Category Archives: Personal Empowerment

A century later, the election of Donald Trump lent credence to Lippmann's thesis. Trump's primary communication method as president was Twitter, an unfiltered channel connecting him directly to voters. Trump's election and presidency broadly disempowered elite intermediaries including GOP party elders, liberal business leaders and mainstream media institutions long accustomed to directly influencing American governance.

As Lippman predicted, it did not go well. Paradoxically, Trumps Twitter version of direct democracy sharply decreased the strength of democratic self-governance, culminating in Trumps Twitter-organized mob storming the United States Capitol as Congress certified the presidential election.

This rise in democracy has only intensified in the four years since Trump was elected, as the intermediaries between power and the people continue to disintegrate.

Social media is the preeminent example. Platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram allow politicians to bypass traditional media gatekeepers and communicate directly with voters. Anyone online can instantaneously publish their thoughts, with each tweet or post potentially reverberating around the globe. This personal empowerment has coincided with a troubling rise in populism around the world.

The revolution has disrupted finance, too. Take, for example, the extreme volatility of GameStop's stock. Driven by Reddit's online forums and Robinhood (which empowers people to effortlessly trade stocks without a middle-person collecting fees), GameStops stock has swung violently for weeks. The gyrations have wiped out many small investors.

Warren Buffetts longtime business partner Charlie Munger recently said that this trading on Robinhood is really just wild speculation, like casino gambling or racetrack betting. Theres a long history of destructive capitalism, these trading orgies whooped up by the people who profit from them.

Are these democratic revolutions a good thing? Put another way, is civilization better off with sophisticated elites controlling the framework of society or is it better having the people, unrestrained, barreling forward with the shackles thrown off?

The United States Constitution is a guide. While imperfect, the Constitution deftly harnesses the competing impulses between elite control and democratic rule. The founding fathers' solution: strike a balance. On the one hand, the American people elect members of Congress and the president. At the same time, however, government power is consistently shielded from the governed: judges have lifetime appointments; the electoral college overrides the popular vote; and the people have no direct legislative role.

A balanced approach likewise makes sense when confronting today's vexing problems. For example, everyone can have a Twitter account, but inciting violence must be prohibited. And everyone can trade stocks, but new forms of market manipulation must be regulated.

Striking the right balance between elite influence and popular control is as complex as it is important. Yet it is fast becoming merely an academic subject. The trend line is clear: Lippman's intermediaries are dying on the vine. For better or worse, the future belongs to the herd.

William Cooper has written for The Wall Street Journal, Baltimore Sun, New York Daily News, and USA Today, among others.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Forum's editorial board nor Forum ownership.

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Letter: Power to the people | INFORUM - INFORUM

The International Womens Day (IWD) theme for 2021 is choose to challenge.

What a fitting theme for a year when 5.4 million women lost their jobs and over 2.1 million women left the workforce, while the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc, and social and racial inequity issues were raised to the forefront of the international consciousness. There was certainly no shortage of challenges for women to choose from this past year.

However, the IWD initiative website elaborates on the choose to challenge theme by noting that a challenged world is an alert world and from challenge comes change. It is that idea that should really resonate with us, as we move past 2020 and into 2021. There have been many examples this year of women who have chosen to rise to the challenges presented in 2020 and by doing so, have created change for other women.

In keeping with this theme, Lighthouse is featuring five such women in the legal and technology fields. Five women who have risen to the challenges presented this year and created change. Those five women are:

We had the honor of interviewing these inspirational women about the choose to challenge theme including the stressors of 2020, how to empower other women, how to leverage innovation to shape a more gender-equal world, and how to address social justice issues. That discussion led to some powerful lessons on how to rise to our current challenges and create meaningful, lasting change.

EMPOWERING WOMEN DURING A PANDEMIC

Like any societal change, empowering women starts small, at the individual level. We do not have to wait for some grand opportunity or postpone our effort until we have the time to volunteer especially during a pandemic when our personal time may feel even more precious and many in-person volunteer opportunities have halted. Empowerment can happen by simply reaching out to the women around us women we work with, women in our personal lives, and women within our own families.

Laura Ewing-Pearle noted, One principle to keep in mind is that women are not a monolithic bloc, and that empowering women usually means empowering the individual. A woman with twenty years experience in the legal world caring for aging parents has a different set of stressors and goals than a woman fresh out of school with a toddler, especially under the new Covid protocolsSeeing past woman to the individual brings us all closer to a more gender-equal world.

In our professional lives, empowering at the individual level can mean reaching out to our women co-workers, teammates, and those that may be on lower rungs of the corporate or law firm ladders and offering them a chance to sit down (virtually) for a cup of coffee to talk about their personal goals and challenges. This provides women a space to be heard and seen, first and foremost. It is from these conversations that the seeds of change are often planted.

Rebecca Sipowicz stated, During the summer I became responsible for co-oversight of our back-office team in India, which is approximately 25% female. For at least the past 10 years, the India team has not reported, directly or indirectly, to a woman. I have reached out on an individual level to these women to discuss their career goals and how we can work together to achieve them. I also started a monthly catch-up where, in this virtual environment, we can meet for 30 minutes to talk about work, life, and the state of the world. Through these conversations, I have not only gotten to know better my colleagues who are located off-shore but also have been able to share life experiences, such as how to take advantage of our remote work world while parenting and managing online school. The continued growth of this group of employees is one of my most important goals for 2021.

