Jennifer E. Jones, president of Rotary International (RI), said that the organisation has a target of increasing the representation of women in its leadership roles across the globe to 30% by 2023.
Speaking to The Hindu during her visit to Chennai on Wednesday, she said that 24% of the membership of the Rotary family are women. Pointing out that the composition varied across countries, she said that women accounted for 16% of Rotary membership in India.
She said that RI was keen to increase the role of women in the organisation, both in terms of membership and leadership roles. “We do not want to include women simply because of their gender. We want to look for the best and brightest. I am confident that we have got a lot of incredibly talented women who belong within our ranks. I think it is incumbent upon us to take an opportunity to raise awareness,” she said.
