Women at Work

One might have a brilliant idea, one might know how well to execute that idea and the other might transform the whole world with that single idea. It might be one genius thought for many but on the other end of the spectrum, it’s an entirely different story taking the risk and actually doing something about it. Here are the hustling millennial women entrepreneurs who have innovated and created a niche market. These thriving female entrepreneurs have bridged the gap from idea to action and changed the startup landscape of India with determination, zeal, grit and who made it against all odds.

Despite a significant gender gap or gender discrimination, it was their fierce passion that has moderated women entrepreneurs to outperform their male counterparts. Breaking through the glass ceiling, below is the list of the most powerful women entrepreneurs in India who have risen above challenges and inspired many leaving an indelible impact.

Aditi Gupta
Founder- Menstrupedia

While menstruation is a phenomenon unique to girls, it has always been surrounded by taboos and myths that exclude women from many aspects of socio-cultural life. Explaining young girls about menstruation has always been a challenge for both parents as well for teachers. Aditi Gupta’s Menstrupedia is creating awareness to break taboos and myths around menstruation and to encourage women to overcome their hesitation about menses.

Anisha Singh
Founder- mydala.com

mydala is a merchant marketing platform started under the leadership of Anisha Singh in 2009 and has grown to become India’s largest local services marketing platform ever since then. Anisha who calls herself a stereotypical sardarni is an example of a leading woman entrepreneur who encourages more women to come forward in pursuing their career choices.

Upasana Taku
Founder: Mobikwik

Upasana Taku is the co-founder of the MobiKwik whose story has started from the apartment offices to venture capital funding. With a mission to simplify payment acceptance for retailers in India, Upasana Taku has scribbled the success story of first women entrepreneurship by becoming the first woman to lead India’s first payment startup.

Neeru Sharma
Founder- Infibeam

If you want to learn about the making of a prolific leader, then you should go behind the scenes. Neeru Sharma, an empowered woman, is one of the few who are at the helm of big businesses in a male-dominated industry. She is the co-founder of Infibeam Avenues limited, which started as a retail portal only to end up becoming the e-commerce conglomerate carrying over 100 lakh Stock keeping Units.

Ankita Gaba
Founder- Social Samosa

Ankita Gaba is an award-winning digital marketer with 10 years of entrepreneurship experience. She has built startups like Superchooha, a digital marketing agency and Social Samosa, a widely recognized social media news portal. She was also appointed as the Head of Marketing for Orowealth, a leading fin-tech company and India’s first zero commission Direct Mutual Fund Platform.

Ashwini Asokan
Founder – MAD STREET DEN (MAD)

Born in Chennai, and a trained classical dancer who has traveled across the country for her performance, Ashwini Asokan is the Founder and CEO of MSD (Mad Street Den), an AI-based company. It is one of the very few original startups in the artificial intelligence space from India powering the Retail industry with its Image recognition platform, Vue.ai.

Chitra Gurnani Daga
Founder – Thrillophilia.com

The adventure and travel industry in India has seen radical changes in the last decade. And, no doubt, Thrillopedia.com has become a one-stop solution for adventure sports in India, with Chitra Gurnani Daga becoming a Show Stopper in terms of Travel and Tourism. She is the Women Entrepreneur of India who loves to take risks. Chitra herself is very passionate about traveling, exploring and seeking adventure.

Debadutta Upadhyaya
Founder – Timesaverz

“Life is as you would like to make of it. All of us have a choice and the easy or hard part is just a derivative of what one has chosen,” says Debadutta Upadhyaya, mompreneur, CEO and Co-founder of Timesaverz, a mobile-first marketplace connecting home service seekers with home service providers. With 16 years of leadership experience in the media and communications space, Deb built the e-service portal with an aim to address the very big need gap experienced by most working people in metros.

Gurleen Kaur
Founder – Hareepatti

Gurleen Kaur Tikku is a woman with transformative thinking in business and finance whose idea led to the founding of Hareepatti, a financial consultancy that has been imparting financial wisdom and investment solutions to its customers. Realizing the need for right financial advice which is not easily available to the masses, Gurleen has stepped into this business.

