Sheroes-A Dawn for Women
The famous U.S show TedX called on the stage Tejasvini. The way Tejasvini started her journey of success, tears rolled down on every audience’s cheek.
Once Shakti, an Indian entrepreneur was traveling from the train when TT suddenly shouted,” Hey girl, what are you doing there? Where is your ticket?
A girl came out of the crowd. The girl was thin and scared. It seemed that she has cried profusely. She was in tattered clothes and messy hair. Shakti paid for her ticket. The girl started talking to Shakti. The girl told her that she belongs to a village from Bihar. She has studied in Patna. She is a Silver Medalist, a Gold-Medalist and topper throughout her academics. She is excellent at creativity. The girl was very fond of knitting, cooking, painting and, writing and art and craft. After her marriage, she became a victim of physical and verbal abuse. Her husband and family mistreated and molested her. So, she ran from her in-laws’ house.
Shakti introduced her an application cum company named SHEROES and then SHEROES changed her whole destiny. SHEROES is an online platform for women where one can seek advice on a particular profession and browse through career opportunities.
Her latent talent out broke when she found SHEROES. The girl started uploading the pictures of her creative things on SHEROES and received huge recognition. She used the helpline of legal advice of SHEROES.SHEROES is connected to many top legal advisors who help women at a minimal cost.
SHEROES also helped her in getting employment. When the girl grabbed the employment. She invested her salary and pursued and expanded her businesses. Her business flourished with astounding the storm over the country.
In due course of time, the girl nurtured like a Banyan tree having strong roots and profound shade and the girl is none other than Tejasvini who is called upon at TedX as a Chief Guest.
SHEROES changed the roadmap of her destiny. This is not only the story of Tejasvini rather there are hundreds and thousands of Tejasvinis whose lives are transformed and improved by SHEROES.
Women are MAKERS. A Cook, a writer, a traveler, gardener, an entrepreneur, a job-seeking woman and even nursing a child is MAKER. They MAKE. They CREATE.
Sheroes is a platform for women and their career choices, a voice loaded with dreams, aspirations, and hopes. Sheroes let you believe that every woman is a HERO.
Sairee Chahal-An Inspiration
“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”
-Mahatma Gandhi
Sairee Chahal is a trailblazer who brought out the change to empower women by strengthening them up on the platform of SHEROES. Every women is a trailblazer.
It was a small step of Sairee which is transforming the picture of women’s community. An entrepreneur and mentor by profession, Sairee took the challenge to bring women to the forefront and provide resources to create opportunities for women professionals. She is determined to nurture a community for working women. And that is why she has founded Sheroes. She says,
“Don’t fight with the old, and build the new.”
Sairee was born in Yamuna Nagar, Haryana but brought up in Muzzafarnagar, Uttar Pradesh. Sairee’s father was a consultant in a Steel Company because of which they moved on to other cities. Her mother was a Home-maker. Her parents always encouraged her and her younger sister to pursue the career they want which developed a strong sense of self-belief right from their childhood. She has pursued M.A from JNU, Delhi. Then PGDBM from IMT, Ghaziabad, and M.Phil. in International Business from JNU.
During her college, Sairee has worked for a business magazine and assisted CIS-Chambers of Commerce. She has translated a book on the life of a poet from Hindi to Russian and assisted the Discovery Channel in producing a documentary called Holy Men of India.
The Early Expeditions of Sairee
The expedition of Sairee embarked when she visited OTGIF at the age of 21. She got interacted with a Mariner who had a 30-year-old career experience in sailing. The Mariner had to remain away from home for a longer period. The Mariner was distressed of his holding at her workplace for a prolonged period, so he wants to do something about it to get updated of daily developments.
The Mariner had this idea but he needs somebody to execute it. Sairee knew how to do start-ups, building teams, building products, sales putting all the things together. There Sairee got the idea to start her first venture and opened News link Services, a Newspaper in 1999. It was the first localized newspaper for Mariners globally which was sold later on.
In 2006, Sairee co-founded a consulting Firm i.e. Saita Consulting which used to work with SMBs.She has worked with Hedrick and Struggles. Sairee has worked with Central Asian Countries to set up the embassies and Confederation of Indian Industry, Russia Desk.
