SheThePeople Digital Women Awards: 10 Years Of Digital Revolution For Women In India

As we approach the tenth edition of SheThePeople's Digital Women Awards year, here’s tracing the highlights of the last nine years, acknowledging the change and impact that women brought through the landscape of the digital revolution. The annual event that has taken place for the past nine years is a testament to the power of women’s entrepreneurship. With the change of approach in entrepreneurship, we also notice changing people’s outlook towards how women approach business. 

10 Years Of Digital Women Awards

DWA’s mission always aligns with recognizing women and the impact they bring to the table not just economically but also as a revolutionary in the ever-evolving digital space.  

According to a report by the McKinsey Global Institute, it was found that advancing women's equality in the economy could add $12 trillion to the global economy by 2025. In a best-case scenario, that number could jump to $28 trillion.

Our past winners include pastry chef and entrepreneur Pooja Dhingra, Nykaa's founder Falguni Nayar, Founder and Creative Director at Heads Up For Tails, Co-founder of Mamaearth and The Derma Co Ghazal Alagh, and Pilot and Digital Creator Ritu Rathee Taneja, among several others. 

Established in 2015 with a vision to recognize and celebrate women entrepreneurs, DWA focused on encouraging an integral medium that nurtures collaborations, partnerships, and mentorship opportunities. As we approach the awards' tenth edition this year, here’s tracing the highlights of the last eight years and the change we brought through the power of digital. This year, we're going to Hyderabad with our agenda to celebrate and discover more women entrepreneurs to spearhead. Find all the details about the Digital Women Awards 2024.

DWA 2015

SheThePeople started the Digital Women Awards in 2015 with the vision that if India is to become a 10 trillion dollar economy by 2030, it cannot do so with half its population. Calibrating to that, the event saw hundreds of women entrepreneurs in its first edition itself. Starting with Amitabh Kant addressed the evening with a phenomenal speech, which was followed by crucial panel discussions, one of which was led by Facebook's Ankhi Das. 

Mohandas Pai, founding member of Infosys, led the jury, which had trailblazing women from their respective fields: Ankhi Das, Meenu Handa, Deepali Naair, and Akila Urankar.

Deepali Naair asserted, "DWA is a great initiative that celebrates these women leaders and their achievements in the digital arena so that they can inspire scores of women across the world. SheThePeople is the first Indian platform to take the lead in bringing these women achievers to the fore, and I am proud to be a part of this journey."

DWA 2016

In its second edition, the Digital Women Awards focused on women entrepreneurs who successfully launched their ventures by using digital mediums. From a platform that recognizes the e-commerce arena to a creative revolutionary scout, the event put a spotlight on women who not just launched their businesses but also came out as trendsetters in their respective fields. 

It was an era of progress towards the vision of a digitalized India with the internet and app universe as the players. From new opportunities, startup blood was marshalling our new way of life. These awards brought light to the women who were part of that journey. 

As Dr Rajashree Krishnaswamy, founder of Catalyze Centre, rightly put it, “Progress is actually following your dream and making it happen. Sometimes, you have to be persistent and stick to the dream, and that’s a huge part of growing.”

In 2016, she also predicted that the online tutoring and education industry was capable of becoming a billion-dollar industry by 2020. More than just news, it was the verity that the potential of women in changing the face of education proved to be a success story in itself.

DWA 2017

The third edition of the Digital Women Awards marked another important day to celebrate women industry leaders and digital minds. From women who were working at a remote level and establishing small-scale businesses to those who were taking their work across global waters, the tremendous rise in women-led businesses was something DWA aimed to celebrate in 2017. 

The jury, sponsors, nominated entrepreneurs, and the women in attendance all became part of the force that was moving the needle and moving it significantly. With newly launched startups and rural entrepreneurship at the helm of India’s economic progress, recognizing the female power within it was the agenda of the evening too. 

The event also marked an important discussion on switching gears and making technology an enabler in bridging the digital divide gap between rural and urban India. From Farhana Haque representing Vodafone India to Rajiv Anand of Axis Bank and Sapna Chadha, head of Marketing South Asia at Google, the panelists discussed the growing trends of digital transformation in the country and how women can be the catalyst in driving that change in the next decade. 

DWA 2018

A union of women with the vision of a new entrepreneurial era—the Digital Women Awards 2018 held at the Bombay Stock Exchange marked a revolution in itself as it was the first such women's initiative to be held at the country's biggest symbol of capitalism, Dalal Street. The famous and historic Rotunda Hall resonated with talent and ideas breaking new ground in the world of digital.

Shivya Nath, who was part of a crucial panel discussion on content and storytelling, emphasised the power of digital, saying, "Digital has been empowering personally. We’ve always been told the home is the most important and only space for us. With technology’s power of narrative, I can proudly work from anywhere in the world without having a permanent address."

With a credible jury led by Amitabh Kant of Niti Aayog selecting the winners, the event saw phenomenal business ideas with an energetic force of women. 

DWA 2019

With the rise of social media rooting out more digital and creative ways of entrepreneurship, SheThePeople hosted a prolific event that saw India's top digital start-up stars come together to celebrate the finest women entrepreneurs who risked everything to launch a new enterprise by leveraging the power of digital. Among the awardees was a woman who used digital to create a mobile game to build ecological awareness among the youth of the islands of the Indian Ocean and across Africa. 