Jaya Jha
Founder – InstaScribe & Pothi

Jaya Jha is a pioneer in the Indian publishing sector whose love for entrepreneurship, technology, and poetry resulted in Pothi.com, a self-publishing platform. She is a businesswoman who is committed to developing and offering services for writers that empower them to publish their work, get it out for the world to see and make money from their creativity.

Some of the biggest global issues today are poor diets, environmental damage, and poverty. Joanna Kane Potaka, Director – Strategic Marketing and Communications, with ICRISAT, shares her insights on how Smart Food – food that is good for you, the planet and the farmer – addresses all these issues in unison.

1. Hi Joanna, could you tell us a little about yourself, and your background?

I started my career as an economist in Australia working on modeling and forecasting, which treats people as homogenous, but my interest turned towards addressing the human aspect of economics. After further studies, I moved into market research and later into the non-profit world overseas. In the past 23 years since I left Australia, I worked in the Philippines, Malaysia, Italy, Sri Lanka, and India with non-profit organizations across diverse fields like agriculture, food, and natural resource management. I am currently working as the Director – Strategic Marketing and Communications, with the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics
(ICRISAT), Hyderabad, India.

2. What led to the initiation of Smart Food and why?

The organization I work for now, ICRISAT focuses on the drylands across Asia and Africa. These are some of the harshest areas plagued by extreme water scarcity and degraded soils and are going to be hit the hardest by climate change. They also have the highest poverty and malnutrition rates.

As I started analyzing these challenges and their impacts on hunger and food production, I learned about millets, which I had never heard of or tasted before. Millets are traditional foods of these areas, are super nutritious, survive with minimal water and are often the last crop standing in times of drought. They are recognized as “Climate Smart” crops. They are also prone to very few pests and diseases and are often naturally organic and have a low carbon footprint. But more importantly, they are really tasty and are versatile in that they can be cooked in so many ways – from being a bowl of rice, malt drink, flour and also used in bakery products, soups, salads, desserts etc.

Millets were the staple in many countries, but the green revolution and industrialization of a few crops saw them being relegated to the periphery of food preferences. The replacement foods were typically highly refined and low in nutrition.

The turning point came with the realization that even with so much attention on overcoming malnutrition, new lifestyle diseases, adaptation and mitigation to climate change, and other global issues, there was almost no effort being made to diversify the staples.

The staples may typically fill 70% of the plate and are often eaten three times a day. If we aren’t focusing on them, nearly 70% of our food system is being ignored and we will not have a major impact.

I asked myself what the biggest hurdle was to diversifying staples. We have what I call the Food System Divide. This is because, for decades, the vast majority of investments have been funneled into just a few crops. This has included government support, private industry investment, R&D, product development and even development aid. The result has been well- developed value chains for the Big 3 – rice, wheat and maize, and poorly developed value chains for other foods like millets. This can encourage farmers to grow crops in the wrong agro-ecologies, putting more stress on the environment and being at higher risk. It has also led to less nutritious diets.

I understood that we can have a long-lasting and major impact on some of the big global issues of nutrition, environment, climate change, and farmer welfare, and do this in unison – if we diversify the staples with Smart Food like millets that fulfill all the criteria of being good for you, the planet and the farmer. This also opens up opportunities for creating new and large businesses.

3. What is your vision for the Smart Food initiative?

I envision Smart Food becoming a part of regular diets and the food system. By building millets and sorghum as a major business and progressing from the Big 3 to create the Big 5 and later the Big 7, we will have a major impact on global issues of nutrition/health, environment, and farmer welfare.

4. With the ‘Eat Healthy and Organic&’ trend that’s going on in the market and new diets coming into the picture, what is the role of the Smart Food initiative and the message that it’s trying to convey?

Smart Food is in sync with the healthy and organic trend and even goes further, as it is a food that is not only good for you, but also for the planet and the farmer.

Smart Food like millets and sorghum also fit into major global health food trends. They are a superfood, are ancient grains, gluten-free, have a low glycaemic index, are high in fiber, have good antioxidants and are good for losing weight too.

Although we work in Asia and Africa, we recognize that incorporating food as a staple requires developing a whole value chain around it and on an industrial scale. As part of this, we need to think globally and popularize Smart Food, starting with millets and sorghum.

