services sector, especially for women.
Dr. Bijna Kotak Dasani, an Executive Director at global investment bank Morgan Stanley, was awarded an MBE by Queen Elizabeth II for Services to Diversity and Inclusion in Financial Services last month.
She now wants to make use of that platform to support women in India and within the Indian diaspora as she advocates the upskilling of women in the financial services workforce.
This fix in the diversity gap needs to be a firm partnership between both men and women and the shared responsibility discussion needs to extend beyond the boardroom and into the home environment, said Dasani.
My primary focus is on promoting women into senior roles and I will be extending mentoring capabilities to India with a focus on helping as many young women as possible thrive and progress in their career trajectories, she said.
The UK-based professional graduated from De Montfort University (DMU) in Leicester with a degree in Business Administration and went on to study at the University of Oxford, where her postgraduate thesis examined gender parity in the C-suite within the UK financial services sector.
Since completing her studies, Dasani has become a strong advocate for equal opportunities in the workplace and serves on numerous boards, including the Inclusive Companies Network, Generation Success, CIO Net, Fintech Connect, and Cajigo.
She said: My mother as a single parent raised three children whilst working full-time in financial services and the working world was very different then. We have relatively new layers of awareness, protocols, and policies in the corporate world today to accommodate and support flexible working arrangements and equal opportunities.
I am keen to better understand assumptions about gender, social mobility, and ethnicity stereotypes. There is significant evidence to suggest the inclusion of diverse backgrounds leads to better outcomes in organizations. Businesses, therefore, do better when they truly reflect the communities, and the segments they aim to serve.
Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Dasani has worked across some of the world's largest corporations in the financial services sector, including Lloyds Banking Group, Deutsche Bank, and Credit Suisse. She has spent a number of years between Wall Street in New York and London, as well as in Asia.
Dasani is also working with her alma mater DMU in her hometown of Leicester to develop a partnership that will offer students from social mobility backgrounds the opportunity to gain professional mentoring and work experience in the investment banking world.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Air India reduces cabin baggage allowance to 15 kg for lowest fare segment
New Delhi: Loss-making Air India has reduced the free cabin baggage allowance to 15 kilogram from 20 kilogram for the lowest economy fare segment on domestic flights.
The changes have been made in the menu-based pricing model fare families that were introduced by the Tata Group-owned Air India last August, with the airline saying that a one-size-fits-all approach is no longer ideal.
There are three fare families — Comfort, Comfort Plus and Flex — that offer different levels of benefits and fare restrictions at various price points, an airline spokesperson said on Saturday.
With effect from May 2, the free cabin baggage allowance for the ‘Comfort’ and ‘Comfort Plus’ categories has been reduced to 15 kg from 20 kg and 25 kg, respectively.
Prior to the introduction of the fare families concept, passengers on Air India’s domestic flights were allowed to carry 25 kilograms of cabin baggage free of any additional charge.
“On domestic routes in Economy Class, both ‘Comfort’ and ‘Comfort Plus’ fare families now provide 15 kg baggage allowance, while ‘Flex’ provides 25 kg allowance.
“The Business Class baggage allowance on domestic routes ranges from 25 kg to 35 kg. The free baggage allowance on international flights varies from market to market,” the spokesperson said.
In other domestic airlines also, passengers are allowed to carry 15 kg of cabin baggage without additional charge.
The Air India spokesperson said the fare families are designed to let passengers choose the kind of fare and services that best suit their requirements, given that travellers today have varied preferences, and a one-size-fits-all approach is no longer ideal.
Elaborating on the proposition, the spokesperson said that for example, the price difference between ‘Comfort Plus’ and ‘Flex’ fares would typically be around Rs 1,000 in a domestic sector like Delhi-Mumbai, with the ‘Flex’ fare providing the value of nearly Rs 9,000, including 10 kilograms extra baggage and zero change or cancellation fees.
The introduction of fare families is in response to customer feedback and Air India’s own comprehensive study. It is also benchmarked against the offerings of relevant competition in each of the markets we have introduced it in, the spokesperson added.
Tata Group has embarked on an ambitious plan to revive the fortunes of the loss-making Air India, which it had acquired from the government in 2022.
