What's stopping Indian women from achieving their full potential as the growth engines of the Indian economy?

In her new book, Shaili Chopra, founder of India’s largest platform for women and girls, SheThePeople.TV, offers a unique insight into the factors that put women behind the economic curve. Told as anecdotes and experiences of women from across India, from house helps to stand-up comedians to beauty parlour workers, she delves into what is holding them back and what will help them break through. 

HIGHLIGHTS

• Explores aspects of women’s economic participation that are often overlooked
• Examines topics that are frequently ignored, such as women’s sexual pleasure, bad relationships and their impact in the workplace, and the economics of arranged marriages
• Tackles the issue of parents raising ‘gharelu’ daughters head-on
• Sheds a new light on the sisterhood of women and its life-changing qualities
• Invites women to embrace the sisterhood and draw on its strength to take charge of their lives
• Shaili Chopra is the founder of SheThePeople.TV which has over one billion in digital reach

‘Shaili Chopra has a chatty and engrossing style of writing ... Mainstreaming of sisterhood is not just about the economy, it is also about the society India desires.’ —BIBEK DEBROY

‘Sisterhood Economy by Shaili Chopra is important, apt, and timely. It brings to you real-life stories of the barriers women face as contributors to the economy and why society as well as our policies need to focus and prioritise the sisterhood to solve the challenges. The economic lens brings out the real value Indian women add to our country’s GDP; we are the real wealth-creators and yet very little recognition of the existing barriers are discussed or resolved. Well done, Shaili, for bringing all this out through your book, and here’s to more power to the 700-million-strong sisterhood.’ —PRIYANKA CHATURVEDI

‘A powerful book, with many anecdotes of everyday women encountering and defeating the patriarchy. Sisterhood Economy will fill you with optimism and hope.‘ —FAYE D’SOUZA

‘Shaili touches upon the most relevant issues of our times which most often are closed door conversations in a highly readable, heroic and engaging way…bringing a powerful, authentic and honest lens to women and the economy.’ —MASABA GUPTA

‘When women rise, they lift up society. Sisterhood Economy is a deeply reflective book that explores and narrates the power of equitable ground for women.’ —FALGUNI NAYAR

ABOUT THE BOOK: Sisterhood Economy By Shaili Chopra

The new Indian woman is dreaming big and seeking change. Wanting to break from the triptych of bechari, badass or bitch, women are talking of being stronger together. What can a ground-up sisterhood of determined women mean for a country like ours and just how can it unleash and harness the dormant economic potential of half the country’s population?

This book is a power-packed insight into the lives of the women of the world’s largest democracy who are struggling every single day to get their voice heard, presence felt, and make their economics matter. Shaili Chopra puts a fresh lens to what’s powering or stopping women to seize the opportunity ahead of them, by talking to more than five hundred different women (and men), across classes, castes, cities, ages, ambitions and desires. Can the mother-in-law trigger change in a country’s GDP? What are beauty parlour economics? Are women claiming independence and can intimacy drive better economic outcomes? Why are single women rocking it?

Sisterhood Economy makes a bold, empathetic and collective call for women to believe in their transformative abilities and put themselves first. Wrapped in emotional anecdotes and stories, this book is deeply authentic and essential reading for anyone looking to understand women beyond statistics.

India could do a lot better if only it treated its women better. How difficult can that be?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Shaili Chopra is the founder of India’s largest platform for women and girls, SheThePeople.TV, which has over one billion in digital reach. She is a gamechanger shaping new initiatives vital for women to claim their rightful space and be present on decision making tables.

With learnings from SheThePeople, Shaili is building a new platform called Gytree that simplifies and prioritises women’s health.

Shaili is a Draper Hills Fellow from Stanford and a fellow of the Global Aspen Institute. She is a recipient of India’s biggest journalism award, the Ram Nath Goenka Award for Journalism along with the News Television Award for the best reporter.

She loves living in new cities, is learning the drums and this is her fifth book.

Join the conversation on #SisterhoodEconomy @shailichopra across Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIN and Facebook.