ET Women's Forum: Empowerment transforms lives, says Deepthi Reddy N

The empowerment of women is central to the work done by Reliance Foundation, said Deepthi Reddy N, who heads the women's empowerment initiative at the foundation.

"Women's empowerment, the nuclei to transformative change, has the potential to redefine India's development trajectory for 2047," Reddy said at the The Economic Times Women's Forum.

Reliance Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Reliance Industries, headed by Nita Ambani, wife of chairman Mukesh Ambani. Health, education, disaster management, arts, culture and heritage, rural transformation and sports for development are some of the other causes for which the foundation is working. "At Reliance Foundation, our approach to women's empowerment is catalytic, driving systemic changes at an individual, household and community ecosystem," Reddy said. This is driven through digital and financial inclusion, economic empowerment, economic resilience and agency and leadership, she said.


Reddy also spoke about some of the programmes of the foundation. One of the programmes, for instance, which runs across Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Gujarat, covers about a million women to economically empower them. "These efforts are augmented through dedicated programme interventions, unique and distinct as models of partnership and collaboration," she said.

The foundation is also working on innovative solutions which can help bridge the gender digital divide, Reddy said. This is being done with a view to ensuring that women have equitable access to digital tools and resources. "At Reliance Foundation, we strive to balance equity and equality with equanimity," she said.

As a part of its 'Women Empowerment' programme, the foundation is working to ensure women's effective participation in society, while grooming them for leadership roles, which can help bridge the technology gender digital divide.

The foundation's initiative 'Women Leaders India Fellowship', which has completed its second cohort, is a fellowship programme which aims at strengthening the leadership capacity of 50 inspirational Indian women leaders addressing urgent economic and social issues across the key areas of rural transformation, education, sports for development, and arts, culture and heritage.