ICAI Conference Sparks Outcry Over Gender Restrictions

Priya Mulukutla | Last updated: 27 June 2024

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A recent International Conference for CA Students in Kolkata, organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAI), has ignited controversy due to gender-based restrictions. A viral video revealed that women were barred from sitting in the first five rows and even from standing during a session, reportedly to accommodate chief guest Swami Gyanvatsal. This has led to significant backlash from the CA community, questioning the appropriateness of such rules in a professional and academic setting, especially given the ICAI's own efforts to promote women in the CA profession.

A recently uploaded video has caused quite an uproar in the CA fraternity. The viral video has been making the rounds in X (formerly known as Twitter). The video is from the recently held International Conference for CA Students in Kolkata by the Institute of Chartered Accountants, where Swami Gyanvatsal from BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir was one of the chief guests.

Gender Restrictions at CA Conference Spark Outrage

In the video, a person is heard announcing on the stage, telling the diverse crowd of young students that no ladies, girls, or girl volunteers should even stand during the session. The announcer also asks the students to hurry up and comply before the arrival of the Chief Guest. One of the primary requirements for the presence of this chief guest is that women are not allowed to sit in the first five rows. Moreover, to accommodate this, the women organizers of this event working backstage were asked to sit in the back of the hall.

While these requirements are not out of the norm for someone of Swami Gyanvatsal’s religious vows, the CA community is questioning the appropriateness of such rules being imposed in a professional setting. Some have further questioned the relevance of selecting a person from a religious charitable organisation as a chief guest for an educational conference for students.

In this current atmosphere and with talks of building a 'Viksit Bharat by 2047' by the very chief guest who cannot be in the presence of one-half of the population has people questioning the verity of such promises. Since it is a conference by ICAI, the academic accounting body at an international level for its students, matters if not completely, are expected to be closely related to finance and economics. Many including CA Anupam Sharma are questioning the relevance of inviting a person from a religious institute to an academic conference.

One of the talking points by the ICAI President CA Ranjeet Kumar at this conference was about the increasing number of women CAs in India. ICAI, no doubt has an important goal to encourage women to become successful CAs and contribute to the Indian economy at large. It has been actively striving to meet this goal. According to the data released by ICAI in 2023, 43% of the CA aspirants who qualified in 2023, were women. This was a mere 30% in 2019. However, as per reports from February 2024, a little under 30% of the total 4 lakh CAs in India are women. Therefore, while the positive steps taken are welcome, there is still some way to go.

FAQ :

The uproar was caused by gender-based restrictions imposed during the conference, where women were reportedly not allowed to sit in the first five rows and were asked not to stand during a session.

Swami Gyanvatsal from BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir was one of the chief guests at the International Conference for CA Students.

Women were allegedly not allowed to sit in the first five rows and were asked not to stand during the session, with even women organisers backstage being moved to the back.

The CA community is questioning the relevance of inviting a guest from a religious organisation to a professional and academic conference focused on finance and economics.

The ICAI actively encourages women to become CAs and contribute to the economy. Data shows a significant increase in women qualifying as CAs, with 43% of those who qualified in 2023 being women.