These conversations often help us learn not only about individual ambitions and challenges, but also may help us learn about unsung accomplishments and milestones that women often are less apt to tout about themselves within their own organizations and networks. In turn, this can provide an excellent opportunity to be a champion for those women, by calling out successes that would otherwise go unrecognized.

Gina Sansone said, I am a strong believer in being a vocal cheerleader for the women around me who may be less comfortable with promoting their strengths and accomplishments. Women often play multiple roles at work and at home that are not obvious to others and get overlooked because they tend to be less measurable in a traditional sense. These contributions are nonetheless valuable and crucial to an organization and the lives of others, and its really important to notice and appreciate them along the way.

Empowering at the individual level also means leading by example during these conversations. The stressors of the pandemic have changed our lives dramatically, both professionally and personally. It is unchartered territory for everyone, and studies are showing that women are shouldering the brunt of the burden at home often juggling full-time virtual schooling with children while working full-time jobs or dealing with the bulk of household maintenance. Leading by example and being honest about ourselves and our own hurdles during our conversations can empower women to be honest about their own struggles and needs.

Jenya Moshkovich stated, [I empower other women by] being honest about my own challenges and creating and holding space for others to be their true, authentic selves with all the complexities and messiness that can bring. The line between our private lives and work is blurrier now than it has ever been and we have to let go of trying to pretend that we have it all together all the time because no one does, especially these days.

The example we set and the honesty with which we portray ourselves can especially be important for those closest to us the people within our own families and homes.

Rebecca Sipowicz mentioned, Having my children home from school for six months enabled my 11-year-old daughter to witness firsthand how involved my job is and to learn how difficult but rewarding it is to juggle parenting and a career. This is a valuable lesson for all children, not just girls.

LEVERAGING INNOVATION TO SHAPE A MORE GENDER EQUAL WORLD

If the legal and technology industries have anything in common, it is that women have been historically under-represented in both spaces. Fortunately, technological innovation can help close the gender gap in both industries:

Rebecca Sipowicz shared, The pandemic really pushed all of corporate America to take steps that will help to advance gender equality in the workplace namely the move from in-office to remote work. This unquestionably provides working mothers with more equal access to the workplace. Through the use of video software such as Zoom and Teams, and the ability to work around parenting responsibilities, fewer women should feel the pressure to leave the workforce in order to parent.This flexibility allows women to continue to contribute to the workforce and grow in their careers while caring for their families, without feeling like they are short-changing either side. This should enable women to continue to take on more prominent roles and push women throughout the world to request an equal seat at the table.

Technological innovation can also help people push their organizations and law firms to empower women and support equality. Many companies have seen how innovation and technology can help close the gender gap, and we can work within those systems to further those efforts.

Gina Sansone said, I really dont know how we can begin to work toward a gender-equal world without leveraging innovation. To me, innovation means creating a dynamic work environment that encourages everyone to move forward, which could mean training and managing members of the same team differently. While consistency is important, recognizing differences, being flexible, and empowering people to think differently and not simply check a box are steps toward shaping a more gender-equal world.

Laura Ewing-Pearle added, Encouraging and leveraging more on-line training certainly helps anybody juggling family and career to keep pace with new technology and change. Im grateful that Baker Botts as the firm encourages everyone to create new, innovative ideas to improve business processes and culture.

Jenya Moshkovich mentioned, I am very fortunate to work for a company that has started innovating in this space years ago and where I am in the position to benefit from these efforts. Since 2007, Genentech has more than doubled the percentage of female officers from 16 to 43% and today over half of our employees and over half of our directors are women. In our legal department, ALL of our VPs are women. Genentechs efforts to move towards gender equality have included senior leadership commitments, programs to drive professional development and open up opportunities for career advancement, among others.

Going forward, it will be equally important to continue efforts to support changes in our industry. While we have come a long way and made considerable progress, it is still important to push companies and law firms to recognize equity gaps and encourage the use of innovation and technology to help close those gaps.

Amy Sellars stated, Corporate practices favor men, and Covid exacerbates this problem. Will companies acknowledge that women took on most of the additional burdens of children at home, education at home, of people at home all the time (more dishes, more cleaning, more cooking, less dry cleaning, and more laundry)?

Rebecca Sipowicz said, It is up to all of us to make sure that the realization that flexibility can result in increased productivity and satisfaction continues long after the pandemic, allowing women (and men of course) to have the best of both worlds.

ADDRESSING SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EQUALITY ISSUES

2020 was also a devastating year for people of color, as well as underrepresented and low-income communities. The tragic events throughout the year brought social inequality issues and systemic racism to the forefront of the conversation in many families, workplaces, and social circles. Many of the lessons learned in the fight for gender equality can also be applied to the fight for racial and social equality. For instance, just as empowering women can start at the individual level, the fight for social and racial equality can also start with small, individual acts.

These acts can be as simple as personally working to educate ourselves on the work to be done, so that we can act on social justice issues in the most impactful way:

Jenya Moshkovich said, 2020 was a difficult year in so many ways including the tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery and many incidents of xenophobic violence against Asian Americans. My personal focus has been on educating myself, speaking up for others, listening, and fostering belonging. And there is so much more that needs to be done.

Gina Sansone added, The social issues raised in 2020 were unfortunately just a magnification of issues that have existed for a long time. It was a perfect storm of events that certainly made me and others face the thought patterns, inequalities, and general civil unrest that has been festering in our society. It is very easy to live in a bubble and lose sight. I think one of the most important things that happened was people stopped being quiet and just accepting. Change will not happen unless it is absolutely forced and we need to continue recognizing that the world is not equal.

