This International Women’s Day we take the #PledgeForDiversity and to #BreakTheBias. Join us

Every year, just as International Women’s Day is round the corner we start seeing ads and offers focused on women. It is almost like clock work. But what about the other days? More often than not, the messages on Women’s Day on March 8th are mere platitudes—brands just trying to capitalize on yet another ‘special day’ for a consumer group that is increasingly becoming lucrative. Once the day is done and dusted, it is back to status quo. 

This International Women’s Day, we at SuperOps.ai wanted to do something, but not something superficial. We wanted to do something that will truly create an impact for women. And, we didn’t want to do something just for one-day; we wanted to launch an initiative that would continue even after March 8th, after all the women’s day ads are forgotten.

So we brainstormed, we self-reflected, and we discussed.

Diversity and inclusion challenges are not around just for a day

One of the key challenges that we identified is the woeful underrepresentation of women in India’s startups, especially at tech startups. Sure, women’s representation in the overall organized workforce in India is abysmal, at 29% only. But at startups it is at around 25%.

Weren’t startups supposed to change the way-things-are-done; weren’t they supposed to be revolutionary? 

One of the challenges is that there is a bias, often unsaid, that startups and women are not a fit. The fast-paced and often demanding nature of startups is considered unsuitable for women, by many. We at SuperOps.ai want to bid this bias adieu right away. 

Honestly, we too aren’t as diverse as we would like. 

We decided to take a #PledgeForDiversity and our goal is to increase our diversity from 20% to 30% by the next International Women’s Day.

But we are just one early-stage startup. How much difference will our solo pledge make?

So we reached out to other startups, to join us, to take the #PledgeForDiversity with us, and to #BreakTheBias. And they did not disappoint - over 15 startups joined this initiative and took the pledge. (Take a look at the video below).

India’s startup community has been a positive change agent in our country. From revolutionizing the way companies conduct their business to how Indians transact, the impact cannot be overstated. 

We believe that India’s startup community can solve this challenge too, of making startups more diverse and inclusive. And, frankly, young companies will be the gainers with more talent coming in and by benefitting from the diverse set of important insights and opinions. 

We believe greatness starts from small beginnings and we hope the #BreakTheBias initiative too catches on and more startups will join us. Take the #PledgeForDiversity and together let’s #BreakTheBias. Together we can make a difference.