The jury for the Digital Women Awards was led by a panel of strong industry names including Shivya Nath, Travel Blogger; ElsaMarie D’Silva, Founder of Safecity; Akila Urankar, President of Business Standard; Deepali Naair, Director (Marketing) at IBM, and Shaili Chopra, Founder of SheThePeople & Gytree. The combined expertise of the jury members in the spaces of tech, digital, and consumer offerings brought invaluable insight into the judging process.  

DWA 2020

With the pandemic putting a halt to the usual course of life, yet, just like every year, SheThePeople continued their efforts to bridge the gender gap in the business structure with the only transition from offline to an online mode of celebration and union. 

In DWA's virtual event of recognizing talent, entrepreneurship, innovation, and creation by and among women who are building businesses using the internet, we honoured the spirit of female entrepreneurs that only grew by leaps and bounds in 2020, unfazed by the pandemic.

The jury comprised names like Devita Saraf, Annie Dube, Aditi Mittal, ElsaMarie D'Silva, Sharin Bhatti, and Akila Urankar. Some of this edition's winners included Shagun Singh of HomeWork, Pooja Doshi of Miraya Arts, Shraddha Patil of Spoina, Neha Kanodia of Go Ga Ga App, Neha Rastogi of Agatsa, and Priya Florence Shah of Naaree.

DWA 2021

On one side, where COVID-19 pushed people to think of disorderliness, the other side showed women with calibre and flexibility who seized the opportunity by switching to digital and using it for enterprise and small business growth. 

The Digital Women Awards were held virtually in 2021, witnessing women who used the power of automation and digitization to grow their businesses despite the setbacks that came with the pandemic. The jury included Rajiv Anand, Sapangeet Rajwant, Aparna Hegde, and Shaili Chopra, among others. Some of the winners included Khushboo Jain of Impact Guru, Elisha Sehgal of ELSOL India Consultants, Anumita Jain of A Clay Story, Malaika Shivalkar of Project Pahunch, Pragya and Divya Batra of Quirksmith, and Shirin Mann of Needle Dust Juttis, among others.

DWA 2022

Switching back to the usual discourse after two years of virtual celebration, SheThePeople’s eighth edition of Digital Women Awards put the spotlight on scaling up for consumer businesses, gender equality in business, prioritizing women’s healthcare, and encouraging solopreneurs.

‘Storm The Norm’ where we felicitated women entrepreneurs who have been building businesses and breaking the stereotype one at a time.

Calling this a substantially unique partnership, Rajiv Anand, Deputy Managing Director of Axis Bank, reflected, “I am delighted to be part of 'SheThePeople Awards', which has taken the mantle of recognizing and felicitating the incredible work done by women leaders. We strongly believe that women entrepreneurs have the potential to change society while enhancing and catalysing the business environment with their unique perspectives, ideas, and indomitable spirit.''

The event provided access to resources, knowledge-sharing, and networking opportunities that enabled women entrepreneurs to overcome challenges and achieve economic independence.

Some of the winners across categories included Prachi Bhatia of Chokhat, Bisma Shaikh of The Speaking Mommy, Anushka Iyer of Wiggles, and Mallika Tomar of Revamp, among others. Rashi Narang led the jury that comprised Akila Urankar, Leeza Mangaldas, Nirmika Singh, and Deepshikha Chakravarti, among other names.

The event also put a spotlight on a topic that is often brushed under the carpet—healthcare for women. Recalling her conversations with women over the years, Shaili Chopra shared how she found the missing link that led to her starting Gytree, a platform dedicated to connected healthcare for women. 

DWA 2023

Artificial intelligence being a new tool to harness creativity, knowledge, and mastery, the Digital Women Awards 2023 was a celebration of women entrepreneurs who have recouped the power of technology and AI to achieve remarkable success in the digital domain. With 'Access To Success' as its theme, the event, which took place at T-Hub, Hyderabad, put a spotlight on the inspiring stories of women who made significant contributions to technological advancements in the country through their innovative ventures.

Over the last ten years, Digital Women Awards has successfully provided a platform that enables women to interact, connect, and collaborate, sharing their unique experiences, challenges, and triumphs from diverse cities, like Salem to Siliguri and Bathinda to Bengaluru. DWA’s affirmative attempt at building a supportive community that transcends geographical barriers encourages women entrepreneurs to strive for excellence and innovative solutions.

A credible jury led by Pooja Dhingra (Founder and CEO at Le15 Patisserie), Hrishikesh Kannan (Nation Brand Head for Radio One India Network), Akila Urankar (Director at Business Standards), Varun Vazir (actor) Tania Biswas, (Co-Founder at Suta), Masoom Minawala (entrepreneur, author and global influencer) and Shaili Chopra, (Founder of SheThePeople & Gytree) awarded the winners for DWA 2023. 

Jayesh Ranjan, the Principal Secretary of the Industries & Commerce (I&C) and Information Technology (IT) Departments of the Telangana government, delivered a powerful opening speech at the Digital Women Awards 2023 held in Hyderabad. His address resonated with the essence of inclusivity and empowerment, reflecting the commitment of the Telangana government towards building a diverse and supportive ecosystem.