#WICxRoleModels: Top Women in Defense Shaping the future of Defense Technology in India

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The relationship between the defense industry and technology is symbiotic, with technological advancements driving innovation in defense and defense requirements fueling the development of cutting-edge technologies. In an era where technology plays a pivotal role in defense, women are emerging as influential leaders, shaping the future of defense technology.

Women in defense technology bring a unique perspective to the table as their diverse backgrounds and experiences contribute to a rich tapestry of ideas and solutions. By breaking down gender barriers and excelling in their roles, these women serve as powerful role models for aspiring individuals, particularly young women, who may have been discouraged from pursuing careers in defense technology.

Chaitra Vedullapalli, the founder of Women In Cloud, words reflect the power of dreams and determination in shaping one’s path. “As the daughter of a Major in the Indian Army, I have always aspired to follow in my father’s footsteps and become an Air Force pilot. Like him, I believe in the values of education, security, and empowerment, and it is with great pride that I introduce to you the Sashakti Samman Campaign”, said Chaitra.

Women in Cloud, in collaboration with Veeam® Software India, a leader in Data Protection and Ransomware Recovery is thrilled to unveil the #SashaktiSamman campaign, powered by TechObserver and supported by Veeam’s Women in Green and Women in Cloud initiatives. Through #SashaktiSamman, we seek to recognize and honor some exceptional women leaders who have seamlessly integrated technology into the defense sector, ensuring data security, resilience, and innovation. 

The #SashaktiSamman campaign offers key benefits and objectives, including highlighting role models in the Defense sector to inspire women in leadership roles, inviting channel companies to integrate sustainability and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals, unlocking educational and career opportunities in data protection, and encouraging participation in the #empowHERaccess India Awards platform to recognize trailblazers, tech leaders, allies, and mentors in the data protection and security ecosystem. Together, these efforts drive empowerment, diversity, and innovation in shaping the future of defense technology.

 

As the movement gathers steam, we extend an invitation to all, to unite with us in commemorating these pioneering women who are at the forefront, spearheading India’s technological progress and safeguarding its national security. 

  • Wing Commander Meenakshi Shrivastava, Indian Air Force 
  • Wing Commander Kanupriya Karki, Indian Air Force 
  • Squadron Leader Nupur Jain, Indian Air Force 
  • Squadron Leader Deepti Goswami (Retd) Indian Air Force 
  • Major Isleen Kaur, Indian Army 
  • Lt Cdr Tavishi Singh, WBD, Indian Navy 
  • Smt. Nisha Tijare, Head IS – India & SAARC

Key Benefits and Objectives of #SashaktiSamman:

  1. Role Model Spotlight Campaign: The campaign positions in highlighting role models in the Defense sector and inspiring women to leadership roles to drive data protection and security.
  2. Invitation to all channel companies to join #SashaktiSamman campaign to integrate their sustainability and DEI goals to serve defense and government entities in India, while experiencing increased brand activation, perception, and visibility in the government and defense sectors.
  3. Unlocking educational and career opportunities for women to contribute in Data Protection & Ransomware related solutions to safeguard the nation’s vital information.
  4. Participate in #empowHERaccess India Awards platform to recognize trailblazers, tech leaders, allies and mentors in the  data protection and security ecosystem.

 Join us in recognizing the extraordinary accomplishments of these women leaders as we celebrate their intelligence, innovation, and invaluable contributions to India’s defense and government sectors. Together, let’s applaud these trendsetters who are #LeadingTheFront and breaking barriers, remodeling the future of defense technology.

To be part of the conversation, sign up for NATIONAL DEFTECH SUMMIT2023 powered by TechObserver on Jun 09, 2023 in New Delhi.

Contributed by Charane Veeri , WIC Intern

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Announcing #WICxWorldRecord: GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ Title Attempt While Helping Women and Allies Navigate Their Future

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Exciting Announcement!!

We are thrilled to let you know we have partnered with Guinness World Record to create an immersive experience ideal for women and allies of all ages looking to change gears in their lives, whether transitioning from high school to college, college to career, employment to self-employment, employment to retirement, or those seeking a change in their career fields.

Join Women in Cloud as we take on a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title attempt for the most users in a vision board video hangout.

As part of their Annual Summit 2023 programming, the #WICxWorldRecord project aims to create a digital collage of 500 unique “Future You” vision boards, individually uploaded during the event and shared via an online album.

The record-setting event will take place on February 1, 2023 and will be led by Patti Dobrowolski, visual thinker and change activator, and Founder of Up Your Creative Genius. During the three-hour session, Patti will lead participants through her unique process for defining their “Future You” identity, supporting those in transitional periods of their personal and professional lives in identifying who they want to become and the bold steps they will take to get there.

