I was approached recently by a young girl who happens to be a Chairperson for the All Ladies League (ALL), a comprehensive network for women with over 70,000 affiliate members in 150 countries. She is none other than the young and dynamic lady Rachita Sharma– the face behind Girl Power Talk. Girl Power Talk strives to inspire girls with persistence, empathy, and confidence. This organization empowers young women (and men) with merit-based opportunities to grow and achieve their full potential. They aim to develop girls in India to become global leaders. Rachita herself is a self-made person- a girl from a small city of India who is now leading an international organization. Read her amazing story in her own words here.
My Story of Small City to Big Dreams: Rachita Sharma
Growing up in a small city, I never felt comfortable with the constant ‘caste’ criticism. The casteism that my fellow students were subjected to was deeply unsettling and violated my core being. How Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and the Shudras were superior or inferior to one another was a dialogue I could never relate to. I see the beauty in difference and celebrate what makes each individual unique.
When I was 13, I became determined to make a personal change. that would express the fact that I did not agree 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 still remember people in my circle mentioning how I have a last name that holds tremendous amounts of gravity. They were utterly puzzled as why I would forgo this great “honour”?
Today, I take the extra step to determine airline-specific procedures for booking flights under the right name, including ‘Rachita Rachita’, Rachita LNU (Last name Unavailable), and FNU (First Name Unavailable) Rachita. At 13, I was just determined not to be given preferential treatment on the grounds of the last name that was just given to me. Earlier this year at ‘Empowering A Billion Women Conference 2020’ in Austin, Texas, I shared this story.
I have always been passionate about serving as a voice for those who don’t have one. 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. Girl Power Talk is our vision in action:
- Building an organization that has a reliable framework for doing welfare in the world.
- Catalyzing a culture committed to the improvement of all young adults accepted.
- Offering women a stage to celebrate their successes and amplify their voices
- Leading education that inspires innovation and eradicates stereotypes.
- Growing an innovative technology company into a case study for digital transformation.
The startup Girl Power Talk strives to inspire the most capable young leaders with persistence, empathy, and confidence. We empower young women (and men) with merit-based opportunities to grow and achieve their full potential. We aim to develop girls in India to become global leaders. Our team of Girl Power Talk is relentlessly committed to education, gender equality, and integrating the strengths of specially-abled communities.
Girl Power Talk celebrates the diversity and the creative potential of the brightest young minds. We provide a nurturing culture of learning and mentorship. Our culture instills young people with exceptional soft-skills, technical knowledge, and purpose in life. Further, Girl Power Talk is an emerging media platform that voices the opinions and narratives of young women across the country. #GirlPowerTalk
As a technology company, we steward how companies and individuals represent their true identity on the internet. The team of Girl Power Talk creates and promotes top digital assets that accelerate the growth of brand equity. Our agile team consults on digital transformation and provides comprehensive reputation management services. When a high profile individual or an organization faces a crisis, legal, or PR issues on the internet, Girl Power Talk specializes in mitigating the impact of the defamatory content and creating a positive narrative.
“One girl empowers another. Let’s change lives together: one girl, one woman and one human being at a time.”
As a key leader & CEO of a start-up in Girl Power Talk, I am responsible or involved in almost everything. While at times the demands of operating and building a company can be a challenge, I have learned to put my energy where it matters the most. For me, that is creating a strong vision and having true alignment amongst our growing team. To do that, you have to genuinely care about someone and invest the time to develop a real friendship. Naturally, this special bond is built on a foundation of mutual trust. We don’t just hire people that fit a particular job role, but rather identify through interviews the ones that actually share in our company values. We then empower each leader to do their best work and contribute in ways that transcend the barriers set by their traditional course of study. We recognize the importance of gender equality and seek to attract those with extraordinary potential. 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. Additionally, we hold workshops in villages for primary school students. Our interaction motivates young girls to pursue studying and follow their dreams for a better life. We strongly believe that this mindset and guidance received at a young age supports how girls pursue their ambitions. We also hire young women from colleges across India. We start by providing them remote opportunities to contribute and interact with our global team. This interaction helps us better identify who may be a long-term fit for joining us full-time.
Our organization is committed to featuring other impactful organizations and how they are making the world a better place. We proactively reach out to women business owners and leaders to learn about their challenges and support them. Our Instagram and social media highlight stories of strong women around India. We are building a global community to engage more people, celebrate the success of women, and support our relentless commitment to developing girls to become tomorrow’s leaders.
As a woman who is committed to paying forward opportunities, I have an abundance mentality in sharing all that I have learned for others to benefit from my mistakes. I am dedicated to changing the trajectory and opportunity set for the brightest young minds in India for decades to come. I stand by what is right and am not afraid of questioning the wrong decisions or established practices of society. I have learned that failure and mistakes happen. Through trial and error, one must always move forward. I shall never give up on the dreams of all those who are Girl Power Talk. I recognize that my end goals are a life’s work and feel humbled to be at the beginning of this journey. I dream of building a better world, one where purpose and profit are harmonized. My aim is to curate an ecosystem where ideas, appreciation, inspiration, optimism, and equality are the standard. Girl Power Talk is where the seeds of future dreams are sown.
Girl Power Talk is a global vision. Given the demographic dividend, 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 is now developing a unique fellowship program for young leaders in Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, and the Philippines. Selected candidates will travel to India and experience our special culture. Successful fellows may then return home with other tenured Indian team members to expand Girl Power Talk locally in their home county.
We never take the immense personal and professional joy received on a daily basis for granted. There are several other countries with strong and vibrant young people we are interested in. A great building requires an ineffable foundation.
This video shares some real life experiences of lives we have impacted through Girl Power Talk:
Rachita Sharma Bio:
Rachita Sharma is the CEO and Co-founder of Girl Power Talk. The 24-year-old is from Mathura and completed her BSc in Mathematical Sciences from the University of Delhi and MBA (Marketing and Finance) from Thapar University. Her responsibilities in the Mohali based startup include corporate communications, client engagement, and new business development. She leads the evaluation of all new potential Girl Power Talk team members and expansion into new markets. Rachita is committed to leveraging digital technology to improve efficiency and profitability. She guides strategic collaboration with agency partners in North America & Europe.
Rachita seeks to create a merit-based culture that rewards integrity, persistence, and achievement. She serves as a Chairperson for the All Ladies League (ALL), a comprehensive network for women with over 70,000 affiliate members in 150 countries. In 2020, she was awarded the ‘Most Promising Woman in IT‘ Award by Aatm Nirbhar Women’s Association Trust. As a technology entrepreneur, financial literacy advocate and voice for those who don’t have one on social issues adversely impacting women in India, Rachita finds 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.”
No Comments