“What makes Vahani unique is that apart from full financial support, we focus on holistic development of each scholar”: Team Vahani

Vahani, an NGO focussed on bringing educational opportunity for exceptionally brilliant underprivileged children in India, recently collaborated with Emeritus to provide Education and Upskilling Opportunities to Young Women through INR 1 Crore in Scholarships.

The organisation via its scholarship programmes helps students to pursue education in top universities across India. In this interview with TheCSRUniverse, the members of Team Vahani share their insights on the recent collaboration and the change that they seek to bring through their educational programmes.

Scroll down to read the full interview with “Team Vahani”.

Q: Vahani has recently collaborated with Emeritus to provide Education and Upskilling Opportunities to Young Women through INR 1 Crore in Scholarships. What is the objective of this collaboration?

A: Vahani Scholarship Trust has impacted 180+ lives and continues to sponsor 50 students every year for undergraduate studies across various disciplines in the best Institutes in India.  Our vision is to create future leaders and change makers by focusing on holistic development through skill training and workshops. Our collaboration with Emeritus is one of a kind, which will enable our women alumni to add value to their CVs and professional skills. Our journey as an organisation and the impact created in the lives of each Vahani Scholar, inspired Emeritus to offer a synergy in the form of Scholarship, which will add more credibility to the Alumni's professional growth.

Q: How do you identify the women who will get scholarships under this programme?

A: Vahani Scholarship is a meritorious scholarship based on needs and income. We do not have any gender reservations, and follow an equal ratio of boys and girls during selection. However, for the Emeritus Scholarship collaborations, we will be focusing on female Alumnus, who have completed their undergraduate and are in the work field or pursuing higher education. Through extensive application process and multiple interview rounds we will identify these female Vahani alumni who would be offered upskilling programmes under the scholarship. The aim is to understand their objective of availing the scholarship and what purpose it will serve in their professional growth. 

Q: The scholarships under this programme are for courses in technology, data analytics and digital marketing fields? Why is it important for women to enter into these courses?

A: In the last decade AI has rampantly dominated many work fields and it won't take long for most clerical and operational work to be managed completely by AI, reducing the demand for human workforce. In such a scenario, only the jobs that have creative, critical and analytical aspects will survive. Technology, data analytics and digital marketing are all fields which are futuristic and evolving with technology, with the right skill and training these fields have the most growth to offer. For years, fewer women have risen through the ranks because of the “broken rung” at the first step up to management. According to the "Women in the Workplace 2022'' study by LeanIn.org, the key findings states that,

• Women are still dramatically underrepresented in leadership: only 1 in 4 C-suite executives is a woman, and only 1 in 20 is a woman of colour. 
• The “broken rung” is still holding women back: for every 100 men promoted from entry level to manager, only 87 women are promoted, and only 82 women of colour are promoted. 
• Now, women leaders are leaving their companies at higher rates than ever before. To put the scale of the problem in perspective: for every woman at the director level who gets promoted, two women directors are choosing to leave their company.

The Emeritus India Impact Survey 2022 found that upskilling oneself via professional learning programmes has a significant impact on women's careers. Out of the respondents, 82% saw a positive impact, with 93% reporting being more effective at work after taking up a professional course. Additionally, 79% of women professionals advanced in their career in their current organisation after taking up a programme with Emeritus, while 61% moved ahead in a new organisation.

Q: Indian workforce is still skewed in the favour of men, both in terms of leadership and compensation. At the current pace of improvement, it may still take years for women to match the men workforce? What are your policy level suggestions to speed up this process?

A: The gender bias culture in companies has put women in a disadvantaged position in two aspects of representations: hiring and promotions. According to a study women earn more bachelor’s degrees than men, yet they are less likely to be hired into entry-level jobs. It is essential for companies to relook at their process of hiring and promotions and hold the management accountable, by creating a culture that fully leverages the benefits of diversity where women, and all employees, feel comfortable and represented. A year-and-a-half after the pandemic, most companies have expanded flexibility to help employees and it’s making a difference. Yet without clear boundaries, the flexibility at work can quickly turn into 24/7 work and result in burnouts. Therefore companies need to put guidelines and policies in place so employees don’t feel the burnout and managers need to set and promote examples of work/life boundaries and more actively support employee well-being. This can be achieved by setting basic policies and clear communications such as adjusting performance expectations, establishing new norms for remote work and periodic review of employees' work satisfaction and wellbeing. 

Q: How do you measure the impact of your short-term and long-term projects? What are the key challenges in measuring the impact and how do you overcome these challenges?

A: The scholarship itself is a long-term project. Our first batch graduated in 2019 and till date we have had a 100% graduation rate. The immediate impact of the scholarship is the gap that it bridges between school and college dropouts due to financial restraints. We started with 14 scholars and have grown our numbers to 50 scholars every year. Our alumni body consists 55 undergraduates who have not only completed their graduation from esteem universities but are also working in some of the top MNCs and start-ups like Microsoft, EY, PharmEasy, Policybazaar, Uniqlo, etc., and also in some of the best fellowship programmes like Gandhi Fellowship, Teach for India, Young India Fellowship etc. These Vahani Scholars have already embarked on their journeys as future leaders and change makers. 

What makes Vahani unique is that apart from full financial support, we focus on holistic development of each scholar. We run 5 mandatory programmes which aims to add professional skills and personality development. These programmes include 1:1 professional mentorship, English communications, computer literacy, professional literacy and internship opportunities. Over the course of 3 years we see a huge change and growth in the scholars in terms of confidence, skills, knowledge and overall personality. 

Q: Over the last 3 years, there have been changes in how social development programmes are implemented as lots of technology interventions have become part of project implementation post COVID. What is your observation on that? What are the changes that you have experienced in your project implementation over the last 2-3 years?

A: The lockdown in 2020 hugely impacted everyone's lives in every aspect. As an organization with scholars living across the country, a huge part of concern became their mental and physical wellbeing. Our founder and patron, keeping in mind the loss of livelihood and remoteness of certain locations, offered additional stipends to support the scholars' families.

During the initial months we held weekly video calls with groups of scholars, mentors and a team member. Every call had an agenda and ensured that it involved everyone present in meaningful and mindful conversations. We also initiated Wellbeing Sessions focusing on various topics like stress management, physical activity, health and happiness etc.

Our Annual Workshops and Induction Programme along with interviews also shifted to online mode. We saw that gradually over time, scholars began to adapt to this new change and were comfortable in front of the camera.

Post COVID, we have held two offline Workshops (Annual Winter and Summer Workshop), and several Chapter Meets in different cities with the Scholars and Mentors. Whereas all our programmes are being operated online with smaller groups making it more inclusive and focused.