Stories
Kolkata to US Hall of Fame: Sharmila Mona Sinha's Journey for Women's Rights
- •Sharmila Mona Sinha, born and raised in Kolkata, has been inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame, becoming only the second woman of Indian origin to receive the honor after Indra Nooyi.
- •Her childhood experiences as the third daughter in a Kolkata family and volunteering at a Mother Teresa orphanage shaped her early understanding of gender inequality.
- •Sinha's journey includes studying at Smith College and Columbia Business School, followed by a career on Wall Street and in corporate America with companies like Morgan Stanley, Procter & Gamble, and Unilever.
- •She transitioned her business acumen to philanthropy and social change, leading Women Moving Millions, co-founding Raising Change, and supporting initiatives like the Asian Women’s Leadership University and Smith College's Women for the World campaign.
- •Currently CEO of Equality Now, Sinha advocates for women's rights globally, focusing on issues like child marriage, sexual violence, and economic rights, and has executive produced documentaries including the Oscar-nominated To Kill a Tiger.
Key Questions Answered
Sharmila Mona Sinha was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, New York. She is only the second woman of Indian origin to receive this honor, following former PepsiCo chief executive Indra Nooyi.
Sinha left India at 18 to study at Smith College in Massachusetts, graduating with degrees in economics and art history. She later earned an MBA from Columbia Business School and started her career on Wall Street as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley before working with major corporate companies.
Sinha has led Women Moving Millions, co-founded Raising Change, and served as CEO of Equality Now since 2022. Her advocacy and philanthropic work focuses on global women's rights, including fighting child marriage and sexual violence, supporting the Equal Rights Amendment, and producing documentaries like To Kill a Tiger.
