---
title: "Born To Make  A Difference: Dr Sharmla Chetty, President and Chair of the Board of the International Women’s Forum UK"
description: Dr Sharmla Chetty, new President and Chair of the Board of the International Women’s Forum UK sets out why female leadership belongs in ESG reporting and on ...
author: Dame Neslyn Watson-Druée, DBE (Executive Contributor)
date: 2026-09-28T22:00:00.000Z
updated: 2026-10-01T16:36:28.757Z
canonical: https://richwoman.co/article/born-to-make-a-difference-dr-sharmla-chetty-president-and-chair-of-the-board-of-the-international-wo
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/Sharmla+preferred+board+headshot (1).webp
categories: Female leadership
content_type: Interview
region: London, United Kingdom
publication: Rich Woman Magazine
access: members
schema_type: Article
---

Dr Sharmla Chetty, chief executive of Duke Corporate Education, is the new president and chair of the board of the [International Women's Forum UK](https://www.iwforumuk.org/). She brings to the role a case she has made for years: that companies should measure women's advancement in their ESG reporting and on their boards with the same seriousness as any other result.

"It is a tremendous honour, but for me leadership has always been less about the title and more about the responsibility that comes with it," she says. Dr Chetty grew up in Durban. Her paternal grandmother, a single mother, ran a vegetable stall at Durban market and saved to help put her through university. It was her grandmother, she says, who taught her the principle she has held on to since: "When a woman invests in education, she never invests in just one person. She invests in a family, a community and a future she may never see." Her story brings a beautiful light on how courageous leadership shapes our society and the future generations of leaders.

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