Creating social justice change also can mean utilizing the education we do have about these issues, and working within our communities to help in any way possible both at the individual level and on a broader scale:

Amy Sellars stated, My husband and I have always been passionate about voting rights and participate in get out the vote efforts. 2020 was a particularly important year for voting issues, as so many people were isolated and had even less access to register to vote or get to polls than normal. Working with the League of Women Voters, we did neighborhood registration drives, and we volunteered as non-partisan poll watchers. We also picked up Meals on Wheels shifts. All around the country, meal recipients who used to be fed at central locations were transitioned to home deliveries, and it has taken an army of volunteers in personal vehiclesWe are also volunteering on the domestic crisis hotline.

We can also leverage the networks and programs put in place within forward-thinking organizations to help bring about social change. More and more law firms and organizations are working to help close the gender gap and fight racial and social inequity. Employees of those organizations are in a unique position to join those initiatives to make more of an impact:

Laura Ewing-Pearle said, While (Baker Bots) had resources in place prior to the events of last year, the firm has also increased efforts over the past twelve months to address social issues including greater outreach to diverse communities, and creating a significant pro bono partnership with Official Black Wall Street, among other major initiatives.

Rebecca Sipowicz added, I am a member of the Ocwen Global Womens Network (OGWN), which supports the attainment of Ocwens goals in diversity, inclusion, and talent development. I am also on the planning committee for the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL) mid-year meeting. NAWLs mission is to empower women in the legal profession, while cultivating a diverse membership dedicated to equality, mutual support and collective success. Membership in and support of organizations such as NAWL and OGWN provide me with a platform to address the diversity and social issues that permeated 2020.

CONCLUSION

The lesson learned from these strong women during a year full of challenges is that seemingly small acts can have big impacts. Change starts with all of us, at an individual level, working to empower women and make impactful societal changes one person, one organization, and one community at a time.

Thank you to the five women who participated in our 2021 International Women's Day Campaign! Take a look at our 2020 and 2019 International Women's Day campaigns for more inspiring stories of women in our industry making bold moves to promote gender equality.

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The Fearless 5: Spotlighting 5 Women Who Choose to Challenge Gender Bias in the Legal and Tech Fields - JD Supra

Take a scroll through Huda Kattans Instagram page, press play on one of her Youtube videos or just glance at her brands website and it becomes instantly clear that the influencer-turned-beauty boss is as real as it gets. While she can contour the sh-t out of her nose, shes also the first to admit that shes had work done. Shell edit her photos here and there, sure, but you better believe the 37-year-old mogul is telling her fans when she uses Facetune.

And after a year of self-reflection, breakthroughs and a life-changing makeup-free campaign for her new skincare brand Wishful, Kattan is calling on all beauty brands to stop perpetuating toxic beauty standards and for consumers to work towards self-empowerment. To get her message across, Kattan is posting a video on the topic to her Youtube page on Saturday, March 6, and Us got the first look!

Why cant we just normalize normal things? Theres this pressure from these big beauty companies that are not allowing us to be ourselves. They keep telling us, No, you cant be yourself. You have to be something else. Im just sick of it, Kattan tells Us Weeklys Stylish in an exclusive interview. She admits that there are a few brands being open and honest in the industry, but others are promoting a false beauty standard by selling skincare via models wearing makeup or campaigns with photoshopped faces.

Kattan became intimately familiar with the industrys flaws when creating her new skincare line, Wishful, which launched in February 2020. After noticing the smoke and mirrors used in campaigns, she decided to take a different approach with her line. That meant no makeup, real people not models and no Photoshop.

But standing in front of a camera bearing all can be challenging. Our Wishful campaign was a really emotional one for me. I know I have self-worth issues and there I was facing them. I had to have a conversation with myself, like, Look at that girl, she is good enough. You said you wanted to do this photo shoot without makeup, without Photoshop, so be in that moment and accept it. And there was a moment where I really shifted. Im going to cry, thinking about it, Kattan tells Stylish. The Photoshop and the makeup is like your armor sometimes.

When stripped of that armor, Kattan says that her whole outlook on beauty pivoted. For the longest time, I was covering myself up with makeup because I thought I wasnt good enough. I thought, Oh, Im not this perfect beauty standard. And through a lot of therapy and life coaching, Ive come to understand that makeup is just this tool. Makeup is not the full of who you are, its just an addition to and an expression of who you are.

The Huda Beauty founder says that the mental shift from using makeup to fit societal standards to glamming because I want to, not because I have to happened once she stopped seeking acceptance from the world around her. People almost feel like they need permission to feel empowered. We say it, We want to feel empowered, we want to feel all these things. But that permission aspect is there, Kattan says. You need to accept yourself and you need to know how amazing you are. Everybody around you does not define you.

To help catalyze change in the beauty industry, Kattan is pledging to run both her professional and personal accounts with honesty at the forefront. Im the influencer as well as a brand. And if I dont start being honest, then Im part of a problem, she tells Us. I may still use Photoshop and Facetune, but we just have to be honest about it. Weve got to set a fair playing field and tell people what youre actually doing.

She adds: Theres been so many amazing shifts in 2020 where we, as a community, were able to demand so many things from equality to recognition. And if we dont come together here [the beauty industry] in the same way, were not going to be able to make the change.

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Huda Kattan Calls for a Change in the Beauty Industry: Watch - Us Weekly

March might have gotten off to a bad start, but Maltas musicians are here to save the day.

