Rotary needs more women members

Addressing members of the Rotary Club of ­Bangalore (RCB) and other senior officers of District 3190 at the Rotary House of Friendship in Bengaluru, PRIP K R Ravindran was emphatic that the future of Rotary was in the hands of women members.

Rotary International, with 1.2 million members in more than 35,000 Rotary clubs in 200-plus countries, first admitted women as members only in 1987.  Globally, now about 27 per cent of Rotary club members are women. He complimented DG Asha Prasanna Kumar for her inspiring leadership of over 140 clubs.

Engaging in an interesting ­conversation with more than 200 Rotarians, ­Ravindran said Rotary needed more women members as they are very passionate about community service activities. There are already a number of senior women directors in RI. “It will not be long before Rotary International gets its first woman president,” he said.

RCB, the first and oldest Rotary club in Karnataka, founded in 1934, has approximately 15 per cent women members in the 255-member club.

During the hour-long conversation, moderated by Club President Zarir Batha and past president Ram Kumarr Seshu, Ravindran answered a wide range of questions about his leadership style, Rotary’s international reach and activities, relentless pursuit to do good around the world with minimal administrative cost and transparency at all levels of the organisation.

A recent study by the US-based ­Charity Navigator had ranked Rotary International as the most efficient NGO in the world in using funds and ranked it on top for its 97.3 per cent accuracy in reporting financial data most transparently, Ravindran said. Rotary was named ahead of other prominent NGOs like World Vision, Red Cross and Save the Children.

Prominent member of RCB and PRID M K Panduranga Setty and DG Asha honoured Ravindran who mesmerised the audience with his charm, wit, clarity of thought and clear enunciation of the good work done by Rotary International.

The writer is Joint Secretary of RC Bangalore.