"It was a wonderful experience interacting with you and appreciate the way you have planned and executed the whole publication process within the agreed timelines.”
Subrat SaurabhAuthor of Kuch Woh Pal
What happens when the world’s largest democracy meets the world’s most gender-equal region?
Across continents and cultures, India and the Nordic countries offer powerful models for inclusive leadership, sustainable innovation, and gender-balanced progress. Together, they are shaping the future.
The First and Only brings to life the untold journeys of trailblazing women, visionary organizations, and daring pioneers redefining what leadership looks like today.
Inspired by the spirit of Nari Shakti—the strength of women—this book honours those who have stepped into spaces where no one looked like them before. From grassroots movements in India to boardrooms in the Nordics, their stories ignite courage, insight, and a powerful roadmap for a more just world.
It is also a tribute to the men who walk beside them, as allies, mentors, and champions of change, proving that real transformation happens when we move forward together.
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"The First and Only: India & The Nordics – Breaking Barriers, Building Futures is a timely and vital contribution to the global conversation on gender equality and sustainable leadership. By bridging India and the Nordics, Rina Sunder presents a bold vision where inclusion, innovation, and purpose-driven leadership take center stage. Through the inspiring stories of pioneers — women who lead, men who support, and organizations that blaze new trails — this book reminds us that real change happens when courage meets collaboration across cultures and continents."
—Erik Solheim, former Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme and former Norwegian Minister of Environment and International Development.
A DMI Publication, Edited by Rina Sunder
Rina Sunder is a leading voice in cross-cultural leadership, gender equality, and India-Nordic collaboration. With a career spanning the public, private, investment, and nonprofit sectors, Sunder has led pioneering initiatives in circular economy, ethical trade, and women’s empowerment and is widely recognized for elevating female voices in international discourse. She is the author of the textbook Det Moderne India and is frequently invited to comment on global affairs, diplomacy, and India-Norway relations on both Norwegian and Indian television.
As co-founder of Det Moderne India (DMI), she works at the intersection of policy and business to drive impactful partnerships between the Global North and South. DMI has been supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers and featured at high-level platforms, including the World Economic Forum in Davos.
She also hosts Det Moderne India Podcast and curates dialogues on diversity, geopolitics, and sustainable development.
Rina chose to write The First and Only: India & The Nordics—Breaking Barriers, Building Futures because it reflects her own journey. Since the age of 20, Sunder has often found herself as the “first and only”—the only woman with an Indian background in her academic cohort, the sole woman in male-dominated professional spaces, and later, as Chair of the Norway India Chamber of Commerce and Industry, frequently the only woman of color at conferences, seminars, and on panels.
These experiences shaped her understanding of both the visible and invisible barriers women face, especially those navigating multiple identities.
The book is her way of honouring others who have walked similar paths and creating space for more inclusive, cross-cultural leadership.