Instead of spending your days at restaurants or snack bars, you can now spend them indoors, catching up with the latest tracks released by Maltese musicians.

And theres plenty of new tunes to check out on our list

It has been a busy few weeks for Maltese musicians, from rappers to pop artists and a couple of big names out there.

Stalwarts in the local rap scene, Kapitlu Tlettax are back with an inspiring new track featuring a powerful message about resilience and self-empowerment.

Ma Twegganix is the motivation track everyone needs during these tough times and resonates with the local community as it is sung entirely in Maltese.

The song is accompanied by a violinist and the music video is shot primarily in Valletta, showing off the magnificence of the grand harbour.

Ma Twegganix has received over 1,000 reacts on Facebook with many taking to the comment section to praise the track.

Oxygyn has released a compelling music video for its latest track, Mercy. The brother/sister fronted band recently had the track feature on BBC Music Introducing and followed up the critical acclaim with a music video series continued from their previous track, Wicked White Lies.

The music video is a portrayal of how society deals with social issues in which individuals are made vulnerable, the band told Lovin Malta.

We become angered by a social cause when it first emerges, but we are quick to break it down within our own minds and forget. Instead, we focus on our own personal issues, and are not able to overcome them, they said.

Renowned Maltese band Red Electrick have released a music video for a new rendition of their song Mistake featuring powerful vocals by Maltas very own Destiny and beautiful, breath-taking choreography from Concept of Movement.

Mistake forms part of Red Eletricks award-winning album Tragic Optimistic which came out in 2019. This revamp of the song takes Destinys distinct and soulful voice and soars with it.

The New Victorians have made their Maltese debut in their latest track Min Jaf and who better to show them the ropes than a master of the language himself, Lapes.

Min Jaf is a beautiful and fun amalgamation of pop and hip hop featuring an innovative music video with clever cuts and cool choreography.

Indie singer Michael Azzopardi is reminding us that sometimes less is more with a DIY music video for Tiblagni L-Art.

Tiblagni L-Art is one of four songs from his latest EP, Pistola, and features Cheryl Camilleri joining Azzopardi on vocals.

The poetic track features both musicians singing away to a small crowd in an intimate setting a reflection of the down-to-earth and simplistic nature of the track.

Maltese rapper Caro has been keeping himself busy this year, releasing track after track, each bringing its own vibe and edge to his growing catalogue.Drowning is a laid-back, cruising track with a mellow, guitar-driven backbeat and harmonising, ethereal vocals.

The song touches on personal struggles and drowning under the pressures of everyday life.

While instrumental music is typically reserved for a very niche audience, local musician Tempju knows how to make it appeal to the masses with her latest track, Ana.

The mellow, instrumental hip hop track is cleverly put in a way that is both groovy and laid back, encompassing catchy hooks and passages in the span of two minutes and thirty seven seconds.

The Perseverance rover landed on Mars the other week, so it was only fitting that aerospace engineer and pianist Leonardo Barilaro released a tribute track.

Barilaro teamed up with composer Zakarias Gunnarsson to create a space music cinematic composition with a synthwave downtempo nuance that uses martian wind, thanks to the samples recorded by NASA.

This experimental piece also has a combination of hacked piano, retro-synth and analogue drum machine and is aptly named Perseverance.

Exactly 257 years ago one of Maltas most important writers, linguists and philosophers was born Mikiel Anton Vassalli.

The anniversary of his birth was almost forgotten amidst the rumbles of the pandemic, but local acoustic folk fusion act Skald did well to commemorate Anton Vassalli with a track dedicated in his name.

Former X Factor contestant Marija Bellia has released a new song titled Love, X. The acoustic-driven pop track delves into the emotions we feel when we meet that someone special and start to fall in love.

Tag someone who needs to give these tracks a listen

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Music For March! Here's A Rundown Of The Latest Tracks Released By Maltese Musicians - Lovin Malta

My first impressions of Outriders was concerning. While the marketing was sparse, there were two painfully generic trailers and nothing else, I was more than curious to see what People Can Fly could do with modern hardware and Square Enix footing the bill. But as the recent shelving of Anthem Next can attest, the online looter shooter craze is dying down. While Outriders shares similarities with these games, it isn't setting out to be the next big blockbuster, and I'm OK with that.

I don't make comparisons to Anthem lightly;in fact I was getting flashbacks to its infamous E3 demo while playing through Outriders' prologue. Both of them start with a group of armored soldiers on an alien world scouting out the local wildlife, only for an unnatural storm to move in and cause complete chaos. These comparisons didn't stop at Anthem either. The loot and armor system from Destiny showed up, and there are even elements of realism with the focus on cover-based shooting and class synergy like in Ubisoft's The Division. From the beginning, it felt like Outriders was going to be the last big leap into a trend that is on the way out.

But as I let the experience settle, a few key details came into focus. While the E3 demo of Anthem was mostly fabricated and more a tool of marketing, Outriders' opening was a tangible declaration of intent. Your character is the main focus, and the game's setpieces are around your personal empowerment. This is exemplified in the gunplay which become much quicker and dynamic once your class abilities are introduced like teleporting or launching waves of fire. Even when you get to the hub town full of vendors and side missions, you don't see other players roaming around to give the world a sense of community. Furthermore, those aforementioned side missions have a lot of thematic and narrative contextyou're avenging someone's death or searching for a missing person, and almost none of it is typical looter-shooter busywork.

