Celebrating Women's History Month: Women in Leadership
For Women’s History Month this month, we would like to highlight some of the women who have written blogs for us in the past year.
They have made a positive impact in their communities through their bold vision and selfless dedication. These women have either built strength in their own lives or helped empower other women.
Parivartan: Empower Against Abuse
This NGO has been founded by four women from different continents with a common passion for fighting against the torment of sexual violence and rapes in India. Parivartan stands for providing healthy mindsets to kids by helping them make informed choices and give rise to mutual respect, for which they have created a gender sensitization curriculum that will make the kids turn into strong young adults who will stand up for gender equality, mutual respect and a rejection of violence.
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Let’s talkSTEM: Creating a STEM community
talkSTEM is a unique 501(c)3 non-profit organization that envisions women and girls from underrepresented groups to consider themselves as someone who engages in science, technology, engineering, and math so that the STEM leaders in the world come from all sorts of backgrounds. Dr. Koshi Dhingra is the Founder and CEO of talkSTEM and she started this initiative in Spring, 2015 in Dallas, Texas.
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Ohrna: Women Empowerment and Sustainable Fashion
Jhumkee Iyengar is the founder of Ohrna – a social enterprise to empower women by teaching them new skills and simultaneously supporting the environment by using organic and sustainable materials. Despite the impact on their work due to the pandemic, they have utilized various e-commerce sites to market their products. To date, it has employed 15 women and continues to do so by launching the initiative in different countries.
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Define Your Own Meaning of Success
Dr. Sonia Ashok is the founder of Connective Coalition, a community that supports female leadership and advancement in the workplace. The thought of starting this community came from her own life experiences, where she had to opt for a career path based on expectations and a misconception that a traditional career is what leads to success. She believes that every individual has the right to choose their own career based on their interests and vision for themselves and that no one should decide or choose the path for them.
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Going Beyond Wins
Drawn from her own life experiences, Mala Subramaniam has written a book that teaches readers how building a particular mindset will help them succeed in daily business negotiations. Mala is a public speaker, leadership trainer, and executive coach. She believes that winning and succeeding are two different things and one should latch on to finding long-term results and relationships that wins fail to bring.
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Virtual Museum Curating Workshops within the U.S.–India Professional Collaboration Initiative
Stuti Gandhi, Research Associate at Center for Art & Archaeology at American Institute of Indian Studies talks about her experience working with Dr. Madhuvanti Ghose, the Alsdorf Associate Curator of Indian, Southeast Asian, Himalayan, and Islamic Art at the Art Institute of Chicago. Last year, Dr. Ghose collaborated with the Center for Art and Archaeology of the American Institute of Indian Studies, where she mentors museum professionals in India on seminal themes for a better and engaging museum experience. She offered professional programs on curatorial practices to Indian professionals using online platforms due to the pandemic. She has a Ph.D. from London University and has been a Lecturer in South Asian Art and Archaeology.
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Find out more about Dr. Ghose’s work in bringing the artists of Nathdwara together and helping them receive recognition outside of India in her blog here.
Imagination, Adversity and Reality: My Journey Beyond Entrepreneurship, Learnings and Accolades
Somdutta Singh is an entrepreneur, author, and motivational speaker who has been inspired by her accomplishments in life. She is the first Indian member on Philip Kotler’s Kotler Impact Board of Advisors and a member of the Women Economic Forum. Breaking stereotypes and being a rebel with a cause has given a nudge to her journey’s beginning.
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Hope for Mothers
The youngest highlight in our series is Mira Bhatia, a 15-year-old leader of the Mother’s Relief Fund Campaign. She and her team from the AIF Circle of Hope Chicago have helped fund the MANSI (Maternal and Neonatal Survival Initiative) program that promotes child health and development to village families by providing in-home services including check-ups, immunizations, health, and nutrition counseling for pregnant women and mothers. Her focus of campaigning has shifted based on the change in situations for these families. She has managed to raise funds for making protective supplies available during the pandemic and is continuing to do so.
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In addition, a few of our Indiaspora members who are leaders in the digital and cloud space, shared their experiences on our monthly livestream show Indiaspora Community Conversations in the episode Diaspora Women Redefining Digital.
Indiaspora members also were featured in the Indiaspora Community Conversations episode Connections, Community, and Content: Advancing South Asian Women’s Leadership with Neythri, a professional community for South Asian women.
