It’s always amazing to read from women working to lift other women up through their various initiatives. I had the pleasure of talking to an amazing woman, Rachita Sharma, about her work on empowering girls and women. I was very inspired, and I believe you will too.
Let’s dive in and get to know what Rachita is doing and what we can all learn from her initiative when it comes to women and girls’ empowerment.
Who is Rachita Sharma?
My name is Rachita Sharma. I am the CEO and co-founder of Girl Power Talk. As a technology entrepreneur, financial literacy advocate and gender rights activist, I am dedicated to become voice for those who don’t have one on social issues adversely impacting women in India. I find inspiration in Mother Teresa’s wisdom: “None of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful.”
Tell us more about Girl Power Talk
Girl Power Talk is a purpose driven organization empowering today’s most capable youth with the confidence, knowledge and opportunity to become tomorrow’s global leaders. We envisioned an organization that will do good, that will be built by young people for young people. We knew the core theme of our organization will be to represent gender equality, women empowerment and upliftment. ‘Girl Power’ represents that we stand for equality, for strong women.
Talk in girl power talk is for evergrowing forest of young people that learn grow and develop through our ecosystem and they ultimately become voices for what girl power talk is and how we evolve. We want the ‘Talk’ to be about all our stories and our individual as well as collective vision. It is all of us.
What Drives you?
I am relentlessly passionate about fostering an entrepreneurial culture for tomorrow’s leaders that rewards integrity and innovation. India is a country with a disproportionately large young population. Naturally, this presents both advantages and disadvantages. Regretfully, the demographic dividend results in bright young adults struggling to find meaningful work opportunities. Because they are so easily replaceable, few graduates receive offers from an entrepreneurial culture or one that invests in their personal development. We hire, nurture and help these young people to build confidence and interpersonal skills. We collaborate to discuss and then implement their creative ideas. We change lives one person at a time. This is the true mission of Girl Power Talk. My life is dedicated to changing the trajectory and opportunity set for the brightest young minds in India.
When did you become a Feminist?
I cannot pin point to exact moment when I became a feminist and passionate to dedicate my life for making world a better place for next generation of women. I have been always rebel and vocal against practices, I do not believe in.
“For me, intersectional feminism means acknowledging individual privileges and understanding how it can be used to amplify the voices of the less privileged. I am creating a workspace based on the foundation of intersectionality for gender, caste, and sexual orientation minorities.”
How did all this start?
When I was 13, I was determined to make a personal change that would express the sentiment of mine and not agreeing with the discrimination or looking down on one another based on the status quo. As a result, when we were asked to complete registration for the 9th grade, I removed my last name ‘Sharma’ and just registered myself as ‘Rachita’. While a small protest at the time, I found strength and purpose in my decision. My parents were not so thrilled that I had outsmarted the system with a clever way to officially remove my last name. I always made sure that I wasn’t given preferential treatment on the grounds of my last name.
Coming from a small town, I am making sure to eradicate stereotypes associated with women from rural areas or small towns . My life’s mission is to be an agent of change by providing young women more opportunities and a better path for achieving their full potential, regardless of class, gender, caste, religion, race, etc. I strongly believe that each one of us possesses great strength and equality, but with its own uniqueness.
What’s the inspiration behind Girl Power Talk?
The sense of integrating how we give back to our society at large within the fabric of Girl Power Talk is what really excites me. As such, how I spend my time must directly or indirectly result in contributions that improve the lives of those who receive less opportunity than I was afforded. I always envisioned having an organization that can help women gain confidence and knowledge, while also creating meaningful jobs that help us build a real company. Girl Power Talk’s business model is driven by our collective creativity. The foundation of our special culture is harnessing the power of new ideas that come from the youngest and newest team members. After an open discussion and debate about each new idea, we then implement the best solutions. Our most effective strategies for change are identified on merit. This collective decision making is applied everywhere. For instance, our team prioritizes the reinvestment of our profits in those initiatives that will maximize our positive social impact. It is exciting to work for both purpose and profit. We must also consciously share our story so as to inspire others that it is possible to do good in the world and still make money.
What’s your organizational culture like?
Through my conversations with friends and acquaintances working across industries, I have an acute appreciation for why our special culture is needed. In most countries, but especially in India, the individual works at a company to fit in a particular job role and function. That is their sole focus and it usually becomes quite mundane. It is an incredible honor to now be in a position to patiently build an organization where everyone works hard to invest in their minds. We care about one another and are a family. We have a focus on actually bringing out the best in one another. We celebrate the contributions of each individual.
Here is a video representing our special culture: “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”
Future Plans?
Girl Power Talk is a global vision and not limited to India. Given the demographic dividend and large young population, India is foundational to our vision. Having said that, it is just the base and start of an expansive global mission. We are patiently expanding our organization internationally and have a team of full time, part time, remote and independent workers, most importantly all doing what they love. We are excited about building an exemplary culture, one where young innovative leaders grow and adapt our vision to their local country. Girl Power Talk Mexico is the next chapter. We have been working with our Mexican friend, Pablo, for the past three years. He shares in our desire to inspire through action and celebrate gender diversity. I never take the immense personal and professional joy received on a daily basis for granted. There are several other countries with strong and vibrant youth populations we are interested in. Having said that, a great building requires an ineffable foundation. We will never grow for growth’s sake.
Feel free to connect with Rachita on any of the below platforms:
Website: https://girlpowertalk.com/
LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachitasharma22/
Instagram: @girlpowertalk
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/girlpowertalk/
Twitter : @girlpowertalk
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