In this digital age, technology has become a powerful ally in empowering women. It's a world where boundaries fade, voices grow louder, and connections stretch across the globe. And in this digital era, Her Circle stands as an example of how technology can uplift and inspire.
Her Circle, launched by Nita M Ambani, Founder-Chairperson of Reliance Foundation, is an inclusive, collaborative, diverse, interactive, socially-conscious digital movement for the women of India. With 2.45 lakh registered users, it's a one-stop destination that provides engaging and uplifting content while connecting women through a secure social platform. This initiative caters to a wide range of interests, from wellness and finance to work, beauty, fashion, entertainment, and more. It's a space where women can learn, grow, connect, and support each other.
Beyond content and social networking, Her Circle offers expert advice in a personalized environment. It provides tools to help users build positive habits in fitness, period tracking, fertility & pregnancy, and finance. Furthermore, it champions women entrepreneurs, highlighting their innovative ideas and solutions to support their success. Moreover, the platform is available in English and Hindi, making it accessible to a diverse audience.
At the heart of Her Circle's journey is Tanya Chaitanya, the CEO of Her Circle and Digital and Diversity Initiatives at Reliance Industries Limited, a visionary leader in her own right. In this exclusive conversation with TheCSRUniverse, Tanya shares insights into the genesis of Her Circle, its mission to bridge the digital gender divide, and its significant impact on the lives of millions of women. She discusses how Her Circle provides answers to important questions and offers opportunities for upskilling and professional growth.
Read the full interview below to explore how this digital movement is reshaping opportunities for women in the digital age and promoting inclusivity.
Q&A
Q. What inspired the creation of Her Circle?
A. It may sound poetic but how nature, birds grow and move unhindered across geographies and sensibilities, so does digital. The access to digital platforms, by default, is empowering.
Digital platforms offer a sense of democracy. While there is always a risk everywhere, the online space if used with caution, offers women options to stay aware, connected and informed.
Offline, women can sometimes have little or no freedom of movement, especially in smaller towns due to safety, security and lack of infrastructure. Digital platforms provide easy access and a window to the world.
That said the gender digital divide still exists and is alarming. The OXFAM Digital Divide-India Inequality Report 2022 says that India accounts for half of the world’s gendered digital divide. Indian women are 15% less likely to own a mobile phone, 33% less likely to use mobile internet services than men and almost 55% less likely to be doing banking and financial transactions online.
Her Circle was imagined to bridge the digital gender divide. Launched in March 2021, Her Circle is already India’s largest digital platform for women, a choice that gives every woman a strong voice.
Q. How do you see technology and digital innovation playing a role in overcoming challenges related to gender inequality, and how Her Circle contributes to this mission?
A. Her Circle is a one-stop digital destination in the form of an app and website, it has already become India’s largest content and social networking space for women. It is a multiverse for women covering content, social networking, personalised tracking, job opportunities, upskilling, wellness help, financial advice and entrepreneurial expertise. We are multilingual and available in English and Hindi. Her Circle is an initiative to bridge the digital gender divide via the circle of sisterhood.
Q. What strategic initiatives have you implemented at Reliance Industries Ltd to promote diversity and inclusion, and what have been the outcomes?
A. Launched this year on our second anniversary was The Her Circle EveryBODY Project. Here we promote body positivity and feature influencers with a difference. Our coverpeople each month for this project fit into no preconceived notions of perfection. They are diversity advocates across size, skin, colour, body, neurology and physicality and they are making the world a kinder place, one post at a time. Take, for instance, Pooja and Norah, the mom-daughter duo in which the five-year-old child has Down Syndrome. When we featured them we got amazing reviews on how neurodiversity is often ignored and rarely mainstreamed. We opened up on conversations on size-inclusivity, and special needs.
Her Circle Bizruptors is a campaign that is scouting for start-up women founders with ideas, innovative solutions and long-term Unicorn ambitions. Entries are now open and nominees are being selected throughout the year and showcased on our platform. At the end of the campaign, the Her Circle Bizruptor trophy awaits the winners.
Our Sustainability Digital covers are now in their second year. The first time we featured circularity and environment champions like Kirti Poonia, Rajeshwari Seth and Elsie Gabriel. This year we had Kalki Koechlin topline the cover as a green parenting advocate and a person who is environmentally conscious in her daily life.
Q. Could you share some of the key challenges you've encountered during your leadership in the digital content industry, and how you've overcome them?
