Resource:How to be an effective female change agent in India

INTRODUCTION:

     The only thing on this earth that doesn’t change is the ”CHANGE”.  Being the change in some others life is inspirational. In a traditional country like India where women are bounded by the strings of gender bias, rules in the community and superstitions, it is impossible for a woman to think of a change even in her own position. But this view should be changed. A woman who is capable of multitasking, if transformed into a change agent, can renovate millions of lives.

       Through this particle we discuss ' HOW TO BE AN EFFECTIVE FEMALE CHANGE AGENT IN INDIA' with an advice from the current fellow, Priyanka Srivastava from C.M.I.T, Bangalore. She will be attending the 'Grace Hopper Conference of Women in

Tech, Coding and Computing in October 2017 as a Google Scholar. She received student scholar ship GHCI- Grace Hopper Celebration, India. She the is the true example of being an effective female change agent in her campus.

Let's start our journey of magnificent transformation into the EFFECTIVE FEMALE CHANGE AGENT IN INDIA.

     i)BELIEVE:

           To be an effective change agent the first and foremost thing you need to do is to BELIEVE in YOURSELF. Strong belief in yourself means you are already on your way to success. All the successful women started by believing in themselves and that’s what made them reach such great heights. So, when they are ready for the change, WHY CAN’T WE?.To be successful, Belief is allwhatis needed.

      

     ii) Question everything

            Everything starts with a ‘Why?’. It provokes you to think ‘How?’.The final result is you becomingthe change agent. Every new innovation on this earth starts with a question. To be a change agent first question yourself about the change you need to bring. Develop the DESIRE to question everything. Women in India are not used to this, but now it’s high time that they begin questioning.
        

    iii) Follow your heart

          When your heart says 'This system needs to be changed', then just go on for it. Develop passiontowards your goal, 'the change you want to bring’.Women should get to know what they are and what really matters to them. This results inselfmotivation which in turn drifts towards success.

Collaborate:

             The world is full of people with creative thoughts and some of them may have the same passion, the same desire, the same idea to bring about the same change. The more you find people of your kind, the more it is easy to start a movement towards the change. Just go out and find them, collaborate with them, expose yourself to new challenges and environments and prepare yourself for the journey of becoming a successful change agent.

     i) Networking:

                  Women, in general, are restricted to converse with men.But a talk with other people instigates the leadership qualities in them.Start networking.Develop the habit of networking. Attending conferences and meetings allow you to have an international exposure. Networking not only improves your skills but helps you to find the people of your kind. It also brings you closer to the resources around you to pursue your dream.This allows them to be aware of their importance and start bringing more and more women into this track.

    ii) Team

            TEAM -Together Everyone Achieves More.Teamgives you immense support. A strong team makes your dream evenmorestronger. Form a team with like-minded people and start working towards your goal. This is the place where you can show your skills in a practical way. In a team, one’s success does not depend merely on themselves but on the whole team. Once women get into this, they are into the sphere which helps them to incorporate learning skills into themselves which makes them ready for anything.They get to know how to empower themselves and simultaneously, how to support their teammates. Women who are already engaged in business must form teams and change others by sharing their knowledge by providing others with the real time examples which cannot be taught in classrooms.

 

   i) Problem Statement:

        First identify what has to be done and analyze the impact it may have on the society. When you have a clear idea of what to do, then it will be much easier to achieve it. So identify what and why it should be done along with your team members, and try to define the topic in a simple way which can give a clear idea about it.

  ii) Brain storming

               Try to think out of the box and define n-number of solutions to the problem. Develop a multi dimensional view on each and every topic related to it.6 may appear 9 in other direction.In a similar way the chances of being successful increases if you expand your thoughts in a multidimensional way. Alsodevelop multidisciplinary approach i.e. besides being perfect in you stream try to excel in other disciplines also. This helps in improving the number of alternatives to reach the goal.

  iii) Best match

         Solutions may be many but very few are best. From those few solutions choose the alternative that you can reach with help of resources around you. Try choosing those solutions which have more involvement of technology. Because 21st century is the century of technology and it helps in bringing your change more close to people . Some alternatives are easier to approach and also has the best impact in bringing the change which is expected. Mending your solution with creativity, technology and practicality helps you succeed in realtime .        

  iv) Prototype, Build, Test

          Practicality is all that we need to make the change successful. So prototype your project, build it and test it. This addsweightageto your ‘Change Process’, to make others believe you can do it. This also helps in receiving financial support to implement your change in the real time.

  v) Get Set Go………!

          Start implementing the change process to see your ‘dream change’ turn to reality.

Balance yourself and never give up

         Success achieved without challenges happens only inmere cases of luck. Surely there will be many hurdles on your way. DON’TJUST GIVE UP. Success may be hidden even in the 1000th step of your journey. If you give up at  999th step, your entire hard work goes in vain. So whenever you feel like giving up just look at yourself in the mirror, smile and say  ‘ I have to do this, not for the world, not for the persons who questioned me, but for the pretty little girl in the mirror’.  It will give you the power to restart again.

Final advice:

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world”. Bringing about a change is definitely not a simple task. A lot of hindrances may come your way but, the only power that’ll hold you in difficult times is just your determination. Yourself confidenceand determination are your greatest sources of energy that has the potential to create wonders. Believe in yourself. Even if the whole world is opposing you, if you have the confidence that what you are doing is right, then NEVER GIVE UP. Try and try till you succeed. May be at first none may support you but as time progresses, when people discover the differences you made to the society they will join you.

             NEVER LET THE CHANGE AGENT DIE IN YOU. Let your vision of change ‘CHANGE THE VISION OF THE ENTIRE WORLD’.

Written By:

Supraja Akkala, Srujana Kameswari, Deepika Kancherla, Sameeraja Bharathula, Kusumitha Korrapati, Bhargavi Ghanta.