The source of inspiration to kick start Sheroes came up in her mind from her early venture Flexi moms. Sairee had always been an independent woman but when Sairee was blessed with a daughter, she thought of those women who are unable to resume their career because of their duties and responsibilities corresponding to child-birth. Their Flexi moms began providing the opportunity to those women who are on their career break.
The Journey of Sheroes -2014
Sairee founded Sheroes with just five people under one roof on14 January 2014. The company and the employees multi-folded within a couple of years and today, there are 3 lakh women working in different categories of Sheroes. Sheroes is the result of Sairee’s observation of gender disparity and a limited quantity of working women during her career in the corporate world. Later, Flexi moms was also submerged with Sheroes.
SHEROES is a popular term used by poet Maya Angelo who used to be a poet of the 1960s. She used to imply this term for women heroes for the women who want to do something in their lives.
Technology is the sky and Sairee has made her nest on to it. The medium of connecting woman to one another is executed through the application Sheroes which is available in the play store and the website Sheroes.com.
Sheroes is an online career rostrum of women, by women and for women. Sheroes focused on the job portal having a single-minded aim i.e.to provide opportunities to women present at every nook and corner of the country and the world and to bring women community to the forefront. Sheroes is the biggest professional career ecosystem for women be it work from home women, trainees, entrepreneurs, professionals.
Sairee began Sheroes with the capital amount of 50 lakh Rupees along with some loan amount. Sheroes is open for all age groups, right from a 13-year-old girl to 90-year-old woman.
The philosophy of Sheroes is to bring women together on world map balancing the work and professional life at any stage of work. Sheroes is a network meant to help women to another woman with the target to make them self-reliant.
Sairee and Sheroes aim to follow the choice of career they prefer and strike a balance between their personal and professional lives. When women join Sheroes, she becomes part of the community which not only fulfill their aspirations but also found very tangible benefits. The benefits of joining Sheroes are like access to opportunities, the opportunity to do work from home job, business options, and advice on any issue, legal support. Health support, etc.
The biggest benefit of Sheroes is that you get a circle of support. The woman can get advice, can get a conversation, can get information, can speak to experts, can get career advice, can speak to peers, can speak to another woman like you and it’s all securely and privately.
Sheroes works mainly through its two mediums. One is through its website Sheroes.in and another is through its application Sheroes. The woman joins the Sheroes community by creating a profile wherein she finds abundant communities present on this planet.
The woman explores it and post her message or query according to her need like if the woman seeking a job full-time or work from home, want legal advice, want healthcare advice, want to post her new recipe of ice-cream or want to post her new article, want to begin with entrepreneurship, etc. Sheroes has a place for everything. The people at sheroes connect with the concerned person and help her in the best possible manner.
Sairee’s dream project Sheroes aims to put a million of women in the workforce in the start-up in the coming years. SHEROES is a platform that helps women with mentorship, career opportunities, skills development, jobs and work from home options. With her start-up, she aims to put a million of women in the workforce in the coming years.
The Reason behind Sheroes
The miserable condition of the women in the workforce caused her to create Sheroes. Sairee believes that every woman is a hero which makes her SHERO. Despite rising female literacy and education enrollment rates, India ranks low in women’s participation in the workforce.
According to the Labor Organization, India’s female labor force participation rate is just 27% i.e. the 16th lowest in the world. India ranks 127th in General Inequality Index and 10th on the Global Gender Gap Index. The 68th round of National Sample Survey Organization that in 2011-2012, 24.8% of every Indian woman working in rural areas. The correspondent number when it came to men was 54.3 %. Women’s participation is drastically less in urban areas is 54.6% of employees were men and 14.7% were working women.
Sairee notes that there are huge barriers that prevent women from engaging in the labor market. Sairee says every woman whose job has two jobs. And it’s very easy to take up two jobs if men support women on equal parameters. Unless men do not take charge to step up and become equal partners, it is going to be difficult for women.
There are many other barriers for women like barriers to public spaces, safety, commuting, and the general challenge of optimality, sociological barrier, and financial barrier, a psychological barrier, etc. There are still many families in which they feel that their daughter or daughter-in-law should not work, their daughter should not get an education or step out or the mother should stay always at home to take care of her children and elders. Women don’t find any supporting infrastructure when it comes to their careers.
At such juncture, Sheroes appears and takes the role of support and care where women can voice their inner-self, take advice and get into the job in their respective area through the ecosystem of Sheroes.
