A day of wonder, wit, and wisdom: Women on a Mission makes an impression

Stories of inspiration, courage, and passion sprinkled with wit and wisdom marked the first edition of HerStory's Women on a Mission Summit.

The Women on a Mission summit was an event of many firsts. Women from all walks of life, including changemakers like Sudha Murty and influencers like Intel's Nivruti Rai shared their inspirational stories that drew laughter, wonder, tears, and amazement.

For years now, we have had conversations around women's issues and the challenges we deal with. After all, in a country where women form a paltry 25 percent of the workforce, the road to empowerment and equality is not easy. But we needed to move a step ahead.

This is the idea behind this summit. A platform not just to discuss the problems women face in the entrepreneurial and professional spaces, but also about how women can support each other overcome these barriers.

The first edition of Women on a Mission focussed on taking the steps needed to build an equal workspace and eventually, an equal world. Needless to say, it was a day packed with positive energy and force with over 700 attendees at the The Lalit Ashok, Bengaluru.

The day kickstarted with Shradha Sharma, Founder and CEO of YourStory, calling all women to support and encourage each other on their journeys. She said,

Today, women need to ask themselves: “Do I have a circle of women who are my champions? Who will stand with me? Women supporters, women sponsors, and women champions who will say 'she is a star'?”

Next, Roopa D. Moudgil, the first lady IPS officer of Karnataka, said,

“If you want to create history don’t be a good girl! That good girl who has to be like Mother Earth and tolerate everything and never speak up against injustice.”

Adding to this, angel investor Meeta Malhotra gave a special address on why it is important for all working women to create their personal brands. She said: "Discover your special strengths. Build your brand on your core strength. Think about a plan to showcase it to the audience you want to reach out to."

Empowerment isn't restricted to women in metro cities, it truly works when women from all walks of life are touched with it. Shipra Sharma Bhutani, CEO of Capacita Connect India, spoke about the discrimination faced by various marginalised communities of women in India, like sex workers and manual scavengers.

In different panel discussions through the day, the conversations revolved around enabling empowerment and success.The first panel of the day dealt out cues on how women entrepreneurs can build and scale their business.

Vinutha Rallapalli, Investments & Community Development, Innovation Valley, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Kuppulakshmi Krishnamoorthy, Head Evangelist, Zoho for Startups, and Humera Iffath, Human Resources Director- India, Truecaller in a panel moderated by Tanvi Dubey, Editor, HerStory, spoke about how more women can be included in the workforce. They discussed on how families and spouses play an important role and how women need to look at their careers from a long-term perspective.

In another panel moderated by Tanvi, with Dana Kursh, Consul General of Israel to South India, and Nicole Girard, Consul General, South India, Dana, said, "In my three and half years in India, I have met phenomenal women. If I could interact with all the women in this room, I would feel like I'm back home. The challenges and opportunities are the same."

Moderated by Anjana Sasidharan, Principal, Sequoia India, the panel consisted of Neha Singh, Co-founder of Tracxn, and Yamini Bhat, Co-founder of Vymo. They spoke about hiring, funding, and building the right product market-fit, and finding the right culture fit. They also advised entrepreneurs to budget for hiring mistakes and talked about what makes an investment pitch perfect.

Also read: Here’s why gender diversity needs to be a part of every organisation’s DNA

There were workshops and discussions across various fields. Microsoft held a workshop on Artificial Intelligence (AI) that focussed on the opportunities AI brings to every developer, entrepreneur, and business leader to contribute and accelerate the technology landscape of India, responsibly and ethically.

Vinutha Rallapalli, Investments & Community Development, Innovation Valley, Government of Andhra Pradesh, spoke about how the country's youngest state is fostering and promoting entrepreneurship. And also, ensuring more women entrepreneurs are created.

"We still don't have a lot many women entrepreneurs in the state. So our agenda is to encourage women entrepreneurs and bring more women back to the workforce," she said.

It is empowering when powerful women talk about their journeys. But it is equally moving when a man takes the stage and announces, “I am a beneficiary of women’s entrepreneurship." CK Kumaravel of Naturals chain of salons received a thunderous applause when he also added,

“The best fashion statement is when you stand on your own feet.”

HerStory also honoured and celebrated women for their wonderful work with the Women on A Mission Awards.

It was rewarding, albeit tough, to narrow down 22 winners from the whopping 800 applications. From sports and culture to entrepreneurship and aerospace technology, these winners inspire women of today and tomorrow.

Also Read: Women on top: Meet the awardees at HerStory Women on a Mission Summit 2019

Nivruti Rai, Country Head - Intel India and VP - Data Center Group, Intel Corporation, who is also a champion and torchbearer for women in tech, spoke about how woman can enable, motivate, and support each other. She also asked women to selectively forget the past, plan for the future, and focus on growth.

She was followed by Sudha Murty, Padma Shri awardee, author, and philanthropist, who had the audience in splits with her deadpan humour. Besides her wit, she also had the audience cheering for her when she recounted her early days of struggle with gender bias and how she overcame them. She said,

“You are your own best friend and your own worst enemy. Trust in yourself. Courage cannot be bought, sold, nor is it inborn, but you need to work for it. And for that, you need to accept your defects and failures. Compete with yourself and gain strength every day.”

A big shout out to HerStory's Women on A Mission Summit sponsors: Co-Presenting Sponsor Microsoft, Sequoia Spark, Innovation Valley, NetApp Excellerator,Servify, ZOHO, Meesho, Arctic Fox, DROR, and Gifting Partners WoW, &Me.