5. What is the need for greater diversity in our diet and on-farm?

Diversifying our diets is critical for ensuring we receive the range of nutrients required. On-farm diversity is important to balance the use of natural resources, reduce the risk to farmers of disease and pest outbreaks and to be able to cope with natural changes.

6. How are we going to tackle climatic changes through Smart Food?

Smart Food can help with both adaptation and mitigation of climate change. Of course, it still depends on a number of factors, but Smart Food may use fewer fertilizers and pesticides and have a lower carbon footprint. Climate-smart crops that survive extremes of heat and use less water are more adaptable. Large areas of land, especially in the dry zones, are becoming less suitable to wheat and maize. Alternatives like millets and sorghum will be critical solutions in many of these areas.

7. What are the challenges so far with this new initiative?

You may think that behavior change is the biggest challenge when we are talking about people changing their diets. However, the studies we have done in India, Myanmar, Kenya, and Tanzania all show the great potential for consumer acceptance of millets and sorghum if prepared in culturally sensitive ways. Our biggest challenge is getting the funding and partners to do this on the scale. There are good commercial benefits and agri-business and trade opportunities. More pioneers and big players are needed to drive this forward.

8. What measures are being taken to convince farmers to switch to these smart crops from the regular commercial crops?

Smart Food has a unique approach. We are starting at the consumer level and are working with the industry as well. Building consumer awareness and demand is critical; so is working with food processors and the food service industry. Of course, we have to balance this by also working with suppliers. In this balancing act, the key lies in linking farmers into the value chain.

9. What piece of advice would you give the urban business owners who are venturing into this field of manufacturing millet-based products?

The Smart Food movement has picked up momentum. Markets are growing in our first focus area of millets and sorghum. They are often hailed as the next quinoa but they have much more potential as they can be a staple. They possess multiple uses, like biofuels, feed/fodder, brewing as well as food, opening up opportunities in all these agri-businesses. Now is the time to press on with all these advantages since there is a good chance as 2023 will be declared as the International Year of Millets. While this has already been approved by the FAO, it goes to the UN Assembly in the middle of this year for final approval. India is leading the charge and many countries are part of the consortium to support this. We need to do what it takes in the next couple of years to set businesses in place to capitalize on the global attention and push that will come to millets as the result of the International Year.

Thank you, Joanna, for sharing your story and the Smart Food journey. Good luck with all the upcoming Smart Food initiatives.

Couple of days after the “Pink Economic Survey 2018” was submitted by the Chief Economic Advisor, Arvind Subramanian, that emphasised on women empowerment and gender equality, the Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, gave reasons for women to cheer in the Union Budget for the financial year 2018-19 tabled on Thursday, February 1, 2018. The Budget has beneficial measures for women across the nation including rural, urban, poor, salaried, and non-salaried.

Empowering women in the country and promoting the idea of gender equality as one of the prime focus, finance minister presented this year’s Budget. Earlier, at various stages, the government has clearly indicated its interest in eliminating gender gaps that have been a hindrance to the social and economic integrity of the country. Through this Budget, it looks like the NDA government has made the right move to boost women.

In a bid to encourage and motivate women towards employment, and influence them to join the workforce, the finance minister has proposed take-home pay for the new women employees to go up in the formal sector. The women joining the workforce for the first time will have to contribute only 8 percent (instead of 12 or 10) of the Employee’s Provident Fund (EPF) for the first three years. However, the employer’s contribution to the EPF would remain 12% in all sectors of the government. The EPF contribution reduction for women will enable higher take-home wages and reduce the burden on employers to hire more women.

As part of another flagship programme, Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (Ujjwala scheme), the Centre intended to provide free cooking gas connection to 8 crore women below the poverty line. The initial target which was to provide free LPG connections to around 5 crore poor women was now proposed to increase the target to 8 crores.

In a serious bid to encourage women towards self-employment and make them more self-reliant, Mr. Jaitley allocated Rs 3 lakh crore for Micro-Units Development and Refinance Agency Ltd (MUDRA) scheme in the Budget. The government’s MUDRA Yojana designed to provide first-time entrepreneurs with funds at a concessional rate of interest has a whopping 76% of women beneficiaries with more than 50 percent belonging to SCs, STs, and OBCs.

