Leadership is often spoken of in terms of authority and responsibility, but for women, reaching the top can also mean challenging long-held perceptions about who gets to lead. Across sectors, women are taking charge of organisations, making decisions and creating opportunities for others to follow. The election of Valanka Alemao as president of the Goa Football Association (GFA), making her the first woman to head a state football association in India, brings these journeys into focus.
Leading change
For Alemao, leadership is not just about holding a position; it’s about encouraging other women to follow the same path. “I always try to make a mark to inspire other women to choose this path, because it’s not easy for a woman to be there in a men’s world,” she says.
A similar shift is visible in Goa’s business sector, where Pratima Dhond became the first woman president of the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) in June 2025, succeeding Shrinivas Dempo. Her appointment came nearly 117 years after the Chamber formed its first managing committee in 1908. She says women in Goa have the talent and ideas but often need a platform and the confidence to take them forward. Leading an institution with such a long history also means making it relevant to start-ups, young entrepreneurs, women and new-age businesses. “The biggest challenge throughout has been the same: to be judged by results, not by gender,” she says, adding that her experience in basketball taught her that leadership is about teamwork.
Changing perceptions
Looking at how perceptions of women in leadership have changed, Dhond says women are now more readily accepted in senior positions, with families showing greater support for daughters who want to lead and institutions becoming more open to women taking charge. Through her work with Asturi and GCCI, she has noticed more women coming forward to present business ideas, seek funding and negotiate. However, she says the change is more visible in cities and formal forums, while women in smaller businesses and family-run establishments may still have to work harder to earn the same respect. “Thirty years ago, a woman in a leadership chair was seen as an exception. Today, she is seen as a choice,” she says.
Political leadership
In politics, Shavina Naik Shirodkar’s election as president of the Revolutionary Goans Party (RGP) places a woman in a key decision-making position in a party whose state executive is largely made up of men. The 26-year-old says she has not felt restricted in carrying out her responsibilities within the party, which she believes has made space for women and young people. “There is no insecurity, there is no reluctancy, there is no stoppage or limitations on what I can do,” she says. While she has faced situations in other professional organisations where women had to make additional efforts to establish their authority, she says her experience in the RGP has been different. She believes women must be included in decision-making rather than being called upon only for campaign work or crowd mobilisation. “A woman is capable of equal responsibilities and equal opportunities,” she says.
Being authentic
For both Dhond and Shirodkar, being taken seriously should not require women to adopt a particular style of leadership. Dhond says she initially felt the pressure to adopt a style considered more masculine, but eventually realised she did not have to change her personality to lead effectively. “I don’t have to copy a male style to be taken seriously. I have to be authentic and competent,” she says. Shirodkar, meanwhile, believes women must be confident in their views and not feel compelled to meet every social expectation placed on them. “You don’t have to think twice about anyone else,” she says, urging women to pursue their goals without allowing the fear of criticism to hold them back. She also stresses that women must take an active interest in political discussions, as decisions made in these spaces affect them too. “Women are the ones who are impacted most when political policies are disrupted in any way,” she says.
Supporting women
Alemao, too, believes that women in leadership must encourage one another rather than see each other as competition. “Women should support each other. We don’t need women to compete with each other. We need women to encourage each other and not let the other women down,” she says.
Alemao’s election is a milestone for Indian football, but it also draws attention to the women already leading across Goa’s business, political and social spaces. Their experiences show that while access to leadership is changing, questions of authority, acceptance and opportunity remain. The next step is to ensure that more women can enter these spaces, take decisions and lead without having to first prove that they belong there.
