On these platforms, women help each other in their careers, health and motherhood
These startups and platforms provide a space where women can ask and answer questions related to career, health and motherhood.
The beauty of a community is that people can draw strength from each other. Why do we need a community to do that? Because women are often boxed into labels such as ‘weak’ or ‘the second sex’. Though not everyone goes through such experiences every day but often, helping and lifting each other up becomes crucial.
And in today’s fast-paced world, many women find their safe haven in the virtual world where they ask and discuss everyday concerns related to their career, relationships, and motherhood, among other things.
HerStory presents a list of such networks and platforms where women look out for each other:
JobsForHer
Founded by Neha Bagaria in 2015, Bengaluru-based tech startup JobsForHer helps women who are looking to start, change or rise in their career by connecting them with employers.
Neha Bagaria, Founder of JobsForHer
Having taken a break of three years from her career after becoming a mother, Neha saw how many women find it difficult to get back into the workforce. But not just motherhood, Neha realised that women often take mid-career breaks after getting married, having to move to cities where their husband is posted while also taking care of the elderly at home.
As a result of being away from the workplace, most women lose their confidence on the way. Hence, the platform seeks to bridge this gap and has partnered with companies like Amazon, PayU, Airbus, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.
JobsForHer provides mentoring, reskilling workshops as well as networking opportunities for women.
Remarkably, Neha, who has completed her undergraduate degree in Finance and Business Studies from the Wharton School of Business (University of Pennsylvania), convinced the employers that her network of women is a pool of talent, capable of fulfilling professional requirements and that it is not be considered an act of social goodwill.
Momspresso.com
Momspresso is a platform where mothers come together to blog about their parenting experiences. Founded by Vishal Gupta, Prashant Sinha and Asif Mohamed in 2010, it was initially called Mycitykids, a listing platform for children’s resources and events, before it rebranded as Mompresso and expanded to become a user-generated content platform.
The founding team of Mompresso
It has over 20,000 women sharing their experiences and tips as text, audio, and video. The startup claims to have 30 million visitors and 85 million monthly page views. Further, the platform pays its users when they participate in brand campaigns on the platform through MyMoney.
Started with a personal investment of Rs 50 lakh, it raised Rs 20 crore in a Series A funding round from YourNest and SIDBI Venture Capital in 2016.
The Mommy Network
Becoming a mother comes with its set of joy, doubts and challenges. Often, new mothers find themselves trapped in the guilt of whether they are raising their child in the right manner.
This calls for a network of mothers who can help ease each other’s journey. When they were pregnant, entrepreneurs Shreya Lamba and Kiran Amlani met at a prenatal class for the first time.
A pop-up event created by The Mommy Network
Soon in 2014, they went on to start a closed group on Facebook called The Mommy Network. The duo got Tejal Bajla, Founder of Toddler’s Den and Brainsmith, onboard as a co-founder.
A community of educated and progressive mothers, they share advice and tips on raising children, feeding, baby gear, schools and choosing the right education systems.
The founders ensure that the platform continues to engage in insightful conversations, without heavy marketing. More importantly, the network is meant to be a space where people can share experiences without being judged.
Menstrupedia
What began as a comic for a thesis project at National Institute of Design, led Aditi Gupta and her husband to start Menstrupedia. The website aims to educate people on menstruation and menstrual hygiene.
Aditi Gupta, Co-founder of Menstrupedia
Additionally, the final project earned her a Ford Foundation scholarship.
Aditi got the idea to start the venture when she experienced how menstruating women were isolated treated separately at home in Jharkhand and the hushed approach towards addressing it.
Today, Menstrupedia.com has amassed rich resources on menstruation and addresses questions ranging from terminologies like ‘abortion’ to information on the menstrual cycle.
In 2014, Aditi was recognised as Forbes magazine’s 30 under 30 personality.
SHEROES.in
Active entrepreneur Sairee Chahal started SHEROES.in with a vision to build a platform and community of women where they can discuss any matters without being judged.
Sairee Chahal, Founder of SHEROES.in
Women from over 20,000 locations come together to discuss various topics by following smaller communities like fashion and beauty, aspiring writers, parenting and babycare, and love, sex, and relationship, among other things. At the same time, the platform also runs a career support helpline via phone and app.
In 2016, SHEROES.in secured Rs 12 crore as part of a larger transaction in its Series A round of funding.
(Edited by Kanishk Singh)