“Women need to get out of the imposter syndrome. They should not look down on networking. They need a club to champion them.” This was some of the advice given by Preeti Reddy, Chairwoman, South Asia, Insights Division, Kantar at the launch of a new digital platform for women called GalaxShe. She said that this an idea whose time has come and she is really grateful to be associated with it.
The theme of the launch was ‘Women Pushing Boundaries’ and Preeti’s co-panelists were well known stand-up comedian and author Radhika Vaz and beauty and wellness columnist, Aparrna Gupta. Radhika Vaz said “Stuff is meant to be uncomfortable when you try something new. So instead of giving up you need to double down and really see where it takes you. Share your fears. Reach out to your networks. Connect with mentors.” She also stressed on the need to have financial planning and stability before venturing into the arts. Aparrna emphasized the role of consistency in the creative process and cautioned against treating your work as a hobby.
The conversation was curated as part of the virtual launch of GalaxShe on Sunday, March 21st. Galaxshe.co is a new Question and Answer (Q&A) platform meant exclusively for women, by women. Explaining the concept, Founder Sonali Sinha, an Executive Coach and ex-investment banker says that giving women a voice through technology will truly empower them.
The platform seeks to create a safe space for women to seek advice, guidance on professional and personal aspects of life. Sinha’s main drive to set up this platform was her frustration with the fact that very few women seek professional mentoring in their careers. As Sinha said, women have a tendency to put themselves last and she wants to change the conversation.
The GalaxShe nucleus comprises of the Founder Sonali Sinha, Co-founders Gayatri Srivastava, media academic and host ‘Gupshup with and Gayatri’ and Karishma Pais (Kim) a relocation and cross culture consultant. It also features ex banker Sonalee Panda who is on board as the Chief Cheerleader.
Answering a question on why GalaxShe is a women’s only platform, co-founder Kim-Karishma Pais spoke about how male and female children are often treated differently during their growing years and this background carries over when women enter the workspace. They hold themselves back and don’t always take credit for and pride in their achievements. Kim answered this saying that women need a safe space where they can discuss questions that they are not comfortable talking about in mixed company.
Regarding the theme of the launch #womenpushingboundaries, Sonalee Panda , Chief Cheerleader, spoke about social change happening in small ways, which go unnoticed by us. The campaign is about celebrating women. women around us in our family & friends circles, who are pushing boundaries in their own small ways, changing the culture in small positive ways.
GalaxShe is targeting women in India in phase one but has aspirations to go global given that the challenges women face are similar across the world. While the GalaxShe website and app have been designed only for women, the social media channels are open to all.
SOCIAL MEDIA: Join the conversation using the hashtag #galalxshe #askbindaas #sharedilse