Mumbai, August 16, 2023. Shaadi.com, the leading matchmaking platform in India has collaborated with Udayan Care, a women-focused NGO, to upskill up to 10,000 women in the next five years. The colalboration aims to provide financial support to Udayan Shalini Fellowship Programme and fostering its participant's journey to financial autonomy and workforce integration.
Shaadi.com has consistently initiated dialogues around gender disparities, aiming to create equal opportunities for men and women. Women's financial independence is a key aspect of this dialogue, particularly relevant in India where societal norms often lead to women leaving the workforce after marriage. Reports indicate that around 50%* of Indian women exit the workforce post-marriage due to domestic responsibilities. Shockingly, 76%** of women in India remain financially dependent, and 68%*** of women graduates are not part of the workforce. This dependency compromises dignity, independence, and perpetuates oppression.
In an effort to highlight these challenges and promote gender equality through education and employment, Shaadi.org has partnered with Udayan Care. The platform commits to financially support and provide leadership skills to empower 10,000 women through the Udayan Shalini Fellowship Programme over five years. This initiative will equip women from diverse backgrounds with skills to pursue various disciplines, breaking down barriers and creating accessible pathways to different economic sectors. Ultimately, this endeavor aims to help women achieve financial independence, contribute to India's progress, and promote gender equality.
Commenting on the initiative, Adhish Zaveri, VP – Marketing, Shaadi.com, said, “Shaadi.com has always strived to make a meaningful difference in the realms of gender equality, specifically with the issue of women dropping out of the work-force after marriage. We are proud to partner with Udayan Care’s Shalini programme, an association that will only help us further realise our vision of promoting initiatives that provide livelihoods and opportunities to women as well as positively influencing the mindsets of Indians for building a more equal nation and a world at large.”
Anjali Hegde, Executive Director, Udayan Care said that her organisation is committed to bringing women into the workforce and strives to make them stronger from within to take all of life events - whether it be marriage or childbirth, in their stride to become financially independent women living a life of dignity and purpose. "The Udayan Shalini Fellowship Program is a leadership program that is aimed at building agency and social capital amongst young women. We induct talented girls from resource poor backgrounds into this program after completion of Xstd and work with them for the next 6 years up to graduation, to build agency, self-confidence, communication skills, social sensitivity and employability. Girls are provided personal mentoring and go through carefully curated 18 modules of life skills and employability training through the program. Launched in 2002, the program has successfully completed 21 years and has spread across 34 city chapters in 13 states of India and has impacted nearly 14,000 Shalinis.We value this partnership with Shaadi.org and are grateful for their support to our cause of women’s empowerment,” she said.