It is through this distinct game and level design that Outriders reminds me of the action-shooter trend near the end of the Xbox 360's life cycle. Cover-based combat was still the focus, but there would be attempts to make the environment and gun battles more exciting. It was also the beginning of RPG elements taking more focus, and a greater push for online elements. If you could totally run through the entire campaign with three other friends online in Gears of War 3, difficulty curve be damned for example.

In fact, the entire prologue's tone feels lifted wholesale from the late 2000s. Enemy and alien designs are some combination of overmuscled beefcakes, bony and slimy monstrosities, or covered in power armor. The main characters are all perpetually bitter and violent, hopping back and forth between maudlin angst about war and pitch-black comedy. If there are any fantastical elements, they're either handwaved or undercooked, and all of it usually in service of a dark and gritty battlefield drama full of explosions, dirt, mud, and metal. It was the style at the time, and there's a certain juvenile charm to it: a holdover from the game industry's general teenage years.

Once you look at the game through this lens, a lot of Outriders' opening hours makes sense. The worldbuilding is generic action sci-fi fare with sparse worldbuilding because it doesn't have an ambitious, epic storyline that will unravel over 10 years. Online co-op is a small bonus feature if you just want to hang out with friends, which is why there have been no noticeable pushes for intricate content like Raids or Dungeons. The looter-shooter RPG elements are just there to give the campaign structure and forward progression, not unlike the most recent God of War game.

In a climate where too many games are treated more like second jobs, I am more than content with Outriders just wanting to be a straightforward action title. People Can Fly are such an underrated developer that have put out impressive action titles before, and I enjoy that they are leaning into their strengths here. This was a studio that got on the scene by taking an action subgenre people thought was dead and putting their own spin on it with Painkiller, so why shouldn't it be any different 16 years later?

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Outriders is Not The Next Destiny and That's OK - TechRaptor

On the auspicious occasion of Women's Day, Sonal Jindal, the voracious businesswoman shares her journey and the work-life hacks that help her stay upbeat even while juggling between her business venture and family each day.

Today on Womens day Sonal is honored to give an empowerment session to Amul women. Sonal believes it is an opportunity to address these superwomen who struggled each day with the odds of managing their ambitions while juggling the responsibilities of their family.

The webinar celebrates various roles donned by a woman throughout their lives, first a child, a wife, an employee, a mother, and several other prolific characters played by a woman in a lifetime.

To begin with, the award-winning and virtuoso businesswoman, who has a remarkable career in the International Sourcing industry and an event management company MEDUSA, and donning so many hats is possible only when you follow a set of guidelines to swear by, let's get a sneak peek of Sonal's top mantras.

Her number one tip to each woman to ace their work lives is to segregate their priorities and talk it out to the people around them, whether amongst family or colleagues, it is always better to segregate what needs your most attention and the things that can be avoided, remember to lead a life of balance, you need to stack items in a list that has important things at the top and the remaining in the order of importance, this way one can take spontaneous decisions at the time of crisis to sail smoothly.

The next tip that Sonal shares to become the master of all trades is via delegation, this process has proved its mettle by letting working women delegate most of the things that they know can be done smoothly without their physical contribution, so keeping house helps to ask the kids to keep aside the laundry, delegation is pivotal.

Another most important tip for working women is to keep calendars that help in managing each minute of the day, it's weird but when you spend your time and consciously plan your days, you can be so much more productive.

As a founder and director of the company, Sonal Jindal is single-handedly leading multiple ventures, which include some of the big fashion houses, hospitality groups, lifestyle companies, and real estate magnates, henceforth she has consistently been following these life-saving habits that can bring major changes into their productivity patterns.

While an increasing number of women are breaking the glass ceilings in diverse spheres, Sonal Jindal exemplifies the new-age Indian legacy of entrepreneurs in India.

She has shown amazing skill in multi-tasking to inspire her followers by turning concepts into brands with sustainable operations.

Besides MEDUSA, Sonal Jindal is also a Director at the Moodboard Consultancy, a specialized consultancy for corporate and retail clients. It launched its first Asia-Pacific business operations in 2018.

Being a mother of two children, Sonal Jindal carries her family and business responsibilities with remarkable ease. The drive to change the future for women entrepreneurs makes her a successful entrepreneur with a professional and personal journey worth recounting!

Sonal at Amul webinar said Spanning more than six decades is the journey of Amul is advocating sexual equality on the face of all genders and acknowledging their leading contributions to venture out and add to the family pay. With milk being an impetus in this development, it appears to be just fitting that Amul raises a glass to lady power, this womens day and every day.

Exuding confidence, Sonal Jindal has created a fine balance between her professional and personal lives. Talking about her daughters dreams, she said, I understand my daughter wants to be a painter. I just want to support and help her grow at every step.

We can almost see another leader in the making under a robust businesswomen's tutelage!

Continued here:

Sonal Jindal businesswoman on her journey to Champion Woman Empowerment - THE WEEK

Autonomy comes forth as a chief factor of happiness in women entrepreneurs.

By Prof. Piyush Sinha, Prof. Rajesh Gupta, and Dr Rooba Hasan

Ease of Doing Business for MSMEs: In a country like India, women population constitutes about 48 per cent of the total population. However, only 14 per cent of them take to entrepreneurship, according to the Seventh Economic Census, 2019. A decline is also noticed in the employment of working women population as per the 2014 NSSO Report. This decline is sharper among rural women than their urban counterpart. It is arduous to visualize a sustainable future with this small percentage of women entrepreneurs. It is suggested that the countrys GDP would grow by $0.7 trillion by 2025 when women would take to entrepreneurship and other economic activities. The Covid-19 pandemic has also accentuated the need for womens employment.

