On International Women’s Day, MyGov in collaboration with the National e-governance Department (NeGD) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology organized an exclusive online webinar to celebrate the ‘Nari Shakti’ of new India with accomplished women from various walks of life. The webinar witnessed an interesting blend of women in sports, art and culture, technology, and business discuss about the women of new India and how women are bringing a revolution in the country with Abhishek Singh, CEO, MyGov, President &CEO NeGD, MD & CEO Digital India Corporation (DIC) at Government of India. From the sports field, India’s para table tennis sensation Bhavina Patel; Avani Lekhara, first Indian woman to win two Paralympic medals; Asian para-games champion Ekta Bhyan, and Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat graced the occasion and talked about the challenges they faced in their sports.
From the technology sector, Ms Usha Mehta of National Informatics Centre (NIC), and Dr. Rohini Srivathsa, National Technology Officer at Microsoft India briefed the audience on the role of technology in a woman’s life. Poet and writer, Maitreyee B. Chowdhury; Mutsevelu Mercy of Tetseo sisters; ace tabla maestro Anuradha Pal, Poonam Kaul of Ek Desh; Dr. P Gayatri Hela, Managing Director of Reseda Lifesciences Private Limited; Ankita Parashar from Stream Minds, and Village Level Entrepreneur (VLE) Krishna Borude also joined the webinar. Speaking at the webinar, Dr. Rohini Srivathsa, National Technology Officer at Microsoft India laid emphasis on the increasing role of technology in India’s economy and said that a “woman’s ability to participate in the economy is directly linked to a woman’s participation in technology”. “Every woman should use gender as her strength, taking everybody along. Gender inclusion is not just about women, it is about the entire economy. In fact, India can have almost 2% GDP growth if we bring 50% of women into our economy,” she said. Ms Usha Mehta of National Informatics Centre (NIC) said that women in many verticals are doing an amazing job and women should get into the field of technology.
Talking about the role of technology in bridging the digital divide, Mutsevelu Mercy of Tetseo sisters Technology said that with increasing adaption of technology, more women have been able to come to the forefront because they are “no longer dictated by the limitations that distance plays on people”. “Technology has helped us to connect with audiences in the farthest south of the country or in Kashmir,” she said. Ms. Poonam Kaul of Ek Desh said that women have a huge role to play in communication, marketing and the social sector. “If you want to drive behaviour change, women can do that better. It’s the talent that is more important than gender but, in some fields, leveraging the gender is important. Women add an extra dimension and help in building the right relationships,” she said. The webinar concluded with a special message from each panellist asking young women to believe in themselves and their potential with Dr P Gayatri Hela, Managing Director of Reseda Lifesciences Private Limited saying that women are already empowered and “nobody has to tell us that we are empowered”.
