Why the Dais?
Draupadi on the dais is here to make your stage, your panels and your conferences diverse, inclusive, and truly representative. The platform connects you to women experts and speakers across industries, dismantling that one barrier against inviting them in the first place – easy, curated access and awareness of the right people.
Why is this important?
Men have spoken for womxn and the world at large for far too long, and we are tired of seeing that. Leadership forums, networking events, membership clubs, panel discussions, industry conferences; womxn leaders are woefully underrepresented in any and every public forum, even in 2022.
Representation matters. We know this and we do not need to justify it any further.
We also understand that sometimes, underrepresentation is not a conscious choice. It’s conditioning, and precisely that’s why, it is reversible. Things don’t have to stay the same. They can be changed. We can change. We are here to tell you how.
How are we attempting to solve this?
By building a large network
On Draupadi on the dais, event organisers can search through a large network of women experts, panellists, speakers, and thought leaders across various industries in order to invite them for panels and conferences.
Through advocacy & mentorship
We understand that being an expert and being on a panel are different things. It takes a sandbox to work on confidence, public speaking, and practising at being a leader. Men have been given their whole life as that sandbox. We don’t. To bridge this gap, Draupadi on the dais will invite experienced panellists to mentor more women to speak at these forums.
Meet the Team
Draupadi on the Dais is helmed by Chandni Menda, Pooja Sahaitya, and is supported by Decoding Draupadi, a . We are incubated by The C4E Collective, a marketing communication agency.
Chandni grew up reading cosmopolitan, and moved to consuming content by businesses like The Pleasure Project. For her, a 21-year-”old” fresher, these businesses were long shots that she’d never be a part of and, she had made peace with being an armchair activist. This changed when she met Pooja, the co-founder of Decoding Draupadi.
Pooja Sahatiya
Pooja is a sustainability enthusiast and has 10 years of experience in marketing. In her current role, she is the COO and Business Head at C4E, a marketing collective. While interacting with the likes of Paytm, IAMAI, Lilac and others, she observed that brands remain painfully wrong when it comes to their understanding of women and is on her way to help brands create the right communication for women.
Together, the two have already begun laying the foundation for what they believe will drive change in spaces that demand it.