Opinion Smriti Irani writes: Don’t bash Davos. Some things work, like this alliance for women
Global attention is a finite resource, and when it gathers — even briefly — it must be used to surface complexity, not flatten it.
As the conversations from Davos recede, one principle remains clear: Progress is sustained not by momentary alignment, but by institutions that are designed to endure. Over the past few days, we have seen some content bashing Davos. It needs no reminding that Davos is not, and should not be mistaken for, an end in itself. It is a catalyst. It is a moment — brief, concentrated, and intensely visible —where global attention converges. What matters is not the convergence alone, but what institutions, governments, and leaders choose to build in its wake.
It was in this spirit that, three years ago, on the sidelines of the Forum, I established the Alliance for Global Good as an independent platform focused on advancing women’s economic participation, inclusive growth, and cross-sector collaboration. The intent was clear: To move beyond episodic interventions and towards systems-level solutions grounded in research, partnerships, and institutional accountability.
Since then, the Alliance has engaged with over 5,000 international delegations and collaborated with more than 12,000 industry stakeholders. Its work has been anchored in evidence, through over a dozen policy papers examining public health systems, climate transition economics, the care economy, and the structural barriers limiting women’s participation in growth. These findings have travelled across international platforms and have informed national discourse, including their reflection in India’s Economic Survey through our work on the care economy.
A defining principle of the Alliance has been the recognition that policy coherence and delivery capacity are inseparable. This understanding shaped SPARK — The 100K Collective, an initiative designed to enable 1,00,000 women entrepreneurs across 300 locations in India. Its focus is not charity, but capability — connecting women-led enterprises to skills, capital, markets, and regulatory systems that allow them to grow, formalise, and compete. Equally important has been attention to the less visible, but deeply consequential, systems that shape women’s lives. In the area of maternal health, the Alliance encouraged the ICMR to develop a clinician usage protocol for an affordable postpartum haemorrhage drape. Developed at a cost of under $1, this drape and the corresponding usage protocol show how institutional leadership, paired with frugal innovation and system adoption, can deliver life-saving impact at scale.
The Alliance has built four collaborations in Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and the US. Each is shaped by local context and unified by a commitment to women’s economic participation and inclusive growth.
This year’s engagements in Davos reflected continuity and expansion. The WE Lead Lounge, now in its third year, has evolved into the Alliance’s flagship convening platform. Across 14 structured conversations, 65 global leaders engaged with over a thousand participants on issues spanning health security, climate resilience, economic participation, and workforce transitions.
Several milestones marked this year’s engagement. The unveiling of Laila Nutraceuticals’ women’s wellness initiative signalled a $40-million commitment to integrating research with market delivery. The announcement of the $100-million SPARK Fund, with early commitments already mobilised, is intended to accelerate women-led enterprises at scale. The report ‘Unlocking Her Wealth: The Untapped Economy’ combined original analysis with evidence to deepen understanding of the undervaluation of women’s work and its implications for economic participation.
This was my fourth consecutive engagement with the Forum. My earlier journeys were shaped by the responsibilities of ministerial office. This year’s engagement — as chairperson of the Alliance for Global Good — was different. It was less about voice and more about architecture: How ideas are translated into systems, how evidence informs collaboration, and how dialogue matures into delivery.
The strength of Davos lies not merely in who attends, but in how it reflects the state of the world. Heads of government, CEOs, and institutional leaders shared the global stage with civic groups, practitioners, youth collectives, and ordinary citizens. This plurality matters. Global attention is a finite resource, and when it gathers, it must be used to surface complexity, not flatten it.
As the conversations from Davos recede, one principle remains clear: Progress is sustained not by momentary alignment, but by institutions that are designed to endure. The enduring value of Davos lies in how global attention is stewarded. When engaged with intent, it serves as a bridge between dialogue and design.
The writer is a former Union minister
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