In recent years, Women and Tech have been growing alongside one another. The need to understand the connection between these two is necessary and to fulfill the need, ET Now organized an engrossing summit ‘FemTech Summit and Awards 2024’ that witnessed the participation of numerous industry leaders, and women founders and featured insightful discussions and conversations.
On September 25, 2024, an exciting event ‘FemTech Summit and Awards 2024’ took place at Leela Palace, Bangalore. The summit was organized by ET Now and observed the presence of numerous distinguished attendees including women founders, fem tech leaders, and other industry leaders.
Women Entrepreneurs Review Team attended the summit as a media partner, accumulating remarks and diverse perceptions of different people. In the course of the event, several panel discussions took place which looked at the various facets of femtech and women’s lifestyle.
During the summit, a thought-provoking discussion on ‘FemTech Meets Lifestyle: How Tech is Transforming Fashion, Fitness, and Self-Care’ took place along with a panel discussion. Monica Bahl, Chief Executive Officer at Beauty & Wellness Sector Skill Council alongside Deepti Rai, Regional Director – South from Women in Tech India served as the Moderators. Another panel discussion was conducted with different speakers who shared their thoughts on ‘AI and the Future of Tech: Insights from Women in STEM & (GCC)’.
Setting the Stage
The event started with the address given by Priyanka Gill, Venture Partner, Kalaari Capital, Co-founder, Good Glamm Group. An experienced leader, she has dedicated her life to strategy and brand development, content creation, digital and influencer marketing, team building, PR, and communication.
In her speech, Priyanka talked about how ‘shopping is not an accumulation, in fact, it is a community affair and a research activity’. She said, “However, the currently prevailing e-commerce solutions are not adjusted to the female shoppers’ preferences and expectations because a majority of the applications are created and designed by male entrepreneurs and UI designers.”
With a solution to the problem, she said that it is critical for product creation concerning women, specifically mentioning them who clearly understand the use cases. She also emphasized on the attractive market position that needs to be exploited. Including the CX initiative “that aims at funding female ventures, support for innovation and the reporting of such inequalities as being felt in artificial intelligence and technological development for women in STEM.”
In Conversation: Ideas & Perspectives
On starting a discussion over “How Tech is Transforming Fashion, Fitness, and Self-Care”, Monica Bahl interacted with the speakers that included Achita Jacob, CEO & Founder at Proactive for Her; Minu Margeret, Founder & CEO at BlissClub; and Vindhya Shanmugam, Senior Director of Engineering at Myntra Designs Pvt Limited.
Giving her contribution, Achita stated the fact that more females are prioritizing their health now while “actively seeking knowledge about available treatments. Many are now investing in health opportunities, such as vaccinations, recognizing the importance of understanding and addressing conditions previously overlooked.”
On the other hand, the BlissClub Founder Minu emphasized on the challenges that women face in male-dominated fields like venture capital. She said, “Embracing discomfort and advocating for themselves fosters resilience and growth. Overcoming societal conditioning that discourages assertiveness is key to breaking barriers and achieving their goals.”
Key Takeaways from the Event: Highlights, Insights, and Future Directions
In addition to the discussion, a presentation was also a part of the event during which Sheenam Ohrie, MD at Broadridge Financial Solutions contributed her valuable insights. She stated that driving change in tech, organizations must prioritize women’s leadership and innovation, especially in underrepresented deep tech sectors.
“By fostering a supportive environment that values women’s perspectives, organizations can enhance their technological capabilities. It’s essential to establish programs that empower women not just in traditional areas like HR and finance, but in roles critical to shaping the future of technology. By doing so, companies can leverage diverse talent to improve outcomes and ensure sustainable growth,” she added.
Voices of Impact: Navigating Leadership, Innovation, and Inclusion
Deepti Rai moderated a panel discussion where she interacted with Shruti Kashyap Arora, Chief Information Officer, Hindustan Unilever Limited; Nithya Subramanian, Head of Data & Analytics – AMEA at Kellanova; Dr. Shivani Rai Gupta, Chief Data Scientist at Reliance Jio; and Dr. Lopa Mudraa Basuu, Managing Director Cyber Security at InfoSec Gurukul.
The discussion revolved around Women in STEM & GCC with regards to AI and Tech. During the discussion, Shruti highlighted the management of digital change initiatives at Unilever which requires strategic planning and awareness, focusing on leveraging AI and IoT to drive consumer engagement across categories like personal care and home care.
While giving an example, she mentioned about labor shortages “which occurred during the pandemic and triggered adoption of IoT sensors in factories to effectively phase out manual operations. In the retail side of the company, it made structural changes to sustain the growth it recorded in the period when it established India’s largest B2B application that targets small shopkeepers and provides them the basic information and exciting interface.” According to her, success in organizations has been realized based on the degree of sponsorship, control, and business value added.
Allies Join the Discussion
Another insightful discussion “Supporting Women in STEM: The Power of the Male Ally” saw Jessie Paul, Founder & CEO at Paul Writer Strategic Services Pvt Limited serve as the moderator along with Vishal Pratapwant, Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President, Global Services at Fiserv as the speaker.
Bringing up his thoughts about the role of male allies, Vishal said, “While some of those allies develop naturally, the structures can play a crucial role in strengthening those approaches. Male engagement should be encouraged for increased support of women for gender equality in the workplace to be achieved.”
In another conversation attendees saw, Neha Singh, Co-Founder & CEO at Tracxn; Mathangi Sri, Chief Data Officer at Yubi; and Poulami Bhattacharyya, Lead - Women Entrepreneurship Program at Nasscom Foundation served as the speakers and Dr. Rohini Srivathsa, Chief Technology Officer Microsoft India and South Asia at Microsoft was the moderator. The topic of the discussion whirled around ‘InnovateHER: Tech Pioneers in the Business World’.
Final Reflections
On the concluding timeframe, the summit included a presentation session on “The ‘W’ factor: Leading with Inspiration In Change And Adversity”. Being the one of the key contributors, Shalini Sankarshana, Managing Director and Country Manager at Planview Inc. mentioned about bridging the Image management gap between perception and reality “shaping how individuals present themselves in various settings. A strong image enhances professional opportunities and boosts self-confidence.”
“By cultivating a positive self-image and dressing accordingly, individuals can project an impactful presence that leaves a lasting impression. Ultimately, understanding and leveraging image management is crucial for personal and professional success, fostering both self-awareness and recognition in diverse environments,” she continued.
The entire summit spotlighted the connection between females and technology, emphasizing the need for self-care. As media partners, the Women Entrepreneur Review Team attended the event and focused on bringing the event and the thought-provoking conversations to our readers.