“It has been proven that creating a picture of your future, putting it somewhere you can see it everyday and taking incremental actions to achieve your future substantially increases your chances of success”, says Patti Dobrowolski. “One of the best ways that you can cope with whatever experience or challenge you’re facing is by drawing a picture of the ‘future you’ on the other side of it.”

“I have had the pleasure of doing previous vision boarding sessions with Patti and believe in the power they hold for reflecting on your growth and achievements”, said Sharan Hildebrand, Vice President of Hitachi Group Companies. “I look forward to participating in the #WICxWorldRecord event and highly recommend the experience to anyone else in a time of transition or growth.”

This immersive experience is designed to support women and allies looking to change gears in their lives, whether transitioning from high school to college, college to career, employment to self-employment, employment to retirement, or those seeking a change in their career fields.

“#WICxWorldRecord is more than just a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title attempt,” said Chaitra Vedullapalli, President and Co-Founder of Women in Cloud, “it’s an opportunity to learn to lead through transition to help others achieve success while building an accountability network to achieve your vision.”

To learn more about the #WICxWorldRecord event or register to participate in the history-making experience visit: https://women-in-cloud-network.mn.co/feed

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3 Mistakes to Avoid While Developing ESG Leaders

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The ESG movement has taken the business world by storm — encouraging companies to measure and disclose their “environmental, social, and governance” goals and impacts. The health of the movement rests in consumers and stakeholders holding businesses to higher standards; consumers want to promote positive change with their money, and investors now use ESG performance to determine the value and risk of their investments.

That’s why it has never been more important to develop diverse ESG leaders. After all, even the best ESG initiatives can fail under the wrong leadership. In this article, we’re going to explore three of the biggest mistakes companies make while developing ESG leaders — and how they can correct them.

Mistake 1: Underestimating Just How New the “ESG Leader” Role is

There isn’t yet a defined ESG leader skillset. In fact, the movement is so new that many of the heads of some of the largest companies’ ESG programs don’t have previous ESG experience. Instead, their past experience varies, including consultancy, DEI roles (diversity, equity, and Inclusion), public affairs, and trade journal editors.

You can see a pattern here. The key to developing effective ESG leaders is identifying relevant core competencies. For instance, valuable skills may include experience with research, communications, strategy deployment, key leader engagement, and cross-organizational collaboration. These are excellent qualities that can be put to use to transform a company’s impacts and values.

Mistake 2: Framing ESG as Merely a Communication Effort

While developing ESG leaders, it’s crucial to show that there’s complete buy-in from the boardroom, confluence with company values, and synergy with the business strategy. The people in charge of the initiative must know that ESG isn’t just a move to boost public relations or please stakeholders — it’s a core element of the business. It isn’t just about one department or one quarter.

This is company-wide future-proofing intended to improve the impacts of the business on its customers, employees, and world. As such, all prospective ESG leaders should maintain a clear line of communication between the board and senior management. Leaders who understand the scope, mission, and execution of ESG will be able to coordinate policy adherence across the entire company. In this way, ESG leaders will be able to achieve full adoption and burst through silos because they understand how initiative policies affect different departments.

Mistake 3: Underestimating the Importance of Diverse Women Leaders

One Deloitte survey found that executives considered diversity, equity, and inclusion as the major disclosure topic, inching out greenhouse gas emissions, health and safety, and governance practices. The importance of this cannot be overstated. If your ESG leaders and decision-makers don’t include enough diverse voices and women, then people without the lived experience of this major disclosure topic will be making decisions on their behalf. 

After all, strong ESG initiatives start with great data — and there’s no better source to learn about diversity dynamics than from diverse leaders. To them, it’s personal. That’s why companies must prioritize diverse women decision-makers and consciously bring them to the table, not to check boxes, not as a gesture, but to ensure that well-informed and successful ESG goals will be proposed and accomplished.

Start Leading a Successful ESG Initiative Now

The Women in Cloud (WiC) team spends a lot of time with enterprise ESG initiatives. The truth is, many organizations don’t have access to an ESG-driven leadership program that empowers women, and as a result, they’re incurring a massive opportunity cost.

That’s why we created a next-generation Corporate ESG Women’s Leadership Program called WICxLead.

The WICxLead program solves the inclusive programming problem for CEOs and their board of directors by helping them develop an ESG business case and operating model while accelerating brand, thought, and community development. Ready to start?

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#GivingTuesday 2030: Unlocking Economic Access For 100 Young Girls

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Women comprise half of the world’s population yet are underrepresented in the leading $7 Trillion dollar cloud tech industry.

