Women's Day 2023: In Conversation With YouTube Creators Making Waves
On March 8 every year, the world celebrates International Women's Day to honour the achievements made by women in different spheres around the world. This year,?Indiatimes had the privilege of speaking to YouTube creators about the systemic challenges faced by women in industries that have largely remained playing fields for men; what strides we can continue to make in various arenas to bring women to the fore and to set an example for leading women of the future.
I caught up with YouTube creators Aishwarya Patekar who runs the educational "Speak English with Aishwarya" channel that has 1.17 million subscribers and Nisha Topwal who has 4.28m subscribers on her "Cook with Nisha" YouTube channel.
The initial journey and challenges
"When I first started my YouTube channel, it was a bit of an experiment for me," said Aishwarya Patekar, the owner of YouTube channel "Speak English with Aishwarya."?"Even though Marathi is my mother tongue, I had done my schooling from an English medium school, so reading Marathi language was a nightmare for me."
"Back when I started ¡®Speak English with Aishwarya¡¯ in 2019 there were hardly any channels who taught English through Marathi. There were many channels who were teaching English through Hindi or English through English," she added.
For Nisha Topwal, the brains behind?"Cook with Nisha," a YouTube channel with 4.28m subscribers, it all started with her daughter¡¯s channel. "Since I was a homemaker, I simply supported her in that journey and it was helping me to keep myself engaged and bring some new ideas to the table while we were building up her channel. YouTube was new then and we were experimenting with new content and various formats," she said.
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"We learnt many new things in this journey and it surprises me to see how my passion literally transformed me into a full-time YouTuber," Topwal added.
What got them through structural challenges while starting their journey??
"Belief!" said Patekar. "I left my prestigious job to start my own YouTube channel. My family thought this was the most crazy step I have ever taken. Except for my husband, nobody believed in me. My family said there is no such thing like earning from YouTube, which now I laugh [about]," she added.
Nisha Topwal worked in the IT industry before moving to YouTube full-time. "As a woman when you bring ideas to the table, you will face little resistance... however it seems easier if the same ideas are seeded by a male colleague," Topwal said while also highlighting that numerous male figures had supported her "through thick and thin."
How far are we yet?
"Women are now more empowered to take on leadership roles and have access to resources that were not available before. However, there is still a long way to go in terms of achieving full gender equality and empowering women in all areas of society," asserted Aishwarya Patekar.
Patekar also threw light on women facing "discrimination" in terms of "wage gaps, limited access to education and training opportunities, and limited representation in positions of power." At the same time, Patekar addressed how "there has been a growing awareness of these issues and a growing movement to address them."?
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"It is important to continue advocating for gender equality and empowering women to achieve their full potential," Patekar added.
"I truly believe that this is the right time for females to show their power and passion and come up in their own fields. Also, I believe that when you work towards your goals and aspirations the universe will conspire to help you achieve them," said Nisha Topwal.
Looking at the future
"Through YouTube millions of women are already upgrading their skills... Governments and organisations can work together to provide women with access to online learning resources and support to help them succeed in these programs. Governments and organisations can work to provide education programs that focus on empowering women, such as leadership training, English literacy, financial literacy, and health education," Patekar said.
Advice for content creators
"Stay true to yourself and focus on creating content that you are passionate about. Don't worry too much about what other people think or what's popular, as long-term success comes from staying focused on your own unique vision," urged Aishwarya Patekar.
Also read:?Women's Day 2022: Women Startup Founders On Unique Challenges And Prejudices
"Keep working hard and producing content that you're passionate about, and the audience will come. Remember, the most important thing is to have fun and enjoy the process of creating content. If you love what you're doing, it will show in your videos and help you build a loyal following over time," Patekar added.
"Embrace your failures as much as your success. Learn from your mistakes and have that courage to stand up even if you are the only one," said Nisha Topwal.
Happy International Women's Day!?For more in the world of?technology?and?science, keep reading?Indiatimes.com.??
