WE CARE, an EEMA Initiative Celebrated Women on International Women's Day

~ Event and Entertainment Management Association (EEMA) and The Advertising Club sign joint pledge to create a safe environment for women in the workplace ~

- Inspirational insights by Mira Rajput Kapoor, Meghna Gulzar, Mini Mathur, Divya Palat, Eika Banerjee, Cathy O’Dowd and Arnab Goswami ~

~ PINK STAR honor presented To director Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury and Taapsee Pannu and Farhan Akhtar ~

~ The evening also saw some breathtaking performances by Nicola Johansson, Merlin D’souza, Ankit Tiwari ~ 

The Event and Entertainment Management Association (EEMA), has been championing a key initiative entitled WE CARE focused on safety and an environment of equality for Women in Events, Entertainment and Media. The initiative which was launched recently has gained considerable traction and support from across the industry with all major event agencies signing up to participate and implement the WE CARE programme.Marking the International Women's Day on March 8^th 2017, WE CARE, an EEMA initiative hosted an event celebrating women in events, media and hospitality, highlightingtheir roles as well as the challenges that they face. The event which was held at Taj Land’s End Hotel, saw dignitaries from various verticals- film, sports, politics, and business who interacted with the renowned guests who largely comprised of decision makers. 

To celebrate International Women’s Day, WE CARE extended invites toaround 200 prominent women leaders from across the events, media, advertising, hospitality and the corporate world. Seen at the event captivating the audience was the inspirational Story Teller Session, curated and moderated by Roshan Abbas, National Advisory Counsel of EEMA. The WE CARE celebrations were presented by Star TV Network and were hosted by the Taj Group of Hotels and supported by Exchange4Media. 

Speaking on the occasion, Sanjay Gupta, MD at Star said, “We believe that the workplace flourishes when every individual is given an equal opportunity to grow. At Star, we are committed to creating a culture of inclusion and diversity. We’re happy to support WE CARE to drive Nayi Soch.”

On this occasion EEMA signed a charter with The Advertising Club to jointly make the efforts to create a safe and conducive work environment for women in the media, event and advertising industry.

Sabbas Joseph, EEMA President and Founder-Director of Wizcraft International, said, “WE CARE by EEMA is such a proactive initiative whose time has come. It ensures that we create an environment to enable that women can deliver to their full potential. Women in advertising, media, and entertainment are both role models and the biggest influencers and this is the best place to make a beginning.” 

Commenting on the association, Raj Nayak, President, The Advertising Club, said, “I am extremely happy to announce this partnership. The Ad Club has been at the forefront of celebrating the contribution of women in our industry’s success and have been a vociferous support of gender equality. Media, both as a platform and as an industry, has a reach that can facilitate change at scale and this partnership will go a long way in furthering the realization of an equal society.” 

In line with the vision of providing a safe and conducive work environment for women in the media industry, WE CARE also announced a ‘Helpline’ to aid and assist women in the domains of harassment and mental distress. A set of professional counsellors have been enrolled to provide assistance. Calls coming to the Helpline (01149694998) will be answered by trained personnel who will then redirect them to the concerned person. There are redressal committees at regional levels instituted to enable the process. 

With Women comprising almost 50% of the work force in the events, hospitality and media industry, the initiative has become extremely important and EEMA is now actively promoting the initiative among the larger community embracing the fraternity from advertising, marketing, media, communication, entertainment and hospitality. Needless to say, considerable positive support has already been garnered.

A number of talented personalities shared their inspirational stories at the event – Mira Rajput Kapoor,MeghnaGulzar, Mini Mathur, Divya Palat, Eika Banerjee, Cathy O’Dowdand ArnabGoswamito name a few. The fun filled night also had some enthralling performances by Ankit Tiwari, Nicola Johansson and Merlin D’souza.The audience also witnessed a beautiful poetry recitation by author Punam Chadha-Joseph. 

Part of the WE CARE initiative by EEMA were also the Pink Star of Honor awards which were presented to three enormously talented people – Taapsee Pannu, Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury and Farhan Akhtarwho have inspired people and achieved so much this past year.

The evening was indeed packed with many surprises which lauded the many achievements of these women from across different walks of life. With the leaders in the business putting their weight behind it, the effort is to make WE CARE a highly relevant and compelling movement, a game changer, a part of the evolutionist theory, credible and in the “Let’s do it together spirit”.