Under the MUDRA scheme, women can avail a loan of Rs 10 lakh and a maximum amount of Rs 50 lakh, encouraging them to start their own ventures and promote self-employment. The loans to women’s self-help groups would also be increased as much as by 37 percent, said the finance minister. The government will encourage the women’s self-help groups to take up organic farming to boost the organic farming sector.

The Budget 2018 will also provide and allocate four crore electricity connections to underprivileged women under Saubhagya Yojana scheme.

In a commendable note, the government has also increased the maternity leave from 12 to 26 weeks simultaneously ensuring the provision of creches in organizations. The move will retain women to work even after childbirth.

Several top government officials including Jaitley have previously mentioned that this year’s financial focus will be to uplift the condition of women in the country. With the budget presented by the NDA government, there’s no exaggeration that this indeed is a budget for women and their empowerment.

We are approaching the end of 2017, and in a very few days, we would be entering into the new year 2018. As we have come to an end, I just want to take all our dear readers through the year 2017 again with a snapshot of the all the significant contributions made by women in this year.

Nirmala Sitharaman

Nirmala Sitharaman became the first full-fledged woman defense minister of India in 2017. Prior to this, Indira Gandhi has held this portfolio before, in addition to her responsibilities as Prime Minister of India.

Mithali Raj

The captain of the Indian Women’s cricket team in Tests and ODI, Mithali Raj, is the highest run-scorer in women’s international cricket and the only female cricketer to surpass the 6,000 run mark in ODIs. She is the first player to score 7 consecutive 50s in ODIs. Mithali is also the first captain (men or women) to lead India to an ICC ODI World Cup final twice – 2005 and 2017.

Manushi Chhillar

The Indian medical student from Haryana was crowned Miss World 2017. Manushi Chhillar is the sixth Indian winner of the long-running contest.

PV Sindhu

Indian ace shuttler and 2017 Rio Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu won the silver medal in 2017 World Badminton Championship held at Glasgow, Scotland. It was overall Sindhu’s third medal at the World Championships as she earlier had won bronze medals in 2013 and 2014 editions.

Kavita Devi

Kavita Devi made history by becoming the first Indian woman wrestler to sign with WWE. Devi is an accomplished powerlifter who won gold at the 2016 South Asian Games, representing India. She also has the distinction of being the first Indian woman to compete in a WWE ring, during her participation in the Mae Young Classic.

Captain Anny Divya

Captain Anny Divya is the world’s youngest woman pilot to captain the Boeing 777. She was recruited by Air India when she was just 19. She started to learn to fly a Boeing 737 and later found herself in the cockpit of Boeing 777, flying the largest twinjet in the world.

Apart from the aforementioned list, there a few other women who broke the glass ceiling in the technology sector and also bagging positions in the Forbes 100 Most Powerful Women List for 2017.

ICICI Bank’s MD & CEO Chanda Kochhar (ranked 32); Roshni Nadar Malhotra, executive director and CEO of HCL Enterprise (57); Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (64), Chairman and MD of Biocon; Shobhana Bhartia (92), Chairperson and Editorial Director, HT Media Ltd and Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra at rank 97 made it to the Forbes World’s Most Powerful Women List.

Gone are those days when women were asked to stay at home taking care of the family and children while men went out to earn the livelihood. Also, gone are those days when women were relented from pursuing a career of their choice. Breaking through the glass ceiling, women today, are no less than their male peers in careers, management, leadership and also technology. Leaving everyone to astound, women are now delivering the unexpected results standing alongside with men and challenging them in anything and everything.

Today, we bring you the most influential and powerful women in technology who not only entered the technology sector but also took up some big roles in those important companies.

1. Sheryl Sandberg COO, Facebook

Ranked 4th in the Forbes list of most powerful women and top in the technological field, is Sheryl Sandberg, the first chief operating officer of Facebook. Being the Facebook’s COO since 2008, Sandberg has helped dramatically boost revenues at the social network. In 2012 she became the eighth member and also the first woman of Facebook’s board of directors. She is an American technology executive, activist, author and also the founder of Leanin.org. She has previously worked as the chief of staff for the United States Secretary of the Treasury. Sandberg’s current net worth is $1.6 billion.