Sheroes connects to 12,000 companies, 8,000 community members,1.2 Million Service requests,1 lakh job connects and more than 30,000 career opportunities.
There are more than 30 lakh women in Sheroes across India and now from abroad also women are coming to join. The issues are universal.
Sairee defines Sheroes as,
“A hope you know you are capable and brave and significant. Even when it feels like you are not”.
The Theme of Sheroes-Women Empowerment
The act of helping, caring and sharing is the basic and main theme of Sheroes. It not only gives career opportunities to women but also creates and caters a support system to be it of any kind. Be it health care, education, legal, emotional, relationship, love, etc.
Women are creators. Every woman has some special talent. When they make anything, they can upload it on Sheroes site, and the women get recognition at free of cost. They also provide a helpline where they can take advice. Sheroes is associated with companies to make an ecosystem. Whosoever wants to contribute to the development of women, they can be connected with Sheroes.
Sairee believes that they are connected with public policy partners, health partners, legal partners, NGO partners. If we weave these together and channelize the energy towards women that can create wonders.
The woman gives after healing from their setbacks and that woman empowers another woman and weaves the chain of empowerment. Feel, heal, give, join hands with each other and empower and strengthen womanhood.
A woman named Alka has scribbled an Ode in her praise as:
“Sheroes Ek akansha hai, tum chand ho iski
Hum sab ek asankhya tare hai, tumne hume ye aakash diya
Andhero me jaise Prakash diya, tumne hume chamak di
Jeene ki ek nayi lalak di, kehne ki ek dhanak di
Khud ko paane ki ek khanak di
Apne astitava ki mehak di
Ek naam diya, samman diya
Apne naam ki pehchaan di, kuch kar guzarne ka armaan diya
Ae chand, tum apni chamak me hume yu hi prakash dete rehna
Bass itna hi hum taro ka hai kehna”
Sairee Chahal as a Board Member of Paytm
Sairee Chahal has been appointed as a member of Board of Directors of Paytm Payments Banks in April, 2019. Satish Gupta; CEO of Paytm Payments bank is delighted with the appointment of Sairee Chahal as Board member. He says they will get benefit from Sairee’s knowledge of start-ups and ecosystem.
Sairee Chahal responds to be joyful as a part of a mission whose motto is to bring millions of under-served and un-banked Indians into the economic mainstream.
Simple Sairee
Sairee is simple, sharp and has the zest to achieve the goal. She applies minimal makeup and always wears her sport shoes to remain active. She is approachable. Sheroes is an opportunity for women. Sairee encourages the women community that women are creating wonders. Sairee quotes the example of Robin Chase of Zip car. The idea of sharing a car system started with the idea of Robin Chase. Women can change the world if they are guided and supported and that the aim of Sairee.
Sairee is a Nature-Lover and is fond of Yoga, Gardening, etc. Sairee applies minimal make-up and always wear sports shoes.
Awards to Sairee
Sairee Chahal is the recipient of many awards like ‘Most Powerful Women in Indian Business 2012’, ‘Featured on Young Turks’, ’Ted-X Speaker’. She has also been recognized by Business Today and was a finalist for the Cartier Women’s Award Initiative 2012.
Sheroes– A Thali System & Sairee Chahal -Sharing, Caring, Helping, Loving are ways of our living
The nursery rhyme ‘Baa Baa Black ship’ begins with “sharing, caring, helping, loving are ways of our living”.
Sairee is the perfect epitome for imbibing these beautiful lines. She has shared, cared, loved and helped women across the country and the world and made Sheroes a giant model for Women Community. Sairee describes the definition of the community through a game.
Sairee made her women employees play a game wherein the women have to give and take something from the handbag of another woman. When the women gave and took from each other at the end of the game.
Sairee explained that the actual meaning of community i.e. to help, to share, to give, to take and TO CONNECT. This is what Community means.
This is the POWER.POWER in your heart, POWER in your head, POWER in your skills. POWER in your bank account. This is what Sairee calls largely ‘A Life Thesis’ what SHEROES has gifted Tejasvini.
SHEROES is a large size ‘THALI SYSTEM’ which provides a huge, enormous and myriad variety of opportunities to every woman across the world.
As in Thali, we get multiple and multitudinous dishes to relish. In Sheroes, the women get ample, myriad and eccentric communities to deal with to get the opportunity.
