wfn.org | BWNS -- Equality principle inspires award winner

[Bahá'í World News Service <bwns@bwc.org>]

Baha'i World News Service
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Equality principle inspires award winner
LONDON, United Kingdom, 19 June 2005 (BWNS) --An award-winning
businesswoman is attributing her success partly to a Baha'i principle
taught to her as a child.

Jyoti Munsiff was named "Businesswoman of the Year" at the Asian Women
of Achievement Awards ceremony, held here on 26 May 2005, attended by
Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, and his wife, Camilla, the Duchess
of Cornwall.

Among the VIPs attending the award ceremony were the eminent British
lawyer and a patron of the awards, Cherie Booth, who is the wife of
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Kamalesh Sharma, the High
Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom.

The Asian Women of Achievement Awards were established to celebrate the
commitment, dedication, and determination of Asian women within
commercial, professional, artistic, and humanitarian sectors.

Two years ago, another Baha'i, Professor Faraneh Vargha-Khadem, was
named "Professional of the Year" at the Asian Women of Achievement
Awards 2003. See http://news.bahai.org/story.cfm?storyid=219

In her acceptance speech, Ms. Munsiff said she attributed her career
achievements to the confidence given to her by her parents who brought
her up with the Baha'i principle that men and women are equal in the
sight of God.

"The Baha'i teachings have been the foundation stone of how I have
conducted myself in a working environment," Ms. Munsiff said.

Born in Mumbai to Indian parents, Ms. Munsiff is corporate general
counsel and the company secretary of Shell Transport. She is one of the
most senior women in Shell worldwide.

Ms. Munsiff joined the legal department of petroleum giant Shell in 1969
and became a project lawyer in most Shell businesses. She then led
groups of lawyers that provided advice to Shell's businesses globally.

Ms. Munsiff is about to take up a new post in Shell as chief compliance
officer with the task of ensuring that Shell's companies around the
world operate in a legal and ethical way.

Presenting her with the award, Member of Parliament Theresa May said
that Ms. Munsiff had "marked herself out in a male dominated arena,
which says a lot about her strength of character and charisma.

"She has not been vocal about her achievements, preferring to be out
there and doing what she does best."

Ms. Munsiff is also director of and honorary legal counsel to the Prince
of Wales' International Business Leaders' Forum. She is president of the
Commonwealth Association for Corporate Governance and also is a governor
of the College of Law, a trustee of the Imperial War Museum and chair of
the IMW Trading Company.

The other contenders in the Business Woman of the Year category were
Monica Fan of RBC Capital Markets, Surinder Hundal of Nokia, and Rhodora
Palomar-Fresnedi of Unilever.

(Report by Rob Weinberg.)