VOW (Voices of Women), an exclusive online writing contest for women sponsored by IBM and presented by We-Ace, has given women a platform to express their opinions on current events.
Women have been told to keep quiet and not express their opinions in most societies, but on the contrary, women have performed far better than society anticipates. This blogathon is a unique blogging competition for women to have their voices heard and to stage a variety of thoughts, ideas, and opinions on hot subjects, themes, and concerns that affect women.
Many women have been empowered by We-Ace and IBM's combined endeavour to speak up about the workplace and their role in business and society at large.
VOW-Voices of Women, in its second edition, brings together women from all backgrounds to address bigger trends, developments, and barriers in the face of creating a more diverse and inclusive workplace and culture. VOW drew over 1000 women from all walks of life, including corporations and institutions. As jury panel members, IBM has brought in eminent thought leaders and industry specialists.
We-Ace went out to over 100 organisations and colleges on behalf of IBM to invite any woman who wanted to display her talent on such a platform. The women's cohort reacted well to the team's sharing of inspiring blogs based on this year's subject, Bespoke Skilling. Winners receive attractive prizes such as an iPad or a Kindle, and their blogs are promoted in leading partner publications.
Tejaswini Rajwade, a member of the event's jury and the Chief Finance Officer of IBM India/South Asia, discusses her experience and adds, "It was a privilege to be part of the Voices of Women jury which provided a platform for women to be heard on a topic very relevant in today's world. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the blogs with their refreshing take on the topic."
"I am passionate about building an inclusive workforce and embracing a culture of diversity and am enthused to see the tremendous response to the contest," she added.
Another jury member, Amit Sharma, Managing Partner, Global Delivery, IBM Consulting, expressed his gratitude for being a part of the blogathon's jury, said, "The energy, passion and drive of the participants was very apparent, with some very high quality and memorable submissions. My congratulations to the winners and more importantly, a big thank you to all those who made time to participate and made this event a success."
The following theme was chosen for this year's competition: Do women require specialised training because they approach, build, and experience their careers differently than men? If so, what kind of environment do they require to come forward and desire to learn, grow, and excel at various stages of their careers? In 800 to 1000 words, express your opinions and ideas about the subject.
Harini Srivastava, the winner of this year's blogathon, described VOW as an intriguing event. Harini said, "It makes one tap on the inner value system, which in turn becomes an introspective session at a personal level. Heartfelt thanks for the Intriguing experience.”
Mamta Mohan was the second runner-up in this year's blogathon She said, "I couldn't deny the tempting offer to write a blog on one of my favorite subjects - Women Empowerment. As they say, pen is mightier than the sword, this platform that was provided by We-Ace for writing a socially relevant blog helped me pen my first ever blog and I am indebted to VoW for bringing out the writer in me that had gone into hibernation."
Lavanya Ramamurthy, the third runner-up in this year's blogathon, says, "How skilling should be done for women is a forward-thinking topic that is personally very close to her heart too as she leads the gender ERG for Swiss Re APAC. Picking 2 lines from her blog, When intent and skill work together, you can create magic! Everybody does well when the women do well."
The site also allowed for voting, with Rashmi Pandit from Morningstar, Meena Muthukumar from SSN College of Engineering, and Yamini Naga Satya Pilla from DVR & Dr. HS MIC College of Technology receiving the three popular choices prizes.
We-Ace is a global network of over 100,000 women who want to excel in their careers. The company's aim is to engage, enable, and employ women professionals in decision-making roles as agents of change for gender-balanced workplaces. Hiring drives, job fairs, skilling labs, CXO meetings, and other industry-led live sessions provide opportunities for women to engage and network with the finest in the business. Women interested in upskilling can choose from a variety of life-stage enablement, self-improvement, functional, and technical courses starting at Rs. 99/-.