The answer to this rising need for employment lies in creating micro-enterprises that address the local needs as well as use the local resources to enhance economic development. The government has attempted to facilitate rural entrepreneurship and skill development. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced various programs like Make in India and Standup India to make Bharat Atma Nirbhar. Another initiative called Start-Up Village Entrepreneurship Program was launched by the Finance Minister in 2014-15 where the rural people can start their own enterprises and can upsurge the living standard as well as their purchasing power. Rural entrepreneurship corresponds to the establishment of business units in rural or remote areas. Rural entrepreneurship can be stipulated as Entrepreneurship emerging at village level in multiple fields of an endeavor like business, industry, agriculture and can work as a potent factor for economic development.

Rural entrepreneurship has produced new economic opportunities for women in the rural areas of the country. For these rural women, entrepreneurship is not only boosting their economic status but also transforming and empowering them. Studies show that women entrepreneurs can very well run and grow their businesses using a well-structured approach. Studies also confirm that women entrepreneurs are very innovative which plays a major role in their success. For many researchers, happiness has come out as a key outcome of entrepreneurship. People invariably look for Happiness when they judge the overall quality of their life. To upsurge the happiness in a society, one needs to recognize the factors influencing their happiness levels. Daniel Kahneman, the Nobel Prize winner for Economics in 2002, suggests that happiness is a subjective issue but it is measurable through quantitative instruments.

Also read:Reliance Jio launches JioBusiness suite of tech solutions to digitally transform 50 millionMSMEs

Sense of Happiness among Rural Women Entrepreneurs

Recently, a pilot study was conducted under the SVEP Scheme of NRLM, MoRD, Government of India, to assess the happiness quotient among women entrepreneurs from rural areas of India. In contrast to available general studies on happiness, a little is explored on the happiness of rural women entrepreneurs in a developing country like India where both gender equality and socio-economic independence of rural women are big concerns. Results from a field study indicate that subjective factors that drive happiness in rural women entrepreneurs are autonomy, personal growth, self-acceptance, purpose in life, authenticity, relatedness, competence, and mastery.

Autonomy comes forth as a chief factor of happiness in women entrepreneurs. It is the choice of doing the things a person selects to do and to work with people of ones choice without any social and familial pressure. Autonomy also refers to the ability to tackle any situation. High autonomy in rural women entrepreneurs reveals their ability in choosing the business of their interest. Personal growth in women entrepreneurs determines the way of their development and how they respond to new situations. Women entrepreneurs have a feeling of continued development and hence are happy and satisfied. Self-acceptance is all about a positive attitude about own self. Women entrepreneurs with a positive attitude toward self can accept their good and bad qualities easily hence they are happy. High scores in purpose in life reflect their strong goal orientation towards life. A woman entrepreneur tends to have a purpose in her life and she has a sense of directedness. She feels that there is meaning to life. It also symbolizes humanity among them and a feeling of helping their friends and family. Authenticity builds their quality of being true to their selves. It is a sense of self-alienation that influences happiness.

The aspect of relatedness replicates the extent of the connectedness of a person. It is all about the relationships and belonging to others and community. Higher scores among the women entrepreneurs on competence revealed that they are proficient in whatever they do. They enjoy a sense of accomplishment. Mastery refers to expertise in controlling situations and every day, or overall life affairs and taking charge of the same. Its high score signifies that women entrepreneurs can tackle unforeseen challenges even if out of their skills. It also denotes the hold of a woman entrepreneur on her life. Entrepreneurship had provided women a meaning in their lives. The study had also found a positive relationship between women entrepreneurship, their empowerment, and happiness in rural India. We suggest that entrepreneurship has to be promoted aggressively among rural women since it leads not only to economic growth but also creates multidimensional empowerment among these women.

Prof. Piyush Sinha is the Chief Mentor, Prof. Rajesh Gupta is the Project Director, and Dr Rooba Hasan is the Research Associate at Start-Up Village Entrepreneurship Program, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India. Views expressed are the authors own.

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Pursuit of happiness: How entrepreneurship is helping rural women find their own mantra of being happy - The Financial Express

There's a whole cast of beloved characters in The Rookie, but which one would be your perfect soulmate according to your astrological sign?

There's a whole cast of beloved characters inThe Rookiethat fans can't seem to get enough of. Everyone has their favorite, whether it's Nolan, the show's protagonist, Tim, the closed-off training officer, or Lucy,with her heart of gold. There's no shortage of people in the series to connect to.

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When it comes to romance, certain zodiac signs are more compatiblethan others. With an ensemble this good, it's hard not to be curious whoeveryone would match with. By determining their own horoscope, fans can discover whichThe Rookiecharacter is best suited for them based on theirpersonality.

Grey is alwayswilling to listen to what others have to say making him a good fit for an Aries.Aries are fiery and have a tendency to get easily riled up, but Greyhas a calm presence and could easily help his significant other ground themself.

When it comes to romance, it can be hard for an Aries to settle down because they're always looking for excitement.Sometimes they need tostop and smell the roses, and Grey's attention to detail could help with that.

Jackson appreciates people who work hard and put a lot of effort into what they love. He'd show love and support to aTaurus, who has a tendency to overwork, while also making sure they take care of themselves. Jacksonwould rather get everything out in the open than sit on it and let it fester.

Honesty is very important to a Taurus, and Jackson would do his best never to keep things from someone he's seeing. They have a bit of trouble respecting authority, while Jackson fully believes in following the rules. There could be a give and take resulting in both people learning from one another.

