Meera Kaul, the Chairperson of Meera Kaul Foundation says that the government and society needs to ensure there is enough women participation in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
How, when and why was the Meera Kaul Foundation setup?
The Meera Kaul foundation was set up over two years ago, for the sole purpose of empowering women in their economic, social, and intellectual potentials. The reason being is that more than 50% of the global workforce are in fact women, but in contrast, only 3% of women in the world hold executive positions.
We believe that when women progress, the world moves forward. Therefore embracing women’s full potentials, by accommodating them with opportunities to share their initiatives and goals, then mentoring them to accomplish these, creates an economic avenue, so that they can succeed.
What are the core areas where in the Meera Kaul Foundation works?
We conduct education and seminars on gender bias eradication and run gender sensitization programs for corporations. We also educate and empower women through workshops, seminars and conferences. We educate corporations to include gender diversity in their agenda. We also offer mentoring programs and STEM programs in schools.
We conduct workshops and seminars in schools and colleges, invest in women who would like to start ventures in STEM and help women teams who have a viable idea. We first recognize and reward women entrepreneurs in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).
We provide women with (STEM) entrepreneurs to share their inspirational stories. We give women with role models in economic, social, and intellectual areas so that they can achieve their goals. We also organise training workshops to help build their skills.
What according to you needs to be done to empower women entrepreneurs in helping them achieve their entrepreneurial goals?
The world is functioning at 50% capacity. No country today can afford to leave aside 50% of its creative genius, 50% of its innovation, and 50% of its economic drivers. The right ecosystem for women entrepreneurs to thrive needs to be created.
Our studies show us that the motivation for women entrepreneurs to start entrepreneurial ventures is mostly for the sake of flexibility in their work life balance. Given this parameter, they will be able to focus and achieve success only if the motivation is still maintained through the process.
It is the duty of the government and the civil society to ensure that there is enough women participation in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Today, women are 70% of the 1.3 billion people in the world who live below the poverty line. Over 650m women are illiterate.
121 million children are not in school the world over and 60% of them are girls. Women perform 66% of the world’s work, produce 50% of the food but earn 10% of the income and own 1% of the property.
Why is the Foundation specifically focused on sectors / verticals such as Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics?
And why not? According to the World Bank, the percentage of women studying engineering and the sciences on a average the world around is 10% and it is higher (30%) in the Middle East and North Africa. Yet few women who graduate with engineering qualifications go into engineering professions.
Participants agreed that societies see women as delicate and engineering as bold. Women find better participation in careers which do not help consolidate their position in the society. They work more for lesser value created.
STEM careers are all set to grow between 18- 24% in the next couple of years. They are better paid and create a lot of organizational value. Expanding and developing the STEM workforce is a crucial issue for governments, industry leaders, and educators. Women must be an equal participant in the solution to this issue.
What kind of support can the winners of STEM Awards 2015 expect from the Foundation?
The winners will receive free mentoring from the Foundation, and of course recognition of their excellence in these industries. Along with a cash prize of $5000 for their business.