In Pics | Women who broke the glass ceiling in 2021

Women assumed important roles and broke several glass ceilings in 2021. Here we take a look at five women who inspired several with their achievements this year.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in December announced that Gita Gopinath, currently chief economist of the IMF, is set to succeed Geoffrey Okamoto as the institution's First Deputy Managing Director (FDMD) early next year. Gopinath, who was scheduled to return to her academic position at Harvard University in January 2022, has served as the IMF's chief economist for three years. The Indian-American recently called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Credit: PTI File Photo

The stellar opening of Nykaa's stock listing made the founder of the lifestyle-focused consumer technologies platform Falguni Nayar one of the richest self-made billionaires in the country. She has over 26 years of experience in e-commerce, investment banking and broking. Prior to founding Nykaa, she was associated with Kotak Mahindra Capital Company for 18 years, where she served as the Managing Director. She has also served on the boards of various companies, including Tata Motors and Aviva Life Insurance Company India. Credit: AFP File Photo

Leena Nair, who grew up in Kolhapur in Maharashtra, will next month-end take over as the Global Chief Executive Officer of French luxury fashion house Chanel, joining the ranks of Indian-origin corporate bosses who call the shots at Global Inc. Nair, 52, was the first female and youngest-ever Chief Human Resources Officer of Unilever - a position she resigned from to join the iconic luxury group. Credit: Twitter/@LeenaNair

Byju's Divya Gokulnath features among India's only three self-made women billionaires apart from Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (Biocon) and Falguni Nayar (Nykaa). The Co-founder and Director of ed-tech platform Byju's Think & Learn reportedly also entered the Forbes rich list with a net worth of $4.05 billion. Credit: Instagram/@divyagokulnath

Ruchi Kalra's startup OfBusiness was part of India's fast swelling unicorn universe in the startup ecosystem this year. The B2B platform raised $325 million in funding round led by Alpha Wave Global, Tiger Global and SoftBank vision fund. According to the company website, OFB Tech is a tech-enabled platform that facilitates raw material procurement and SMEs with focus on the manufacturing and infrastructure sectors. Credit: LinkedIn/@ruchi-kalra