Digital Woman Awards organised this year by SheThePeople.TV did not leave any stone unturned in proving once again the power of women entrepreneurs. It was a day of networking where women from different aspects of society came together to envision a future where women are the leaders, creators and the legends. The day was loaded with discussions about women empowerment, economy, entrepreneurship and many more was enveloped in the passionate narration of their own success stories.
Read on further to get a glimpse of the powerful quotes from the event that will inspire you to dream and infuse you with courage to be the change you want to see.
On overcoming the gender biases
“You walk into that meeting and you let people finish off with all their little comments about how you’re a woman and how you remind someone of their daughter. That’s the kind of bias you get – but then you start your work. When you focus on your work and the moment you start speaking, all that bias disappears. Then you start engaging with someone on an equal footing. So, I think the bias lasts for the first five minutes.” - Debjani Ghosh
“We have seen over the years from the statistical point of view is that our female cohort of customers is much more open-minded. We have seen that women want to experiment and go out of their comfort zone to experience something new.”
“When I started, my biggest challenge was to get people to take me seriously. So, if I’d show up to a landlord as a young 23-year-old girl and ask to rent kitchen space, they’d say ‘where is your father?’ It’s today that I realise what was happening, but back then, I would just ask my father to show up.” - Pooja Dhingra
“Women need to manage their perceptions and deal with these prejudices cautiously to elevate themselves and become successful,” - Roma Datta Chobey
Also Read Debjani Ghosh, President NASSCOM, On Women In Tech And Gender Bias
“I grew up in a very large family of 12 boys and I was the only girl. And I had a father who would tell me a hundred times a day that I’m the best, that I’m better than all my brothers. I grew up believing that and I don’t apologise for believing I’m the best. So, I always ensure that I do what I need to do in the best way possible. Women, I think, we need to stop apologising for believing we’re good.” - Debjani Gosh
“Women need to manage their perceptions and deal with these prejudices cautiously to elevate themselves and become successful,”
Women on not being tech-savvy
“The way forward for the Indian economy is that we are supposed to look at female entrepreneurs from every different arena instead of just women running the larger companies. But there needs to be a lot of education that needs to come to play because women have the skill but they don’t know how to use it in the right manner. But the initiatives that Google’s Internet Saathi and others are doing, so there are lots of exciting things happening on the ground.” - Natasha Kumar
Also Read: Why Including Women In Economy Is A Game Changer
“We have seen over the years from the statistical point of view is that our female cohort of customers is much more open-minded. We have seen that women want to experiment and go out of their comfort zone to experience something new.” - Suchita Salwan
Digital world is empowering women
“As somebody who has seen the consumer trends in the last 15 years, the biggest change has come from the Internet – it is the democratisation of trends. It took a very long for the trend to percolate downward. The beauty of social media platforms is that it is instantaneous. In a span of a day, you know if something makes a wave, it makes a wave pan India across tier levels and that’s a massive change for us as marketers and also an exciting one.” - Sukhleen Aneja
“The power of digital media is tremendous. Through a digital platform, people from small cities and villages can access knowledge and gain exposure for their talents. Even I am the biggest example of how digital and online world has the power to transform lives. Being a housewife and mother, without the digital platform, it would not have been possible for me to come this far, share my recipes with people across the world while simultaneously taking care of my house. Digital provides a platform where people can explore the world while within the comfort of your home.” - Kabita Singh
Digital platform helps people to connect with each other. One does not only connect with what the people say on YouTube but also how they look, dress-up, their personality. The Internet allows people to be real and authentic and the audience can also build a connection them as they can identify with their real situations.” - Ekta Chaudhary
“As somebody who has seen the consumer trends in the last 15 years, the biggest change has come from the Internet – it is the democratisation of trends."
Digital platform for me was the means to achieve voice and power. It was through my Youtube channel that I gained recognition among people. Besides, the digital platform became an engaging space, where I could talk about things that are rarely discussed openly (like periods, superstition, dowry, etc). I could also address the replies and get to know the stories of people who were a part of the silenced issues and could finally get a means to express.” -Indrani Biswas
A required change in the business world- diversity
“For me, it’s not about the number. I want a mind-set of equal opportunity. I want a business leader to say that ‘I will hire talent and I don’t care what that talent looks like. The talent doesn’t have to look like me.’” - Debjani Ghosh
“As businesses, you have to ensure that you recognise talent where and how it exists rather than expecting it to conform to your norms. That’s the biggest change required in business. In today’s world, if you don’t have diversity, you’re missing a huge market and you cannot afford to do that anymore.” - Debjani Ghosh
“When I think back I realise conscious decision-making is most important because when we hire people, the talent pool is small sometimes and there are a lot of challenges that women bear in terms of home, children, in-laws as opposed to men. In those times, it needs a lot of conscious decision-making to be able to navigate through the issues together. As far as women’s contribution is concerned, we need to make that effort to hire more women to involve them in the economy and hence have them commit to it.” - Rashi Sanon
On how to be successful in the online world
“If you want to be successful in something you are good at, digital provides you with that platform. But, to be successful, being consistent in doing what you love is very important.” - Indrani Biswas
“For me, it’s not about the number. I want a mind-set of equal opportunity. I want a business leader to say that ‘I will hire talent and I don’t care what that talent looks like. The talent doesn’t have to look like me.’”
“If you love what you do, you can create good content according to the demand of people, you are consistent in making it, you can definitely be successful in it.” - Kabita Singh
“The success of online content or storytelling depends on how you want to narrate it. Every content has a story, be it about cooking or fashion. The way you choose to present it or promote it to build a connection with the audience leverages your success.”- Ekta Chaudhary
Lessons they learnt are an inspiration for us
“The first lesson I learnt is that we should let our work speak for themselves. I don’t want to be called a woman leader, but an industry leader. I like to keep the focus just on my work. The second lesson is the power of women helping and reaching out to other women. Women are actively leaning in and coming together to help other women. And the third lesson I learnt from Google is that nothing can be done in isolation. Every initiative requires the equal involvement of both men and woman.” - Roma Datta Chobey
Also Read: Engage And Elevate, Steps Towards Women Empowerment At DWA
Rudrani Kumari is an intern with SheThePeople.TV
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