Declaring that “breaking the glass ceiling is not merely about one woman reaching the top, it is about opening the door for millions of women to lead, participate, and shape the future of the global cooperative movement,” Dr. Nandini Azad has welcomed her historic re-election to the Global Board of the International Raiffeisen Union (IRU).
Dr. Azad, President of the Working Women’s Forum (India) (WWF) and the Indian Cooperative Network for Women (ICNW), was elected for a third consecutive term at the IRU Annual General Meeting held in Luxembourg.
She first made history in 2018 as the first woman in over a century to be elected to the IRU Global Board and remains the only woman cooperative leader globally to secure three consecutive terms.
Calling the victory a recognition of grassroots women rather than an individual achievement, Dr. Azad said the mandate reflects the growing global acceptance of women’s leadership in the cooperative movement.
She dedicated the achievement to the nearly 600,000 women associated with WWF–ICNW, whose collective efforts have demonstrated the power of financial inclusion, cooperative ownership, and community leadership.
She reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to promoting gender equality, sustainable livelihoods, and inclusive development, saying cooperatives remain one of the strongest platforms for empowering women and building resilient communities across the world.
