A Women Empowerment Initiative by Ayesha Dhall
Inspiring women to
embrace risk through engaging in adventure sports that make them push boundaries and conquer fear.
The Concept
At the age of 8 when I jumped off a jetty for the first time, I knew that adventure sports were something I would thoroughly enjoy. Since then I jumped off a cliff at the age of 12 and became a certified open water diver at the age of 14.
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I have done kayaking, parasailing, jet skiing, and my future bucket list is endless. I participate in adventure sports because it makes me feel fearless and powerful. When the idea of doing a women empowerment event first came to my mind, I knew that adventure sports had to be involved. I did a google search about risk-taking tendencies in women in the corporate world and found numerous studies and research papers stating that women take fewer risks than men do. Knowing many such women and aspiring to be a woman in the corporate world, this was something that struck a chord within me. I knew I had to do something about it. When I brought these two aspects of my life together is when the idea of ‘SheDares’ started taking shape. I then learnt about Pratham Education Foundation’s Second Chance Program (which gives women who drop out of school, a second chance to complete their education) and knew that giving the funds from the event to them would be in line with the aim of the event itself.
Ayesha Dhall
Founder of SHE DARES
A women empowerment initiative-
“She Dares” by Ayesha Dhall
The research says…
There is overwhelming research which suggests that women do not take as many risks as men - A large scale study by Global Entrepreneurship Monitor across 67 countries published in HBR, outlines
Women’s entrepreneurship still lags men’s in all but seven countries in the world
A meta-analysis of 150 studies of risk-taking tendencies of male and female participants
were compared, 322 risk-taking parameters were studied. On 60% of the parameters, there was a significant difference, men do have greater risk-taking tendencies
A 2012 study by Mara Mather and Nichole R. Lighthall found that "gender differences are amplified even further under stress. Male risk-taking tends to increase under stress, while female risk-taking tends to decrease under stress"
In an HBR article titled “Do Women take as many risks as Men ?” Doug Sundheim,
author of the book “Taking Smart Risks: How Sharp Leaders Win When Stakes
are High” (McGraw-Hill, January 2013) concludes
The rate of women entrepreneurs is rising faster than for men.
Comparing 2003-6 and 2013-16, the number of women set up their own business rose by
45 percent, compared to just 27 percent among men
As a lot of the research states, part of the problem is “nuture”. The difference does not stem from natural abilities, but how boys and girls are raised. The kinds of opportunities and
activities girls and women engage in do not encourage risk-taking, this is more so in India
than anywhere else
Therefore…
I would like to provide some elements of “nurture” to encourage risk taking among women.
It is this mindset that this initiative seeks to transform, that girls can be adventurers as well, embracing risk for the big upside in business or in life.
References
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Vanderbrug, Jackie, “The Global Rise of Female Entrepreneurs”, September 04, 2013; Harvard Business Review.
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Byrnes James P., Miller David C., and Schafer William D. University of Maryland, “Gender Differences in Risk Taking: A Meta-Analysis”, Published in 1999, Psychological Bulletin, cited in 1346
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Mather Mara and Lighthall Nichole R., “Both Risk and Reward are Processed Differently in Decisions Made Under Stress”, Published in Curr Dir Psychol Sci. 2012 Feb; 21(2): 36–41
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Chapman Ben, “Gender gap narrows among entrepreneurs as women excel with start
ups”, July 4, 2017, Independent
Sponsors
In Support of
Pratham's Second Chance program focuses on providing school
drop-outs, especially women, another chance at education.
3:30 pm
Registration Begins
4:00 pm
Inauguration
Introduction of SHE DARES by Ayesha
4:15 pm
Self Defence Training by Osho Kalia - A short presentation by Durga Shakti team of Haryana
Police
4:30 pm
Start of team events
Obstacle course and Team drills
Adventure sports
Military-style obstacle course with climbing ropes, negotiating 20 feet hurdles, running on tires
5:15 pm
Snacks Break
5:45 pm
Continue Team Events -
Obstacle Course and Team drills
6:30 pm
Zumba
7:00 pm
Prize distribution and Vote of thanks
Reverse
Mentoring
Teams led by volunteers of my age who motivated and inspired corporate and other generation Y women to compete
The Event
Execution
Would you like to create your own SHE DARES event? I did everything from scratch but you can learn from my experience. I am keen to help and support you in your endeavor and have put down the basic tenets of planning and managing a ‘She Dares’ event, with all the information you will need to do so. I have also created a detailed starter kit, in addition, to help you with this. Click here for a quick summary of what it takes to take SHE DARES forward and a copy of the Starter kit.
Meet The Team
Leaders from Other Cities
Vrinda Das
Mumbai
Vrinda is 15 years old and loves music, singing and acting. She is a student of The Dhirubhai Ambani International School, Mumbai. She is passionate about multiple social issues and loves voicing her opinion, hopefully to make a change.
Ananya Chaddha
Gurgaon
Ananya is a grade 10 student at The Shri Ram School Aravali in Gurgaon. She is fifteen years old. She is interested in Football and Art
Anandini Bassi
Bangalore
Anandini is a 11th grade at the Indus International School, Bangalore. She loves to bake and has always wanted to do something that benefits the society . She is empathetic and caring, and enjoys spending time with animals
Ayesha Dhall
Founder of SHE DARES
Ayesha is a Grade 12 student at The Shri Ram School, Aravali in Gurgaon, and is extremely passionate about issues such as women empowerment and girl child education. She has a deep interest in arts and sports and enjoys painting, swimming, kayaking and scuba diving.
SHE DARES was kicked off with an event in Gurgaon. Now it has been expanded to several other cities led by our city leaders
Riddhi Jhunjhunwala
Delhi
Riddhi is a Grade 11 student at The British School in Delhi and very motivated by issues of women’s health and global health. She is especially interested in facilitating access to pre-natal healthcare resources for rural women
Stuti Daga
Mumbai
Stuti is a grade 10 student
at Dhirubhai Ambani International School, Mumbai.
She is really passionate about sports. She also loves music and art.
Sia Harisingani
Mumbai
Sia is a grade 10 student and 15 years old. She is currently studying in Dhirubhai Ambani International School in Mumbai. She is interested in art and kickboxing
Suhani Mehrotra
Mumbai
Suhani is a grade 10 student at The Dhirubhai Ambani International School, Mumbai. She is passionate about art and playing sports such as badminton.
