Women Unconnected- Stories of Empowerment

Self-confidence and the belief that one can and should tackle new and difficult things is an under-addressed barrier to economic participation – especially for women, who are often marginalized and restricted from public life in rural India. GOAL (Going Online As Leaders) is a mentorship program for rural and tribal women and girls that understands this, and works to simultaneously address this barrier while providing high-quality technical skills and language training to mentees.
First trained in 2019, GOAL has had a clear impact on the lives of both its mentors and mentees. In 2019, we connected 100 of young women from rural communities across India with 20 urban, professional women to create strong support networks and safe learning communities for new skills. To say these support networks had a life-changing effect on mentees is to say the least. Along with measurable increases in their technological skills, mentees reported a notable increase in their desire to take on prominent roles in their community and work for social betterment. Mentees attributed this to their mentors, who they said were often the first people not to laugh at their dreams.

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