Timputs up a cold exterior and is keen on keeping the people around him at arm's length. It takes a dynamic personality to break down his walls, and a Gemini could do just that.Timalmost always sees the negative side of things while a Gemini is likely to see the positive.

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Tim could help a Gemini gain a more realistic view of the world, while a Gemini could help him let loose and have fun. The opposites attract dynamic would work perfectly here, as Tim and a Gemini could help make each other better.

A Cancer doesn't want to play games, and neither does Wesley. Wesley is upfront about how he feels when it comes to a relationship, and he's big on communication.

He'd rather someone come out and say what's on their mind than let the tension build.It's also easy for him to become attached to the right person, asshown in his relationship with Angela. Cancers have a tendency to latch onto people quickly, so there would be no problem with pacing in this romance.

A Leo is quick to jump into the line of fire, and Nolanwould be right next to them the entire time. He's brave, selfless, and always wants to do the right thing. A Leo has a desire toventure out and fight against the injustice in the world,makingNolantheir perfectpartner.

He'd understand the desire to charge headfirst into danger, but he'd also do his best to protect his significant other in any way that he could. Nolan wouldn't hold them back, but he would ensure that they're making the safest possible decision.

Angela doesn't have much appreciation for those who can't stand on their own two feet. She wants to help people in whatever way she can, but she also isn't going tobabysomeone who doesn't want to put in the work.

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Virgos love to thrive in their environment, andAngela could help push them to their limits. However, Virgos canbe perfectionists making it hard tofeel fully satisfied. Angela wouldhelpher partnerreach their goals, while also reminding them that no one is perfect.

Lucy has multiple different sides to her personality. On one hand, she's vibrant and goofy and always manages to have a smile on her face. On the other,she's completed grounded and has a very firm grasp of reality. She's intelligent, calculating, and can pull herself together at a moment's notice.

Lucyradiates the same warmth as a Libra, and she'dhave no problem getting along with one. Sometimes Libras find themselves getting carried away without forming a solid plan, and Lucy has the patience and mindset to help them map out their goals.

Andersen had no tolerance for law enforcement officers who try and take the law into their own hands. But on the more personal side of things, she's all about a person writing their own story. She's supportive, while still making sure that the people around her understand how realistic their goal might be.

A Scorpio needs someone who will appreciate their independence, rather than smother them. Andersen would take on her partner's passion and do whatever she could to help them findthe rightway toutilize it.

Harper is all about self-empowerment and taking life into one's own hands. She never backs down, even when all the odds are stacked against her, and she encourages others to step up and do everything they can to become better.

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A Saggitarus loves going on adventures, which Harper would be more than open to. Harper appreciates when people spit outwhat they're thinking, even if she's not going to like it. She's blunt, herself, so she wouldn't hold it against them.

Jessica is patient, kind, but most of all, strong-willed. When she wants something in life she goes after it, and she can be a force to reckon with. She wouldwork well with a Capricorn because they both are willing to do whatever it takes to get where they need to be.

However, while a Capricorn is more adept at following the rules, Jessica can go a bit rouge. These are two different tactics that both lead to the same goal, and they can team-up andtake advantage of their differing ideologies.

An Aquarius cares deeply about social justice, which makes Rachel a perfect match. As a social services agent, Rachel wants to help children who don't have the means to help themselves.

Aquarians are all about change and Rachel is someone who is willing to go with the flow. She's a grounding force in a hectic environment and can be an anchor to latch onto. When life feels a little too out of control, Rachel canhelpher partnertake control back.

Talia is good at picking up on what a person needs and giving it to them. She's respectful of other's boundaries and doesn't push them into doing something that they don't want to do.

Some Pisces need to have time for themselves, and Talia would have no problem allowing them space. She understands that everyone needs different things, and she would probably appreciate a little alone time as well. A Piscesdoesn't judge and Talia doesn't either.

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Rachel Foertsch is an aspiring screenwriter and lover of all things television. Previously a social media manager, Rachel is a current TV critic at TV Fanatic and a List Writer at ScreenRant.

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Which Character From The Rookie Is Your Soulmate, Based On Your Zodiac? - Screen Rant

In support of International Womens Day this year, Pandora has partnered with award-winning filmmaker, Irene Baqu, to celebrate the power of sisterhood and female empowerment.

Irene, who specialises in directing films focusing on gender equality and womens rights issues, has captured real stories of inspirational women that highlight the invaluable need for women to support each other to provide strength, resilience and confidence. The three-part short film series presents a group of strong voices to reveal what different sisterhoods mean for women at various life stages, and how these relationships help them grow and evolve.

The groups of women include Creole Cuts, a collective of DJs and creatives celebrating the sounds of their Caribbean heritage; four generations of women from the same family united through the struggles of motherhood and the Bluetits, a 15-strong group of different ages and backgrounds who are united by their love for wild swimming. All women openly discuss their personal struggles, their unbreakable bond and the power they have as a collective. The films aim to inspire others across the world to stand together and be a reminder of the positive power in numbers.

To me, sisterhood means support, love and encouragement between women and this project gave me the opportunity to show this through the stories of the remarkable women in the films. Unity, acceptance, equality and empowerment are vital in todays world and International Womens Day serves as an active call for change to achieve that, says Irene Baqu

The Sisterhood Series is part of Pandoras ongoing purpose to empower people across the world, to voice who they are and the things that are important to them. Later this month Pandora will be revealing its latest charm in support of UNICEF, as part of its ongoing three-year partnership to help support and empower the most vulnerable children, especially girls, to fulfil their potential. Programs supported focus on education, gender equality, rights awareness, personal empowerment and civic engagement.

