Radhika Gupta, the CEO of Edelweiss Mutual Fund, recently voiced her disappointment on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, over the GSF Accelerator (a platform for Indian startups), for its lineup for the upcoming founders-investors conference scheduled to take place at Shangri-La Bengaluru.
Radhika Gupta, re-sharing the post wrote, "Sorry to call this out, but at a time when women are doing much awesome stuff in start ups and in investing, when the government talks women led development … not one female face? #Manel."
The controversy erupted when the organisation posted a promotional image, a tweet by GSF Accelerator, which featured 40 male speakers, sparking a backlash due to the complete absence of female representation.
Gupta expressed her frustration over the all-male panel, especially in a time when women are making significant strides in the startup and investment sectors.
Netizens Reaction
Gupta's tweet sparked a many responses from various sectors with many echoing her sentiments as well as expressing disappointment and frustration over the lack of female representation.
One of the X user commented, "Looks like now they have just given up even the hypocrisy of having a token name in their boy clubs."
Another user added, "Do not be sorry, especially when calling out the blatant lack of diversity in an all-male panel of speakers. It's crucial to hold organizers accountable and demand inclusive representation. This is utterly shameful!
Another remarked, "Wow, 40 people and not one female! Where are the women? I guess we have enough female investors/founders to be called at least for the sake of formality? Shame."
