Digital Women Awards 2021: Seven Years Of Recognising Women

Digital Women Awards 2021: For Indian women entrepreneurs, no dream is too small, no number too big to achieve. Over the past few years, we have seen women use the Internet as the wind beneath their wings to rewrite the entrepreneurial journey. With the digital breakthrough, we not only saw women capitalise on the boundless access to customers but also execute business ideas that were daring, innovative and heartwarming. Now isn't that a cause worth celebrating.

For the past seven years, SheThePeople's Digital Women Awards has done just that- celebrating the spirit of entrepreneurship among Indian women and how they have managed to overcome barriers of economy, region, language and access to write a success story that will be cherished for decades to come.

Launched in 2015, Digital Women Awards have steadily built a platform for women across India to come together, interact and share not only their achievements but also their worries and struggles with others in the industry and those who want to be a part of it.

The Awards not only felicitate pathbreakers in the field of small and medium businesses but also give entrepreneurs access to the views of dynamic women leaders. How they did it, why they did it, and what they intend to do next.

"We are the women’s economy. Digital Women Awards has brought together thousands of women entrepreneurs across India. The kind of ideas women are coming up with every single day and then turning them into the reality of business, is one of the empowering trends of our time," says Shaili Chopra, founder of SheThePeople and the jury member.

The Awards are not just about celebrating women entrepreneurs, but also intend to inspire other women to believe in their idea. And this is crucial not just for women, but for the entire business sector and our country as well. According to research, women-owned startups generated 10 percent more revenue than their male counterparts (over a duration of five years) across the world. What's more, if provided supported, women-owned businesses could add 150-170 million jobs to the Indian economy by 2030.

“Women are climbing the corporate ladder and a large number turning entrepreneurs. They will be the key driving force of our economy in the decades ahead. I believe the work SheThePeople is doing with Digital Women Awards especially recognition is a meaningful step towards encouraging women, making them independent and turning contributors to the economy,” Akila Urankar, Director at Business Standard Private Limited and jury member for the awards. 

To ensure that every aspect of entrepreneurship is recognised, the Awards are divided into different categories like E-commerce, disruption, social impact, COVID impact, solopreneurs, content, marketing and leadership.

The works of the applicants to each of these categories will go past the jury members, which includes- Rajiv Anand, who is the Executive Director (wholesale banking) Axis Bank; Akila Urankar, who is Director at Business Standard Private Limited; Rashi Narang, who is Founder at Heads Up For Tails; Shaili Chopra, who is founder of SheThePeople, Sapangeet Rajwant, who is senior Vive-President of Viacom18; and Aparna Hegde, who is Founder and manager trustee of ARMMAN. 

We hope that with Digital Women Awards more women feel empowered to use internet as a tool to expand their ventures, check the pulse of the nation and cater to their needs and shape Indian entrepreneurship for next-generation of women, creating a level playing field.

As Sapna Chadha Senior Marketing Director of Google India and South East Asia, puts it, "The internet is an enabler and it creates equality. We need platforms like SheThePeople and Digital Women Awards to remind us of all the possibilities for women entrepreneurship."