A. Digital as a space teaches us on the go. As a leader I am hands-on. Each time a new innovation is announced, I jump in and test-drive it myself. I get the team to give their own verdict and listen to each and every observation. Participation of the team is important in key decisions that our brand makes. The other thing I believe in is that once I have onboarded, trained and explained to the team, delegation to the right people and then letting them make their own mistakes and find solutions is important. Digital is a fail-fast space and to recover-innovate-bounce back is its only solution.
I am a strong believer that AI is an aid and not a threat. Technology can have data and can write in a set pattern but the content space thrives on originality and a strong, unique voice. The lived experiences of individuals can not be replicated by machines and tech. Yes, the shake-up will be in terms of quality. The better content platforms will consolidate and the substandard ones may suffer. I see AI doing the grunt work and human content creation benefitting from it.
The real concern is regarding the spread of fake news and now with AI bots as newscasters consumers will have to be made aware of authentic channels and sites. That is where the challenge lies.
Q. How does Her Circle address the unique challenges and opportunities that arise from promoting inclusivity and empowerment across diverse cultures and regions in India?
A. I’ve been a follower of the belief that for a work culture to be truly inclusive, it needs to cascade leadership onwards. Often the language we use or the jokes we make (mostly innocuously-intended), can overstep boundaries. Talking down is a major concern and leaders must always guard against it. Gender awareness and inclusion are the way forward. I have a simple 3I formula that I look at:
• Initiate—ask her opinion on crucial decisions; often times women stay silent lest they be ridiculed/pushed aside.
• Involve—keep her involved and informed of the change being effected; women deserve to hear their praise in a room full of mixed-group professionals.
• Identify—the first two steps will help identify the women leaders of the future for the company.
Q. What is your long-term vision for Her Circle, and what specific initiatives do you plan to undertake to further empower women through this platform?
A. Her Circle’s vision is to be not just India’s but the world’s most impactful gender-positive movement—inclusive, diverse, equal, responsible and above all, a sisterhood squad. Beyond numbers, our key goal is to provide each woman the platform to speak up, share and be part of the community.
We want every woman to have access to technology and its uses. Her Circle is her safe space to grow and will always be there for her in solidarity.
Q. How does Her Circle ensure scalability, particularly in rural areas with limited digital access? Could you provide successful examples of your impact in such regions?
A. Localized Content: The platform creates content in regional languages to cater to diverse populations, making it more accessible to women in rural areas who may not be proficient in English.
Low-Bandwidth Solutions: The platform offers low-bandwidth versions of its digital content, ensuring that women with limited internet access can still benefit from the resources available
Feedback Loops: Her Circle actively seeks feedback from rural users and adapts its services based on their needs and preferences.
Access to experts: We have medical and financial experts on our platform. Our users can reach out to them to seek advice and guidance.
Q. Can you share examples of transformative projects and initiatives you've spearheaded that have had a significant impact on your industry and the lessons learned from them?
A. Her Circle’s initiatives are across our key pillars sustainability, inclusion and equity, entrepreneurship and empowerment. Our initiative Her Circle Bizruptors is a platform for giving women start-up founders and their ideas/innovations/products/services a chance to be showcased. Our intent is to build a community of inspirational women entrepreneurs and winners.
The sustainability initiatives we run cover the length and breadth of planet-friendly ideas. Our sustainability special meets women warriors who build circularity, promote environmental practices and believe in being green citizens and parents. Kalki Koechlin, Kirti Poonia, Rameshwari Seth have been some advocates of sustainability we have associated with.
Our inclusion and equity initiative is the ongoing Her Circle EveryBODY project which has featured body-positive influencers such as Virali Modi, Neha Parulkar, Tanvi Geetha Ravishankar, Neelakshi Singh, Roma Maity, Apeksha Dusija, Pooja & Norah.
Q. What role do mentorship and networking play in the professional development of women, and how has Her Circle facilitated these aspects?
A. With our 350+ million plus reach and 2.45 lakh registered users, Her Circle’s biggest USP is that it is a multiverse for women covering content, social networking, personalised tracking, job opportunities, upskilling, wellness help, financial advice and entrepreneurial expertise. We are multilingual and available in English and Hindi. We are a one-stop destination for everything a woman needs to stay empowered, informed and connected. A community that is a circle of light and sisterhood.
Q. As a woman CEO in a male-dominated industry, what advice would you offer to aspiring women leaders looking to make their mark?
A. I have always said that it is highly unfair for women in leadership roles to be expected to emulate male leaders. In the corporate world where even air conditioning temperature setting is based on the optimum temperature men work in and women freeze in, the professional world will have to adjust to how women leaders function. We are all here to work and at the end of the day it is the product we make, the results we give that should matter. Personally, I immediately correct any individual who does not understand my boundaries both as a woman and as a leader.
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