On International Women's Day, 8 March 2026, the Chintan Research Foundation (CRF) held its national conference 'Sashakt Naari, Viksit Bharat: Women-Led Development @2047' in New Delhi. Speakers included judges, diplomats, policymakers, athletes, filmmakers and grassroots entrepreneurs. Atna AI's CEO and Founder, Shirley Daniel, spoke on the Enterprise, Equity and Empowerment panel.
Shirley Daniel: the problem is the fraud, not the woman
Shirley opened with advice many women have heard: "Don't make that financial decision. You don't know enough. You'll get cheated." Her point was that this is usually said out of concern, but the result is the same: a woman steps back from a decision that was hers to make.
She argued that women's financial exclusion is often treated as a knowledge gap, when the bigger barrier is an unsafe environment: investment schemes that exploit trust, insurance products with hidden clauses and digital loan apps with predatory terms, which often target first-time users of formal finance.
She linked this to the JAM trinity (Jan Dhan, Aadhaar, Mobile), which has brought millions of women into formal finance, and said access must come with protection:
"The problem is not the woman. The problem is the fraud. And if we solve for the fraud, we unlock the woman." — Shirley Daniel, CEO, Atna AI
She closed with a line that set the tone for the rest of the day:
"Sashakt Nari does not need to be shielded from financial markets. She needs financial markets that are worthy of her."
Other themes from the conference
- Women-led development as growth strategy. CRF President Shishir Priyadarshi opened by framing women-led development as an economic strategy, not only a social cause. Dr Priti Adani, Chairperson of the Adani Foundation, gave the keynote, and Union Minister for Women and Child Development Annapurna Devi attended as Chief Guest.
- Unpaid care work. Speakers cited India's Time Use Survey: women spend about 305 minutes a day on unpaid care work, compared with 88 minutes for men. Dr Shamika Ravi of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council said this should be treated as a macroeconomic issue.
- Grassroots enterprise. A panel of women entrepreneurs from tribal and marginalised communities shared how their businesses grew. Sita Pallacholla, CEO of WE Hub, noted that women are "often over-mentored and underfunded."
- Law, security and diplomacy. Justice Hima Kohli spoke about the invisible "lines of control" created by custom and social expectation, and a separate session brought together ambassadors to discuss gender in foreign service.
Coverage
The conference and Shirley's remarks were covered by The Pioneer (New Delhi edition, 8 March 2026).
About Atna AI
Atna AI is an AI-powered fraud intelligence platform that helps financial institutions, fintechs and enterprises detect identity fraud, account takeovers, synthetic identities and other financial fraud in real time.
