Page 54 - Reliance Foundation Annual Report 2021-22

Empowering

women and girls

Towards achieving the UN SDGs, Reliance Foundation has been striving across all its core focus areas to support
women across India to achieve their potential and gain agency over decisions that affect their lives. This is being
done through various interventions including leadership capacity building, digital literacy, employment and skills
development, improving women’s health and enhancing women’s opportunities in education, sports and arts.

Bridging the gender-digital Her Circle: a digital platform

divide: Reliance Foundation for women
and USAID WomenConnect Her Circle is a digital movement for Indian women that
aims to be inclusive, collaborative, diverse, interactive
Challenge India and socially conscious. As a safe space for women’s
growth, it seeks to bridge the digital gender divide by
Reliance Foundation is committed to ensuring that informing, empowering and engaging women. It was
women are actively involved in development gains launched in March 2021 and is already recognised as
through digital technology, which is an increasingly India’s fastest-growing digital platform for women. In
important tool for education, financial inclusion, the second half of FY21-22, it achieved 370 per cent
entrepreneurship, civic participation and information. growth in users, with a 345 per cent growth in
In partnership with USAID, the WomenConnect session numbers. Combined with its social handles,
Challenge India aims to identify and nurture innovative the platform now has a cumulative reach of 50 million.
solutions which promote the use of technology among
women to deliver positive health, education and In celebration of its first anniversary, Reliance
livelihood outcomes for themselves and their families. Foundation has announced that the app and the
To this end, Reliance Foundation has announced platform will now be multilingual, beginning with
grants (ranging from Rs. 75 lakh to Rs. 1 crore) a Hindi-language launch by Chairperson Smt. Nita
for 10 not-for-profit organisations over a period of Ambani. This new step will help Her Circle extend its
12-15 months. reach and support to more women. As a platform that
fosters meaningful conversations and strengthens
The focus is on building entrepreneurship skills, bonds by bringing women of shared interests together,
enhancing digital literacy for low-literacy users Her Circle has partnered with FICCI and has been
through edutainment-based courseware and providing empaneled with NITI Aayog and UN Women. Through
mentorship and value-chain linkage support for women this digital platform, Reliance Foundation is now
in agriculture. Reliance Foundation has specifically striving to build a pan-India network of women who
focussed on working with Self-Help Groups, tribal can empower other women and support women-led
communities and young women. Reliance Foundation enterprises.
has already reached over 3 lakh women and girls
across 17 states through these initiatives. Promoting engagement
In FY21-22, Her Circle expanded its network of
women through high-quality content, including
inspirational videos with stories of real women, life-skill
enhancement guides and masterclasses conducted by
experts. It gave women a platform to narrate and share
their stories of strength and empowerment.
In addition to this, the programme sought to empower
women through a series of ‘How To’ videos that guided
them through practical life skills such as changing
a car tyre and riding a bike. Her Circle also focuses
on giving women access to resources to ensure their
safety and security. These include multiple toolkits on
suicide helplines, bystander response resources, digital
economy resources and legal aid hotlines.

54 Reliance Foundation