2. Susan Wojcicki CEO, YouTube

The Chief Executive Officer of Youtube since 2014, Susan Wojcicki, is the next to the join the list of most powerful women in technology. Wojcicki became Google’s first marketing manager in 1999 and then became senior vice president of Advertising and Commerce. She handled two of Google’s largest acquisitions- the $1.65 billion purchase of YouTube and the $3.6 billion purchase of DoubleClick.

3. Meg Whitman CEO, HP

President and Chief Executive Officer of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Meg Whitman, is the next to appear in the list. Whitman previously served as President and Chief Executive Officer of eBay, from 1998 to 2008. During her 10 years with the company, she oversaw its expansion from 30 employees and $4 million in annual revenue to more than 15,000 employees and $8 billion in annual revenue. Whitman was a senior member of Mitt Romney’s presidential campaigns in both 2008 and 2012 and ran for governor of California as a Republican but supported Hillary Clinton in 2016.

4. Ursula M. Burns Retired Chairman and CEO, Xerox Corporation

Ursula Burns was the Chairman of the Board of the Xerox Corporation from 2010 to 2017 and Chief Executive Officer from 2009 to 2016. During her tenure as a chief executive officer, she helped the company transform from a global leader in document technology to the world’s most diversified business services company serving enterprises and governments of all sizes. Shortly after being named CEO in 2009, she spearheaded the largest acquisition in Xerox history, the $6.4 billion purchase of Affiliated Computer Services.

Ursula, who regularly appears on Fortune’s and Forbes’s list of the world’s most powerful women, is a board director of American Express, Exxon Mobil, Nestlé, and Datto.

5. Roshni Nadar Malhotra CEO, HCL Enterprise

Roshni Nadar Malhotra is the executive director and CEO of HCL Enterprise, which she became in 2009 at the age of just 27. The company, which was founded by her father Shiv Nadar, was at the forefront of the personal-computing industry and boosted India’s rise as an IT hub. Roshni is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, a unique and diverse community of the world’s most outstanding, next-generation leaders.

“Women at work” was considered a basic phrase for women who were at work while in the home. Decades ago, women were entirely meant to stay at home working, and the working meant taking care of the household chores, husband, family, children, and in-laws. This has been the scenario for the past many years until there was a revolution in every heart of a woman. In this gender-biased community, women were barely allowed to work and even if they did, they had to face severe criticism from the society, workplace and including their families.

With the advent of computers and internet, the lives of women started witnessing a transition. Gradually, there was a significant development in the society with an increase in the literacy rate of women and employment. Eventually, women became capable of leading and working equally with men in every field. The society, however, was not fully convinced to let women lead though, as gender discrimination was clinching in every inch of the world. Despite the challenges, few women have made their way to the top standing as an example to other women to follow their dreams. “The world is a place for both men and women and not just men alone”, they convey.

The pace at which technology is getting advanced these days there is no denying fact that the impact of technology today is huge. The advancements in technology have greatly influenced the various fields of Healthcare, Education, Communication, Manufacturing, Banking, etc. For instance, technological improvements in health care have given a chance to doctors to treat their patients in a virtual environment using video conferencing as a medium. Many women are now in the field of sciences, offering their services to the nation.

Earlier, what took days to make a transaction at the banks, is now done instantly all because of the digital technology. Mobile banking has enabled many women to make financial transactions related to their business operations from anywhere using their mobile devices or electronic gadgets.

Technology has made it possible for women to communicate with people all over the world through email, instant messaging, Skype, social media, etc. It has enabled women to strengthen relationships between friends, relatives, and colleagues. It has further made them globalize their business standards and streamline their business processes.

