By: Ann Vu
On Friday, 31 January, Smriti Irani, a former Indian Cabinet Minister, was invited to speak at the LSE Old Theatre in a fireside chat hosted by the LSESU India Society in partnership with the Indian National Students Association (INSA-UK). Around 100 students attended the event, which covered topics of women’s empowerment, challenges and prospects of AI and digital transformation, and reflections on Irani’s own career.
Irani served as a Cabinet Minister from 2014 to 2024, holding office for various roles including Women and Child Development; Minority Affairs; Information and Broadcasting; Textiles; and Education. Prior to her political career, she gained wide recognition for her role in the TV series Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi (2000-2008).
The first section of the fireside chat was moderated by INSA-UK’s President Amit Tiwari and LSE Professor Alnoor Bhimani. During the section, Irani stressed the need for greater financial investment in women-owned businesses as a priority in India’s efforts towards gender equity. “There is always money for a good cause but that money runs out. But money never runs out for money,” she said.
On women’s empowerment in relation to the digital transformation, Irani encouraged looking at AI from the perspective of its impact on women’s agency, rather than solely through a lens of computing and automation. She highlighted both the potential it holds for recognising women’s importance in the workforce, as well as its threat to women’s employment specifically, and the labour market more generally, with a projected 70% of jobs held by women “vanishing” due to automation.
“There is a need for deeper partnerships between men and women and other genders across the world. We either swim together or sink in parts,” she added.
Regarding India’s position in this global digital transformation, and its initiatives to provide access to technology and the internet, Irani insisted, “I don’t think India is at such a crossroads right now of human history where we need to sit in the shadows of the West.” She emphasised India’s role as the “home to global engineering” and “global CEOs”, and its potential as a “destination for global innovation”.
Sending a message to those preparing to enter the workforce, Irani said, “Prepare yourselves to be owners of business. I think for too long, you prepared yourselves to be part of the pipeline as labour, as consultants. Start owning businesses.”
“I think that it is incumbent upon this generation to make sure that they don’t profit at the cost of humanity,” she also highlighted during the section.
The second section took a tonal shift, as Irani discussed her identity and her former acting career in conversation with Anuj Radia, an entertainment independent journalist, and Joseph Parel, the LSESU India Society President.
On her identity, she said, “Every facet of my life – minister, mother, actor, activist – it is just a part of my whole journey.”
She appreciated the human impact of her on- screen presence in moments where others came to her with their vulnerabilities. However, a challenge she identified in her acting career was that her on-screen persona sometimes overpowered her personhood, obscuring her internal struggles.
Being a public figure subject to scrutiny, she emphasised that she will listen to genuine, constructive criticism, but pay no attention to those stemming from people who have “a point to make” or if they “can’t compete with you”.
In her final words to Indian students studying abroad and wanting to make a difference to their country, Irani suggested looking at inputs that their local area needs specific to their area of expertise, to better their systems.
“I think we all presume that service is something that we do either in a constitutional position or a bureaucratic one, but if you can help one fellow Indian, that’s service to your country.”