There are many reasons for it, starting with..

  • Lack of mentors (48 percent)
  • Lack of female role models in the field (42%)
  • Gender bias in the workplace (39%)
  • Unequal growth opportunities compared to men (36%)
  • Unequal pay for the same skills (35%)

What we know is that the critical factor in determining young girls’ success is when you can unlock access to digital literacy, role models, opportunities and community.

In 2023, Women in Cloud is partnering with strategic partners to participate in #GivingTuesday campaign on Nov29th to support 100 young girls in 2023 to create access tech scholarships, adult mentors, internship projects, community events, education and more to develop them as young leaders.

To achieve our vision, we need an investment of $1,000 for every girl to get access to resources year-long and provide quality support to develop them as young leaders.

Our future generations are counting on us and need our support to provide WICxYoungGirls program in the tech ecosystem who are in need of scholarships, mentorship, and development opportunities.

Your donation will help change the lives of  100 young girls to access tech scholarships, adult mentors, internship projects, community events, education, and more to develop them as young leaders!

Join us in supporting these extraordinary young girls to lift them up, inspire them to be bold, and encourage them to take on the world!

Can we count on you to support 100 young girls to access tech opportunities in 2023?

Donate here:https://www.gofundme.com/f/wicxyounggirls-access-to-stem-opportunities

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Announcing #WICxAnnualSummit2023: Igniting Collective Responsibility & ESG Leadership

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What do you get when you take over 100 women and allies from around the world, put them in a room for three weeks, and ask them to change the world?

You get Women in Cloud (WIC), hosting their fifth annual Women in Cloud Summit beginning January 26, 2023. 

The three-week hybrid experience will combine unique virtual programming with in-person events and exclusive opportunities that promise to be memorable, empowering and inspiring. The 2023 Annual Summit ignites the power of “Collective Responsibility” through purpose, innovation and excellence to accelerate ESG leadership and solutions to drive responsible businesses.

The summit will explore the increasing pace of Cloud & AI technology, create a global hub for sustainable tech solutions, accelerate ESG + T innovations and provide the platform to transform our collective community into resilient leaders and responsible global enterprises. 

 Across the hybrid programming, attendees will hear from inspirational speakers, connect and communicate with industry leaders and experts, and network with each other, both virtually and in-person.

The summit also offers a unique opportunity to participate in a virtual World Record attempt, as WIC community is ready to set the record for most vision boards uploaded in 24-hours. 

Since its inception, Women in Cloud’s Annual Summit has become one of the world’s most influential community events for women in technology, led by top industry women leaders, CEOs, Executives and allies focused on global, sustainable impact.

Attended by an international audience from more than 25 countries, the Annual Summit is driving the economic access narrative on a global scale. 

To learn more or get your tickets to Women in Cloud’s Annual Summit visit: https://womenincloud.com/wicxannualsummit-2023/

So don’t miss out on this opportunity—register today!

 

Impact of 2022 Annual Summit: 

The Women in Cloud Summit 2021 will build on the success of last year’s event. Themed Collective Influence, the 2022 Summit brought together 1000+ participants and speakers from 28 countries, including the UN of cloud brands, entrepreneurs, technologists, policy makers and global leaders. The event programming was specifically designed to drive curated and organic connections for driving economic development to create $1 billion in economic access for women tech entrepreneurs. 

 

What Our Community Is Saying:

  • “It has been awesome. I’m so impressed with the lineup! I’ve written down quite a few gems
  • to meme-ify to keep me inspired!” – Sarah C.
  • “Thank you WIC! For me there is a bit of silver lining for having the Summit online. It would have been hard for me to participate in person. I am grateful for every minute spent with you amazing ladies” – Zana P.
  • “So refreshing to discuss these topics with other women technologists!!!” – Bailey M.
  • “So moving and vulnerable! Thank you so much for showing us it’s all possible.” – Maria
  • “Amazing panel!! Love how it felt actionable!” – Nicole C.
  • “Marketplace strategy, invest in customer demand, build and expand .. Whoa! I am learning big time! Thanks to the whole team!” – Carolina
  • “Thank you WIC for all the support so far!” – Bhavya A.
  • “Thank you panelists! Lots of helpful takeaways to digest. Thank you Patti for the brilliant visual to support and inspire!” – Sara B. 
  • “Great insights and inspiration today from the founders. #CollectiveInfluence in action!” – Gena G.

 

To learn more or get your tickets to Women in Cloud’s Annual Summit visit: https://womenincloud.com/wicxannualsummit-2023/

So don’t miss out on this opportunity—read the press release to get involved.

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