Watch the Sisterhood film series here: Soul Swimmers, Four Generations & Creole Cut.

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Pandora partners with filmmaker to celebrate the power of sisterhood - All4Women

FAO-IFAD-WFP event to focus on women's leadership in efforts to build back better from the pandemic

6 March 2021, Rome - Hunger and famine will persist and there will be unequal recovery from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic unless more women in rural and urban areas hold leadership positions with increased decision-making power, say the heads of the three United Nations' food agencies ahead of their joint International Women's Day event on 8 March.

The event, co-organised by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP), will focus global attention on the vital role that empowered female farmers, entrepreneurs and leaders need to play so that women can contribute on equal terms to the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and in creating an environment to eliminate poverty, enhance productivity, and improve food security and nutrition.

"The world is home to more than 1.1 billion girls under the age of 18, who have the potential of becoming the largest generation of female leaders, entrepreneurs and change-makers ever seen for the better future. Yet, women and girls continue to face persistent structural constraints that prevent them from fully developing their potential and hinder their efforts of improving their lives as well as their households and communities," said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu. "Women and girls can play a crucial role in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and in particular in transforming our agri-food systems. We all need to work together to spark the necessary changes to empower women and girls, particularly those in rural areas," he added.

"It is essential that women are not only in more leadership positions, but that they are consulted and listened to, and integrated in all spheres and stages of pandemic response and recovery," said Gilbert F. Houngbo, President of IFAD. "Investing in rural women's leadership and involving them more in creating our post-COVID future is critical to ensure their perspectives and needs are adequately considered, so that we can build back better food systems where there is equal access to nutritious food and decent livelihoods."

"Women and girls make up half of our global community and it's time this was reflected in leadership positions at every level," said David Beasley, Executive Director of WFP. "We know from our work around the world that when women and girls have better access to information, resources and economic opportunities, and are free to make their own decisions, hunger rates fall and nutrition improves not only for themselves but also their families, communities and countries."

Women's leadership is particularly important in rural areas of developing countries, where the voices of the 1.7 billion women and girls who live there are often overlooked. Sixty percent of women in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa work in agriculture - yet they have less access to resources and services than men, including land, finance, training, inputs and equipment. In addition to their agricultural work, women are overburdened with domestic chores and caring for their families - roles that have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, women are more negatively affected by the social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, including losing livelihoods and experiencing decreases in their personal incomes.

Ensuring that women have a greater voice is not only a matter of gender equality. Women leaders can advocate for women to have better access to and control over assets and productive inputs, thus boosting their productivity and incomes, leading to food security and increasing their employment opportunities and real wages.

Research shows that if women farmers had the same access to productive resources as men, they could increase yields by 20 to 30 percent and total agricultural output by 2.5 to 4 percent, lifting 100 to 150 million people out of hunger.

FAO works to strengthen rural women's engagement and leadership in agri-food systems. FAO also engages with farmers' organizations to ensure that rural women's voices are heard and promotes gender-transformative approaches to challenge unfair socio-cultural norms in rural communities. Moreover, FAO supports governments to adopt policies and strategies addressing the needs and aspirations of rural women and girls, enabling them to participate in decision-making and assume leadership positions. This also implies enhancing women's leadership skills and self-confidence and raising gender awareness within national and local institutions. Within the Organization, FAO has established a Women's Committee providing an inclusive, safe space that reflects the diverse and energetic nature of FAO's female workforce. The Organization also created incentives for career prospects for female staff and for achieving gender parity at all levels and across all job categories.

Since 2009, IFAD has implemented a 'household methodologies' approach to reinforce the equal role and decision-making capacity of women within households, groups and communities. Evidence from Uganda, Rwanda, Kyrgyzstan and other countries has shown that women who take part in the programme take up leadership roles in their organizations and communities, and have a greater voice in decision-making in their households. This has led to greater agricultural productivity.

Food security and gender inequality are closely linked with disadvantages beginning at a young age. In many countries boys and girls have very different childhoods. Boys eat first, are given more food than their sisters, do less housework and marry later. For girls, marriage and not school work can dominate their childhoods. WFP's work in achieving gender equality begins at school where support or implementation of School Feeding programmes in more than 70 countries contributes to increased school attendance of girls. This provides them greater access to education, reduces the risk of child marriage and other forms of gender-based violence, and increases future livelihood and leadership opportunities for girls.

Note to editors

The event Women's leadership in a COVID-19 world for a better future - will be webcast on Monday, 8 March at 14:30 - 16:00 CET. Register here

Asel Kuttubaeva, an expert in the economic empowerment of rural women in Kyrgyzstan, Kehkashan Basu, a youth environment advocate from Canada, and Rea Abada Chiongson, an expert on gender and justice, are among the event participants who will reflect on how women leaders can bring their experiences, perspectives and skills to ensure equitable and sustainable pandemic response and recovery.

Contacts

FAOPeter Mayer(+39) 06 570 53304peter.mayer@fao.org

IFADAntonia Paradela(+34) 605398109a.paradelatorices@ifad.org

WFPFrances Kennedy(+39) 346 7600806 frances.kennedy@wfp.org

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Empowering women and girls is crucial to ensure sustainable food security in the aftermath of COVID-19, say UN food agency heads ahead of...