When considering the women in the past to the trending age, there can be seen a huge transformation in the lives of women. The manifestation that took place is considered to be just the beginning as there is much more to achieve. Many women leaders like Sarojini Naidu, and Indira Gandhi and Jayalalithaa who have had a continuous term of their reign, women CEOs in India, Chanda Kocchar, Ekta Kapoor, Vinita Bali, Renu Sud, Nita Ambani, Preetha Reddy, and others, are all a part of this wonderful transformation. Not only them, entrepreneurs, sportswomen, media celebrities, journalists, women in government services, etc., prove that transformation has indeed manifested in a new era of successful women.

If you educate a man you educate an individual, however, if you educate a woman you educate a whole family. Women empowered means mother India empowered.” – Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru

To begin with, there is a positive relationship between education and women empowerment. Education is considered as a basic requirement and fundamental right for every individual irrespective of their caste, creed, gender, religion and economic background. For any nation to develop economically, education is the only way aspired. It’s not just the male community alone who take up the burden on their shoulders, but the women as well without whose equal contribution a nation cannot move forward. Why education indeed is an important aspect of women empowerment? Here are a few reasons below:

1) Education empowers women to know their rights, make their own choice of decisions in every aspect of their life. It further builds them to stand up for anything that comes against them.
2) Education enables a woman to choose the career professions on their own and earn for herself and her family. Education gives a sense of financial security to women, who no longer have to bow before men for money.
3) Women who are educated contribute to the national economy becoming a driving source for the development of the nation.
4) Education helps women to achieve self-respect and confidence, and gain self-esteem.

Ever since the evolution of technology in education, it had a major impact on the lives of women. Technology has made it easier for every woman to get educated and further become employed. Technology in education has enforced women to become more inclined towards education thereby increasing the literacy rate. They eventually started occupying higher positions with men in the organizations.

The role of women, technology, and education have changed dramatically. With the widespread use of technology in the field of education, many online education platforms have taken birth reaching out to learners globally. Education was globalized making it possible for everyone to access from anywhere around the globe, eliminating the geographical boundaries and time barriers. Women, irrespective of their economic background, could access the global platform, communicate and perform business operations through technology. Further, technology has even enabled women to start their business organizations and become successful entrepreneurs making them stand tall along with men.

The role and status of women in India traditionally were confined to the four walls and the family, however, it was treated a superior status by the community. Over the past decades, the status of women has been subjected to many changes. Our country has also witnessed a transition in the status of women with the inclusion of women in diverse fields and excelling in them equally to the so-called higher gender. From homemaking to administration, this transition period had women in the most intrinsic roles in all the fields including literature, science, finance, and astrophysics.

Women, however, were equally competent and intelligent as their men counterparts. They were talented enough in the respective roles of their organizations that even persuaded men to show themselves superior to women. Nevertheless, women were inclined to prove their might and change the perception of the society which once believed women were incapable of. Against all odds, women could achieve equal rights and roles as men giving a befitting reply to all those who questioned their credibility.

Here are few women heroes who were the first in their roles and designations in their respective fields.

Kiran Bedi – First Woman IPS officer

Kiran Bedi was India’s first woman to join the officer ranks of the Indian Police Service. She remained in service for 35 years before taking voluntary retirement in 2007 as Director General, Bureau of Police Research and Development. Also named The Iron Lady, she was the first woman in uniform to lead the all-male contingent of the Delhi Police at the Republic Day Parade in 1975. She was also a social activist, former tennis player and politician who is the current Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry.

Priya Jhingan – First Woman to join the Indian Army

Many of us are aware that women were not allowed to join the Indian Army. It wasn’t until 1992 that, a young determined lady, sent a letter to the Chief of Army Staff, General Sunith Francis Rodrigues, demanding that the services should open a gate for women as well. She then became the Indian Army’s first female officer. Priya, the young and fierce lady, also being the daughter of a police officer, wanted to wear a uniform and serve the country from her tender age.

Chanda Kochhar – India’s First Female Bank CEO

Chanda Kochhar is the first woman to run a bank in India. She is the Managing Director and CEO of ICICI bank. She was ranked four in the Fortune magazine’s list of most powerful women in business outside the United States. She also became the first Indian woman to receive the prestigious Woodrow Wilson Award for Global Citizenship, joining the ranks of Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice.

