UFFP met sweet Sairee Chahal, at the Women’s Forum for economy and society in Deauville,this past fall. Invited as usual to attend the Cartier Women Initiative Award, we got the chance to talk with the Indian mom preneur Sairee Chahal.
By Fériel Berraies Guigny UFFP editor
A heart to heart gathering between two moms of an emerging country to exchange on the necessity of being flexible and creative in order to tackle a very demanding and competitiv working world. Fleximoms, a workflex website for women and mothers, is a platform that allow women eager to find flexible solutions for work-life balance. So even when society wants them to stay at home they still can be challenged !
Sairee Chahal in conference
FINALIST 2012 FOR ASIA-PACIFIC
Sairee Chahal
Fleximoms, INDIA
Fleximoms connects women and mothers looking to enter or re-enter the workplace with job opportunities, information and mentoring
Flexy Mum with the team and Sairee Chahal on the left center
Interview with UFFP
Tell us a bit about yourself? My name is Saree and i come from India. I’m cofounder of the company Fleximoms. We are a working life destination for working women in India. We teach flexibility and readiness to women. We are a website for mothers who are trying to come back to work after raising a family.
What do you provide? We give to women access to flexible jobs and to career development, coaching learning as well. We inform and we train at the same time.
So there is a strong role between the net and sustainable development for women? I think indeed that it is a strong medium to go out there and make the change needed for women. To be digitally connected to the outside is crucial. It enables women to do what they want to do because technology is equally helpful for all of us.
Community meeting
Digital revolution in all India? Yes today an Indian woman wherever she is sitting in the country, with a smartphone she can access all the infos and the opportunities. Even more is she has a computer.
Trends of work are changing ? yes indeed, we are facing today a new generation of workers. And for female workers it’s become a new way of self expression professionally.
The dynamic of how work is apprehended and delivery of services, as well as its structures are changing. Women are gaining from that a lot and they prefer digital opportunities.
So not only it is a digital revolution in terms of prospects for women, some of the businesses are ecofriendly? This frame of work create good habits as well as allowing us to connect to anyone in the world ! not to mention that it is cost efficient when you don’t have so much means. You can start for example with small projects that have already been tried out by others, so you invest less and you take less risks.
Women empowerments with this ? India is changing but it is still hugely complex as a country. There are lots of fast opportunities for women who can acess equal opportunities and best resources. But as you go deep down, it’s not so equal for everyone. It’s not the same for everyone, we are still in a very patriarchal society !
It’s still a society that does not give women’s due, whether financially or at home or at work places. But the good thing is that more and more women are getting education in India. That itself is a big driver of how things will shape up in ten years from now. Women have to go through a lot of personal struggle. Because there is a lot of maneuvering around family, getting people to own a decision that you are making to yourself.
Making decisions for yourself still a struggle? Yes, even in the best families, the most modern, you are still confronting obstacles. The women conversations are evolving, it is changing for the better but still a lot has to be done. We still are facing a machistic society, our infrastructures are made for men. It is hard to commute with this. The structures we have are male driven, a male system.
The woman is fighting against the system and we reproduce on and on the same scenarios. Women entrepreneurs in India today are growing, a lot of good staff is still happening and it is very inspiring!
What would you have to say to your other sisters of Africa ? to the women anywhere in the world I would say “invest in yourself, give yourself a chance “ and you are worth it!
Cartier experience? An absolutely wonderful adventure for me, it meant so much for me to come and to listen to all the experiences . From all over the world and learn about what people are building. There is so much to share and to take back home!