Making the Indian Economy Work for Women

Shaili Chopra was a well-known business journalist, working for outlets such as NDTV Profit and ET Now, before she decided to leave prime-time journalism and become an entrepreneur, launching a new digital media platform—SheThePeople—dedicated to telling the untold stories of women in India and around the world.

She has a new book out called, Sisterhood Economy: Of, By, For Wo(men), which distills some of the many lessons that she has learned over the years. The book is based on conversations with more than 500 women—and men—across India and touches on questions from love and marriage to livelihoods and the economy to business and Bollywood.

Shaili joins Milan on the show this week to talk about the book’s key messages. The two discuss her radical decision to quit her high-profile job in journalism, the vexing question of women’s labor force participation, and the social norms and conventions governing Indian marriage. Plus, Shaili and Milan talk about the catalytic role technology can play in a woman’s life and why mothers-in-law often get a bad rap.

 

1. Lamat R. Hasan, “Review: Sisterhood Economy Of, By, For Wo(men) by Shaili Chopra,” Hindustan Times, October 6, 2022.
2. Arunima Mazumdar, “Interview: Shaili Chopra, author, Sisterhood Economy: Of, By, For Wo(Men) - “Caste and gender inequality go hand in hand,” Hindustan Times, September 30, 2022.
3. “How Shah Rukh Khan Inspires Female Empowerment (with Shrayana Bhattacharya),” Grand Tamasha, December 15, 2021.