Indira Gandhi – First Female Prime Minister of India

Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi, the only child of India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, was so far the only female Prime Minister of India. She served as Prime Minister from 1966 to 1977 and then again from 1980 until her assassination in 1984, making her the second-longest-serving Prime Minister after her father. She was an Indian stateswoman and central figure of the Indian National Congress in the 20th century.

Pratibha Patil – First Woman President of India

Pratibha Devisingh Patil, an Indian politician and a member of the Indian National Congress, is the only woman to hold the office. She also served as the Governor of Rajasthan from 2004 to 2007. She became the first woman Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Armed Forces. She made history when she flew in fighter jet Sukhoi 30 MKI (SB 139) in Pune, becoming the first woman head of state to fly in a warplane at the age of 74.

Homai Vyarawalla – India’s First Female Photojournalist

It was post-independence, when India was still under the regime of the British, fighting for its liberty. It was that period when women were hardly allowed to be educated. Against all odds, Homai Vyarawalla, then chose to take up the profession of photography equally with men, hence becoming India’s first female photojournalist. Vyarawalla was known for photographing the best moments of the history post-independence, after independence and many leaders. She played a significant role in documenting the important events during India’s independence movement.

Homai Vyarawalla was born to a Parsi family on December 9, 1913, in Navsari, Gujarat. Ms. Vyarawalla and her family moved to Mumbai in 1932, where she went on to study at the Bombay University and JJ School of Art. Homai was married to Manekshaw Vyarawalla, accountant, and photographer for the Times of India. She picked up the art of photography from her husband, and eventually went on to build a career in the same field. She launched her career in the 1930s and worked on the onset of World War II. The black and white images that she published in The Illustrated Weekly of India magazine, earned her respect.

Vyarawalla’s contribution to the photojournalism was immense. She had photographed the first Indian flag that was hoisted at the Red Fort on August 15, 1947. Her contributions also included photographing Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s last press conference in India, and several political leaders, including former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Mahatma Gandhi, and Lal Bahadur Shastri. Some of her best works that photographed Nehru addressing the crowds in Delhi, Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy, departure from India, and Gandhi’s funeral, left an impeccable impression. She even photographed Queen Elizabeth’s and former United States President Dwight Eisenhower’s visits to India.

Soon after her husband’s death, in 1970, she gave up photography. After she retired, she passed on her photos to Delhi-based Alkazi Foundation for the Arts. She died at the age of 98 in 2012 in Vadodara. Vyarawalla’s decision to take up the profession of photography was a bold step then, as women were not encouraged to do so at that time. She initially published her work using the pseudonym ‘Dalda 13’, which was attributed to her birth year.

It was her contribution and her determination to work equivalent to men during the Independence movement, that has made everyone to remember her (works) to this day. Honoring the first female photojournalist, Google Doodle on December 9, 2017, paid tribute with a doodle on her 104th birth anniversary.

In this technology-driven world where most of them(men) are tech-savvy, it often stands as a question if there are any women who are equally technical as men are? And the answer is an absolute yes. There are women in digital who are entirely capable of making a difference. Women in digital are the actual face of trendsetters. These are those leading lady executives in the field of technology who are navigating their company towards digital development and innovation.

Technology had always been a boon to women enriching their skills to contribute their part to the global economy. The mobile phones, social networks, and digital platforms have been of much benefit to the female entrepreneurs, connecting them to the global market, providing them a platform to communicate with other women entrepreneurs and finally making them successful women entrepreneurs in the technology fields.

Ever since the widespread adoption of technology, women who were once meant to be backstage have now come into the limelight becoming the most accomplished and ambitious entrepreneurs. Technology has pitched a stage for many women as such to come with a startup company of their own, encouraging other women as well and ignite the motivation in them.

Despite a significant gender gap or gender discrimination, technology has moderated women entrepreneurs to outperform their male counterparts. Technology has given them the power to work from anywhere in the world. Rather it has given them a medium wherein their voices could be heard, their stories could be read and their experiences were taught as lessons to the upcoming young women entrepreneurs.

There can be seen plenty of hopeful opportunities for Women in Tech to explore new career opportunities. There is only constant support needed for them from society and their male counterparts to help them strive, thrive, build and sustain relationships and opportunities.