Digital Women's Award 2017- A Celebration Beyond Digital Achievements

Sunday evening saw the third edition of the Digital Women's Awards 2017 being held in Mumbai. The venue was swanky, the crowd was alluring, and the atmosphere was eclectic. The awardees not only represented women whose work on the digital platform was laudable, it represented us. Hard-working women from every strata of the society, who uses the digital platform to write their success stories.

While people rooted and applauded the winners, thought-provoking panel discussions gave them the inspiration to take back. The awards showcased how digital platform can be used for humanitarian purposes like Tanvi Mallya’s ElderCare Services taking care of elderly patients suffering from Alzheimer, or Chitrakshi Suneja, Campus Vibes for motivating students to create meaningful content. Also, Reeti Roy, Aglet Ink which helps women become financially independent, by creating personalized resumes and cover letters for job hunters.

It was not just about business and marketing.

The new age female digital gurus have used this medium to help other women by providing them with a common platform to discuss their ideas or to restart their careers.

Apart from inspiration, the digital awards infused an enthusiasm in the audience, to push their own limits and think outside the box. Especially motivating was the panel session "Entrepreneurship At The Roots" moderated by Shaili Chopra, where it dawned on me, how instrumental the digital platform was in helping women from small towns connect with the world and showcase their potential.

For most of us who take the perks of internet granted the panel discussion, "Empowering The Next Billion With Tech" was an eye-opener. Sapna Chaddha (head of Marketing Google India) stated that when Google initially conducted a survey, they found out that only one in ten women in India had internet access. How they developed and applied the concept of the 'Internet Sathi', a companion who would go around interiors and help women understand and use the Internet, was inspiring.

The awards further enforced the power of digital connectivity in today's time, with Priyank Kharge (Minister of IT and BT, Karnataka) connecting with the audience and delivering his message to the audience virtually.

The ceremony concluded with Monica Dogra's performance, who also detailing her own struggles. She said women should not give up on their dreams and live out their aspirations as if they have no backup plan. Only then will it be possible for them, to give all they can to their goal.

Women in our country suffer from lower levels of confidence and esteem, despite being educated. The reason being that most of our hard work remains under appreciated, mostly because we fail to bring back an equal pay-check as the "men".

Many women, with path-breaking and bold business ideas, overcome financial and social hurdles to create a difference in their and others life too. And going digital made the journey easier.

Therefore, the Digital Women's Awards is more than felicitation of women's achievement on the digital platform. In fact, it is a celebration of how technology is helping hard-working women achieve breakthroughs in various fields. It's a celebration of all the women who stay away from limelight and publicity, yet make a significant difference in the lives of other people. It is the celebration of the spirit of women who refuse to back down and take their challenges head-on. Finally, it is the celebration of their invisible support system - friends, family and colleagues, who back them up and let them take the centre stage.

All of us left the function with a bag full of goodies, a head full thoughts and a heart full of inspiration.

Read Also: Digital Women Awards Recognise Women Start-up Stars