Journeys in Gender Equality: WEP’s Annual Red Bangle Award and Forum

About the Presenters

Zoë Timms, Founder and Executive Director of Women’s Education Project, first went to Hyderabad, India in 1996 as a student of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Year-in-India Program. There, she was introduced to educational, grassroots NGOs, helping former girl child laborers study for the first time. Later, in 2001-2004, directing the Wisconsin program in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, Zoë worked with a young woman whose dream to obtain an MBA and enter a career in finance was blocked by serious family illness and debt. Zoë realized there were countless ambitious young women in similar circumstances. She thought about the obstacles they faced and the steps it would take to remove them. The idea of creating a center where young women could meet, develop skills, focus their ambitions, and expand their awareness of life’s possibilities was born. WEP’s first center opened in Madurai in 2002. This was followed by Hyderabad in 2007 and Kadapa in 2012. In 2016, WEP-India was established in Bangalore with its own board and in-country director. Zoë was awarded the University of Wisconsin’s Forward Under 40 Award and Dana Hall School’s Distinguished Alumna Award.

Kalyani Subramanyam, CEO at the Maitrayana Charity Foundation, has 25 years of experience working on issues of HIV and sexuality. Prior to her work in Maitrayana, she worked for 18 years at The Naz Foundation (India) Trust. As a strong advocate for women’s rights, she has been responsible for the development of the Young People’s Initiative, a women’s empowerment initiative that uses sport, life skills education, and leadership development to empower adolescent girls and young women to access their rights and achieve their potential. The YPI has reached out to more than 130,000 girls across the country.

In 2017, Kalyani was honored with the Goal Lifetime Achievement Award for her commitment as a pioneer to providing safe spaces for girls to play and participate in life skills education. Kalyani is a member of UNICEF’s International Safeguarding Children in Sport Advisory Board. Her experience and understanding of women’s empowerment have enabled her to serve as the NGO representative on Standard Chartered Bank and its subsidiaries Internal Committee (IC) for the POSH policy. She is a Vital Voices Lead Fellow and an alumnus of the Dasra Leadership Program.

Meenu Vadera is the Founder of Azad Foundation, a social enterprise that supports resource-poor women to gain “livelihoods with dignity.” Meenu also is the Founder of Sakha Consulting Wings, a unique social enterprise that creates safe employment options for women professional drivers. For more than 30 years, Meenu has been a grassroots worker, trainer, implementer, and leader. She has been involved in development initiatives as the Country Director in ActionAid Uganda (1998-2003). In India, she has also led an innovative initiative of Aagaz Academy-Schools of Leadership for elected women panchayat leaders. She has written and published many articles on women’s rights and has been the recipient of multiple awards including the 2018 International Inspiration Award by IBM iX everywoman in Travel Awards and was featured amongst the Seven Women Changing the World for Good in 2019. Sakha Consulting Wings received an Emerging Social Enterprises recognition in 2018 by the Shared Value Initiative under her leadership.

Recent alumnae from Women’s Education Project’s Leadership Academies will join the panel to discuss their experience at WEP and their paths to careers of their own choosing.